F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" is considered by most (including me) as one of the greatest American novels ever written. It was with great caution/anticipation that I walked into Australian auteur Baz Luhrmann's shiny new version. Gatsby has been adapted into film a few times before, most notably (boringly) in the 70's with Robert Redford as the title character. Luhrmann has adapted great works of literature before, 1996's Romeo + Juliet was a great modern day take on the classic tale of love. Luhrmann however also has in his arsenal one of the worst movies I've ever seen: 2001's musical on crack "Moulin Rouge". This Gatsby was also being filmed in 3D, maybe a way to intrigue those who only read the Cliff's Notes version of Gatsby during their high school days. What is presented here is a grand mix of grandiose production design and a highly faithful adaptation of the book with a few flaws but overall a very good and surprising film.
Leonardo DiCaprio plays reclusive millionaire?, billionaire? Jay Gatsby here in a role that is tailor made for him. The main cast is filled out by Toby Maguire as Nick Carraway, also the films narrator, Carey Mulligan as Gatsby's love interest Daisy Buchanan and scene stealer Joel Edgerton as Daisy's husband/Gatsby's rival Tom Buchanan. I've always interpreted Gatsby from the book as a kind of Howard Hughesish playboy, has a taste for the finer things but also is reclusive and wary of people outside of his inner circle. DiCaprio does a fine job here but as the character is written he goes from reclusive shut in to a love interest for the newest Katherine Heigl romantic comedy, its an uneven interpretation at best. The role of Daisy while vital to the story is kind of a thankless role, Daisy is one of the more frustrating characters in the book. Mulligan obviously has the beauty for the role but isn't given a lot of dialogue to chew on. I thought casting Maguire as Carraway, really the central character in the book and movie was a mistake at first but as Carraway is out of his element for most of the film Maguire brings a believability to this. Edgerton is really the stand out star here for me, Tom Buchanan can be viewed as a meathead but Edgerton brings an intensity to the character, especially in the end scenes.
All of the films reported 120 million dollar budget is on the screen, along with the A-list cast the production design is some of the best I've seen. Computer green screen is used thoroughly and throughout to give the film which was filmed in Australia the New York/Long Island scenery that is required along with the material, this trick is sometimes blatantly obvious especially in driving or flashback scenes. Scenes inside many of the glorious mansions or apartments are more rich and gives the performances themselves an extra jolt instead of just pretending that you are there. The soundtrack features new and old tracks from some artists you might not associate with the roaring 20's. Jay-Z (also the films executive producer) and Lana Del Rey among others fill out the soundtrack and the songs even appear in the film. At first I thought this was a ridiculous idea but maybe not surprisingly it actually works in the limited role the songs are used, mainly during the extravagant party scenes which could stand alone as their own movie.
If you aren't a fan of the book I don't think this Gatsby will convert anyone. If you haven't or don't remember reading the book I think this is a great introduction and should make those who are curious to actually read the book. Lurhmann's style isn't for everyone but other than a misguided introduction and a lack of focus on the supporting characters this version of "The Great Gatsby" should be viewed as the benchmark for the cinematic material, especially if you are too lazy to read the book.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Iron Man 3
April showers bring May flowers but what May also brings for the last 7 years now is a new entry in the Marvel comic movie series. This year brings the return of Iron Man/Tony Stark in "Iron Man 3". Arguably the most popular stand alone character in the Marvel movie universe "Iron Man 3" is the first Marvel Disney release since last years box-office juggernaut, super hero cream dream crossover "The Avengers". Gone is Iron Man 1 and 2 director Jon Favreau and taking his place is 80's action/buddy flick phenom Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, The Long Kiss Goodnight) a random if not inspired choice. Returning is the always charismatic Robert Downey Jr. as the billionaire inventor Tony Stark turned superhero Iron Man and Gwyneth Paltrow as love interest/Stark Industries CEO Pepper Potts, playing the classic Iron Man foe "The Mandarin" is Oscar winning Sir Ben Kingsley. Iron Man 2 was seen as a disappointment to many (not me) but after the HUGE success of "Avengers" does Tony Stark still have enough power to succeed in his own stand alone franchise? The short answer is yes.
For me,Iron Man was always Marvel's response to DC comics own "Batman". Much like Bruce Wayne, Tony Stark is a billionaire playboy who essentially has no superpowers but is incredibly smart and has the ways and means to create themselves into superheros and seeks justice for the justified. Tony Stark, unlike Bruce Wayne going back to the actual comics has always had charisma and most importantly a sense of humor. That is partly what makes this the perfect vehicle for Robert Downey Jr. who again knocks this role out of the park, he could play Iron Man in his sleep at this point. "Iron Man 3" finds our hero having sleepless nights as he is suffering from panic attacks and anxiety from the events that took place at the end of "The Avengers". Through a series of events (no spoilers) Stark seeks all out revenge on "The Mandarin" which leads him to of all places: rural Tennessee.
One of the big problems people had with "Iron Man 2" was that its place was basically just to be a set up for "The Avengers". I appreciated the effort because "IM2" delved into the darker side of Stark/Iron Man, including his battle with alcoholism and the fact that Mickey Rourke is worth the price of admission alone. The producers were smart to insert new blood into the creative side of the franchise, with enlisting Black to write and direct "IM3" is easily the best written entry in the series and for fans of the old 80's/early 90's action films you'll appreciate it. This is only Black's second directing job but the action scenes here are flawless, the centerpiece being one involving Air Force One is particularly pulse pounding.
There is one portion of "IM3" that will probably have fellow nerds up in arms. It is a pretty big moment in the film and if you know your Iron Man comic book lore you know that the big revelation is something not out of the comic book stories. This revelation did catch me off guard and goes against everything that the comics had already determined about a particular character but after getting passed all that the way they switch things around is actually pretty clever and original, if you have never read an Iron Man comic then this will mean nothing to you and wont notice any difference. And as with every Marvel film be sure to stay until the end of the credits, you will get a little Easter egg. It has nothing to do with any future "Avenger" installments but it is good for a few chuckles.
Overall "IM3" gives the fantastic and always anticipated summer movie season a well deserved kick off. This has been a consistent and durable franchise in an era of "Fast and Furious 11". Downey Jr. and Paltrow continue to have some of the best on screen chemistry in movies today. If messy contract negotiations between Downey Jr. and Disney/Marvel go south for future installments this trilogy ends on a solid note.
For me,Iron Man was always Marvel's response to DC comics own "Batman". Much like Bruce Wayne, Tony Stark is a billionaire playboy who essentially has no superpowers but is incredibly smart and has the ways and means to create themselves into superheros and seeks justice for the justified. Tony Stark, unlike Bruce Wayne going back to the actual comics has always had charisma and most importantly a sense of humor. That is partly what makes this the perfect vehicle for Robert Downey Jr. who again knocks this role out of the park, he could play Iron Man in his sleep at this point. "Iron Man 3" finds our hero having sleepless nights as he is suffering from panic attacks and anxiety from the events that took place at the end of "The Avengers". Through a series of events (no spoilers) Stark seeks all out revenge on "The Mandarin" which leads him to of all places: rural Tennessee.
One of the big problems people had with "Iron Man 2" was that its place was basically just to be a set up for "The Avengers". I appreciated the effort because "IM2" delved into the darker side of Stark/Iron Man, including his battle with alcoholism and the fact that Mickey Rourke is worth the price of admission alone. The producers were smart to insert new blood into the creative side of the franchise, with enlisting Black to write and direct "IM3" is easily the best written entry in the series and for fans of the old 80's/early 90's action films you'll appreciate it. This is only Black's second directing job but the action scenes here are flawless, the centerpiece being one involving Air Force One is particularly pulse pounding.
There is one portion of "IM3" that will probably have fellow nerds up in arms. It is a pretty big moment in the film and if you know your Iron Man comic book lore you know that the big revelation is something not out of the comic book stories. This revelation did catch me off guard and goes against everything that the comics had already determined about a particular character but after getting passed all that the way they switch things around is actually pretty clever and original, if you have never read an Iron Man comic then this will mean nothing to you and wont notice any difference. And as with every Marvel film be sure to stay until the end of the credits, you will get a little Easter egg. It has nothing to do with any future "Avenger" installments but it is good for a few chuckles.
Overall "IM3" gives the fantastic and always anticipated summer movie season a well deserved kick off. This has been a consistent and durable franchise in an era of "Fast and Furious 11". Downey Jr. and Paltrow continue to have some of the best on screen chemistry in movies today. If messy contract negotiations between Downey Jr. and Disney/Marvel go south for future installments this trilogy ends on a solid note.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Pain and Gain
The 2013 release "Pain and Gain" is a conundrum wrapped in an enigma. Overblown, overstylized and just overstupid for the majority of its overlong 2+ hour running time you'd think that "Pain and Gain" had a surefire slot in the worst films of the year list-but it doesn't. While there are almost too many flaws to count "Pain and Gain" is also laced with moments of pure brilliance that are both funny, uncomfortable and artistic, and yes I did just use the word "artistic" to describe a Michael Bay movie....
The director here, Michael Bay is best known for making big Hollywood blockbusters such as "Armageddon" "The Rock" and probably most notably the "Transformers" series among countless others. Bay over his career has been much maligned for making these "popcorn" flicks, some criticism warranted, some not. In my opinion if you need something blow'd up real good in your movie there is no one better to direct your movie. The problem here is that with "Pain and Gain" Bay is trying to make a Coen brothers movie in the vein of "Fargo" and he just doesn't have the skill set to pull it off. "Pain and Gain tells the story of three bodybuilders in Miami in the mid 90's who in order to gain social stature and money scheme a plan to kidnap a wealthy sandwich shop owner (this is a true story by the way) and torture him until he signs over all his assets to them. The bodybuilders are played by Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Anthony Mackie. The performances here are another saving grace for the film, the three leads do what they can with the disjointed script which cant decide if it wants to be a dark comedy or a "point break" imitator. The supporting cast, for as good as it is pretty much is underused. Ed Harris must owe Bay a favor after "The Rock" because he just seems out of place here, Bay wants this to be a Coen brothers film so badly that he even cast Coen brother go to character actors Peter Stormare and Tony Shaloub.
"Pain and Gain" has been a passion project for Bay for years and on paper it should have worked. Gorgeous locations, fast cars, scantily clad women and explosions, these are all mandatory "Bayisms" in his movies. Unfortunately if you are trying to make a dark comedy/true crime story these elements have no place here, even in a story based in Miami. You cant just throw a random explosion in the middle of a Miami street or have 10 cops fire at you in a waterway during the day and expect people to take you seriously. The only reason the studio let Bay direct this is because he did sign on to helm "Transformers 4" for them which shows that "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine" is indeed a real thing.
"Pain and Gain" is definitely worth the $1.23 Redbox will charge you but not much more than that. The real discovery here for me was the performance by "The Rock", having already mastered the action film genre it will be interesting if anyone gives Rock a shot at something with more substance. He shows in "Pain and Gain" that can play "cocaine" among the best I've seen, I'd love to see him in something like what Bruce Willis did in "Pulp Fiction". As for Bay I'm sure as long as he keeps chugging out movies that give Megan Fox a consistent income he'll be able to make one of these passion projects every few years, George Lucas did the same thing after he wrapped the Star Wars trilogies and looked how well that worked out for him...
The director here, Michael Bay is best known for making big Hollywood blockbusters such as "Armageddon" "The Rock" and probably most notably the "Transformers" series among countless others. Bay over his career has been much maligned for making these "popcorn" flicks, some criticism warranted, some not. In my opinion if you need something blow'd up real good in your movie there is no one better to direct your movie. The problem here is that with "Pain and Gain" Bay is trying to make a Coen brothers movie in the vein of "Fargo" and he just doesn't have the skill set to pull it off. "Pain and Gain tells the story of three bodybuilders in Miami in the mid 90's who in order to gain social stature and money scheme a plan to kidnap a wealthy sandwich shop owner (this is a true story by the way) and torture him until he signs over all his assets to them. The bodybuilders are played by Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Anthony Mackie. The performances here are another saving grace for the film, the three leads do what they can with the disjointed script which cant decide if it wants to be a dark comedy or a "point break" imitator. The supporting cast, for as good as it is pretty much is underused. Ed Harris must owe Bay a favor after "The Rock" because he just seems out of place here, Bay wants this to be a Coen brothers film so badly that he even cast Coen brother go to character actors Peter Stormare and Tony Shaloub.
"Pain and Gain" has been a passion project for Bay for years and on paper it should have worked. Gorgeous locations, fast cars, scantily clad women and explosions, these are all mandatory "Bayisms" in his movies. Unfortunately if you are trying to make a dark comedy/true crime story these elements have no place here, even in a story based in Miami. You cant just throw a random explosion in the middle of a Miami street or have 10 cops fire at you in a waterway during the day and expect people to take you seriously. The only reason the studio let Bay direct this is because he did sign on to helm "Transformers 4" for them which shows that "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine" is indeed a real thing.
"Pain and Gain" is definitely worth the $1.23 Redbox will charge you but not much more than that. The real discovery here for me was the performance by "The Rock", having already mastered the action film genre it will be interesting if anyone gives Rock a shot at something with more substance. He shows in "Pain and Gain" that can play "cocaine" among the best I've seen, I'd love to see him in something like what Bruce Willis did in "Pulp Fiction". As for Bay I'm sure as long as he keeps chugging out movies that give Megan Fox a consistent income he'll be able to make one of these passion projects every few years, George Lucas did the same thing after he wrapped the Star Wars trilogies and looked how well that worked out for him...
Thursday, May 2, 2013
The Place Beyond the Pines
"The Place Beyond the Pines" is a true epic crime saga with whispers of great 70's cinema including "The Godfather Part II". Director Derek Cianfrance avoids the sophomore slump and Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper give great lead performances in what is a film that will definitely be on my year end top 10 list.
Stars Gosling and Cooper have a great advantage among their peers in Hollywood, both have the matinee idol looks to sell tickets as well as being two of the better actors of their generation. Gosling is slowly becoming that actor that no matter what he is in you want to see it, almost like Daniel Day Lewis-almost, he has to stop picking paycheck projects like "Gangster Squad" to pad his resume. "TPBTP" is Goslings second collaboration with director Cianfrance, the first was with "Blue Valentine" the extraordinarily underrated tragic love story, Gosling and Cianfrance work wonders with each other hinting at a partnership in the vein of Scorsese and De Niro. Cooper in his first film since his most impressive turn in last years Oscar winning "Silver Lining Playbook" is nearly as effective as Gosling in a less showier role, between his last two roles and comedic turns in "The Hangover" and "Wet Hot American Summer" is shadowing Tom Hanks in that he can play almost any kind of role.
"The Place Beyond the Pines" is structured in two parts. The first half centers around Gosling's character, a motorcycle carnie with the stage name "Handsome Luke". While at a tour stop Gosling runs into an ex played by Eva Mendes, he soon finds out that her infant son is in fact his-he abruptly quits the carnival circuit and stays put in the small upper New York state town to be closer to his child. Through various events Luke decides to start robbing banks so he can provide better for his son. Bradley Cooper plays an ambitious cop who through another series of events that become apparent in part 2 becomes linked with Gosling's character for the rest of their lives. Delving anymore into the plot would give away major spoilers.
Director Cianfrance's style and pacing is not made for everyone, some will find this movie slow-and in parts, especially in the second half it is. Pacing is a tricky thing in film, characters and story need to be developed especially in complex layered thrillers such as "Pines" is. He is definitely a young director on the rise and we look forward to see what he brings to the future tables. The supporting cast includes a brief appearance by "AOM" favorite Ray Liotta and Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn who was highlighted in this blog late last year in the Brad Pitt starrer "Killing Me Softly", he is equally memorable here and is fast becoming this decades Steve Buscemi.
As with other movies reviewed here, "TPBTP" is not for everyone and will likely get lost once Tony Stark and Clark Kent take their spots on the summer throne as well as be forgotten during awards season due to its questionable release in March. It is drama to almost the exact definition of the word with slight mixes of 70's cinema and Shakespearean themes "TPBTP" is one not to be missed.
Stars Gosling and Cooper have a great advantage among their peers in Hollywood, both have the matinee idol looks to sell tickets as well as being two of the better actors of their generation. Gosling is slowly becoming that actor that no matter what he is in you want to see it, almost like Daniel Day Lewis-almost, he has to stop picking paycheck projects like "Gangster Squad" to pad his resume. "TPBTP" is Goslings second collaboration with director Cianfrance, the first was with "Blue Valentine" the extraordinarily underrated tragic love story, Gosling and Cianfrance work wonders with each other hinting at a partnership in the vein of Scorsese and De Niro. Cooper in his first film since his most impressive turn in last years Oscar winning "Silver Lining Playbook" is nearly as effective as Gosling in a less showier role, between his last two roles and comedic turns in "The Hangover" and "Wet Hot American Summer" is shadowing Tom Hanks in that he can play almost any kind of role.
"The Place Beyond the Pines" is structured in two parts. The first half centers around Gosling's character, a motorcycle carnie with the stage name "Handsome Luke". While at a tour stop Gosling runs into an ex played by Eva Mendes, he soon finds out that her infant son is in fact his-he abruptly quits the carnival circuit and stays put in the small upper New York state town to be closer to his child. Through various events Luke decides to start robbing banks so he can provide better for his son. Bradley Cooper plays an ambitious cop who through another series of events that become apparent in part 2 becomes linked with Gosling's character for the rest of their lives. Delving anymore into the plot would give away major spoilers.
Director Cianfrance's style and pacing is not made for everyone, some will find this movie slow-and in parts, especially in the second half it is. Pacing is a tricky thing in film, characters and story need to be developed especially in complex layered thrillers such as "Pines" is. He is definitely a young director on the rise and we look forward to see what he brings to the future tables. The supporting cast includes a brief appearance by "AOM" favorite Ray Liotta and Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn who was highlighted in this blog late last year in the Brad Pitt starrer "Killing Me Softly", he is equally memorable here and is fast becoming this decades Steve Buscemi.
As with other movies reviewed here, "TPBTP" is not for everyone and will likely get lost once Tony Stark and Clark Kent take their spots on the summer throne as well as be forgotten during awards season due to its questionable release in March. It is drama to almost the exact definition of the word with slight mixes of 70's cinema and Shakespearean themes "TPBTP" is one not to be missed.
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