After a fantastic opening title sequence "The Conjuring" seemed like it was going to fall into the same realm of today's version of "scary" movies, which in fact aren't scary at all. The first half hour or so is filled with the standard "Paranormal Activity" "scares" of creaking floor boards, doors closing on their own and creepy children. Thankfully though "The Conjuring" then takes a unpredicted turn and while the filmmaker still uses the old standard scare tactics the execution is such that "The Conjuring" ranks for me as one of the better standard scary movies of the last decade.
"The Conjuring" is based on a "true" account from real life Ghostbusters and husband and wife team Ed and Lorraine Warren. I'll say that while Ed and Lorraine are in fact real people and ghost-busting is their real profession I'm sure as with most "based on a true story" flicks a lot of liberties are taken here. Director James Wan, who most notably made his debut with the original and easily best movie in the now defunct "Saw" franchise and more recently with another haunted house flick "Insidious", which I found unbearably not scary and forgettable other than a great performance by Barbara Hershey. "Conjuring" and "Insidious" share a lot of the same DNA, including star Patrick Wilson but whether its the true story elements or just learning from past mistakes "The Conjuring" is vastly more superior and effective than "Insidious". The big difference is that "The Conjuring" is not your ordinary scary movie in that it borrows from many different genres and past movies.
Homages to "The Exorcist", "Amityville Horror" and "Rosemary's Baby" among other great scary movies are all evident here. As opposed to playing out one genre to death "The Conjuring" gives us numerous tastes but never enough to either become boring or repetitive. The exorcism angle was for me most notable as it is very rarely effective on film unless you are watching "The Exorcist" and in this day of computer special effects they chose to use old school make-up effects which makes it look more real which in turn makes it more scary. Creaking floor boards and things of that nature don't really do it for me in terms of getting the chills but as evidenced by the popularity in "Paranormal Activity" people do go for that stuff and there is a lot of it here as well. The musical score, as composed by Joseph Bishara adds to the scare tactics implemented here.
"The Conjuring" is also composed of a surprising for the genre high pedigree cast. The before mentioned Patrick Wilson (Watchmen) rebounds from his horrible guest starring role in last seasons "Girls" to play Ed Warren and as his wife Vera Farmiga (Bates Motel) shows she can do this type of genre in her sleep. Ron Livingston (Office Space) and Lily Taylor (Say Anything) round out the adult cast. As was the case with "Pacific Rim" there are very good child performances in "The Conjuring", especially from relative newcomer Joey King who looks like she may be following in the footsteps of Jodie Foster and more recently Chloe Grace Moretz.
Telling you the scary parts of a movie is like telling you the funny parts in a movie, it just doesn't work. What can be said though as someone who is one of the biggest skeptics of "scary" movies out there "The Conjuring" by maybe just process of elimination as there is nothing released recently to compare it to is something that as either a genre fan or as someone looking to get to 2nd base should lay down the cash and go see.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Pacific Rim
"Pacific Rim" the newest movie from fanboy fave director Guillermo Del Toro is 2+ hours of the longest, most expensive, most visually stimulating fanboy cream dream that has ever been seen. If the 13 year old version of myself could come out for a moment I can sum up the movie this way: "Pacific Rim" is FUCKING awesome!
The Setting for "Pacific Rim" is in the not too distance future when giant monsters start emerging from an alternative universe whose gateway portal to earth is discovered to be thousands of miles under the sea. The monsters are known as Kaiju and after lengthy traditional battles the world unites to undertake a project to build a series of man operated machines known as Jaegers. The Jaegers are operated by two co-pilots with "Avatar" like technology where their minds meld together as one brain, one controls the left side of the robot while the other controls the right.
Charlie Hunnam known by most from "Sons of Anarchy" but known by cool people for his work on "Undeclared" is the main character a once hot shot Jaeger pilot who due to the death of his co-pilot brother quits and becomes a construction worker. Fast forward a few years and the governments of the world have decided the Jaeger program is no longer working and have decided to build large walls around costal cities as a sort of blockade from the Kaiju, a very wall that Hunnam's character is working on! British badass and Julianne Gabert crush Idris Elba plays the leader of the newly underground Jaeger program and he seeks out Hunnam to re-enroll in the program as his old machine, aptly named "Gipsy Danger" has been put back into active duty.
Even if that above plot sypnosis did nothing for you or just made no sense "Pacific Rim" is for anyone who likes going to the movies to be wowed. We make fun of Michael Bay a lot here at "The AOM" and we will continue to do that here: "Pacific Rim" is just like "Transformers" if "Transformers" had any type of soul, humor and a director who wasn't in love with himself. Del Toro puts all of his geekdom passion in this effort, there are enough geek references and MechWarrior nods to keep the nerds happy and enough humor and originality to keep those with significant others interested. Even Hellboy himself Ron Pearlman stops by in a great role as a black market dealer known as "Hannibal Chau" (be sure to stay during the credits for a bonus scene involving Chau's fate). Japanese babe Rinko Kikuchi also stars joining a long list that includes Angelina Jolie, Milla Jovovich and Jennifer Lawrence as a hot babe who kicks ass.
Del Toro has proved with "Pans Labyrinth" and even the "Hellboy" movies that his prime objectives are visuals and story. The overall story of "Pacific Rim" has a few holes but is understandable and a given for a movie on this large of scale. the individual stories of the characters however are what really make the movie work. Most notably Kikuchi's character suffers a great loss as a child in the film that is told in flashbacks. Del Toro does have a pension for showing children in crisis and these scenes are heartbreaking to watch, massive shout-out to the child actor here who gives the best performance by a kid I've seen since the creepy little boy in "Looper". Idris Elba- who rocks in any role he takes but is especially great here, even delivering an "Independence Day" style speech towards the end that should evoke audience applause. Hunnam is more or less the star here, he definitely has the looks of a star but has to work on the American accent a little bit as there is a right way and a wrong way to deliver cheesy dialogue which he still hasn't figured out how to do. "Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia" star Charlie Day is also featured with a few funny scenes but overall teeters on the brink of annoyance.
Some of the Kaiju monsters look like rejected drawings from the new "Godzilla" reboot and 99.9% of the battles inexplicably take place during giant rain storms which since this takes place roughly 7 years from now could be the direct cause of global warming. The battle scenes between monster and robot are glorious, I saw it in standard 2D but this might have been the rare exception where the IMAX 3D expense would have been well worth it.
If you are like me and like your 200 million dollar budgeted popcorn summer blockbusters with a little bit of substance please seek out "Pacific Rim". On paper it might seem like a 12 year olds fanboy magna novel, which it is but it also is escapism to the very core. Look for end of the year awards consideration for the special effects, sound and sound editing, cinematography and if there is any justice at least a nomination for Ron Pearlman for "Best Supporting Actor".
The Setting for "Pacific Rim" is in the not too distance future when giant monsters start emerging from an alternative universe whose gateway portal to earth is discovered to be thousands of miles under the sea. The monsters are known as Kaiju and after lengthy traditional battles the world unites to undertake a project to build a series of man operated machines known as Jaegers. The Jaegers are operated by two co-pilots with "Avatar" like technology where their minds meld together as one brain, one controls the left side of the robot while the other controls the right.
Charlie Hunnam known by most from "Sons of Anarchy" but known by cool people for his work on "Undeclared" is the main character a once hot shot Jaeger pilot who due to the death of his co-pilot brother quits and becomes a construction worker. Fast forward a few years and the governments of the world have decided the Jaeger program is no longer working and have decided to build large walls around costal cities as a sort of blockade from the Kaiju, a very wall that Hunnam's character is working on! British badass and Julianne Gabert crush Idris Elba plays the leader of the newly underground Jaeger program and he seeks out Hunnam to re-enroll in the program as his old machine, aptly named "Gipsy Danger" has been put back into active duty.
Even if that above plot sypnosis did nothing for you or just made no sense "Pacific Rim" is for anyone who likes going to the movies to be wowed. We make fun of Michael Bay a lot here at "The AOM" and we will continue to do that here: "Pacific Rim" is just like "Transformers" if "Transformers" had any type of soul, humor and a director who wasn't in love with himself. Del Toro puts all of his geekdom passion in this effort, there are enough geek references and MechWarrior nods to keep the nerds happy and enough humor and originality to keep those with significant others interested. Even Hellboy himself Ron Pearlman stops by in a great role as a black market dealer known as "Hannibal Chau" (be sure to stay during the credits for a bonus scene involving Chau's fate). Japanese babe Rinko Kikuchi also stars joining a long list that includes Angelina Jolie, Milla Jovovich and Jennifer Lawrence as a hot babe who kicks ass.
Del Toro has proved with "Pans Labyrinth" and even the "Hellboy" movies that his prime objectives are visuals and story. The overall story of "Pacific Rim" has a few holes but is understandable and a given for a movie on this large of scale. the individual stories of the characters however are what really make the movie work. Most notably Kikuchi's character suffers a great loss as a child in the film that is told in flashbacks. Del Toro does have a pension for showing children in crisis and these scenes are heartbreaking to watch, massive shout-out to the child actor here who gives the best performance by a kid I've seen since the creepy little boy in "Looper". Idris Elba- who rocks in any role he takes but is especially great here, even delivering an "Independence Day" style speech towards the end that should evoke audience applause. Hunnam is more or less the star here, he definitely has the looks of a star but has to work on the American accent a little bit as there is a right way and a wrong way to deliver cheesy dialogue which he still hasn't figured out how to do. "Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia" star Charlie Day is also featured with a few funny scenes but overall teeters on the brink of annoyance.
Some of the Kaiju monsters look like rejected drawings from the new "Godzilla" reboot and 99.9% of the battles inexplicably take place during giant rain storms which since this takes place roughly 7 years from now could be the direct cause of global warming. The battle scenes between monster and robot are glorious, I saw it in standard 2D but this might have been the rare exception where the IMAX 3D expense would have been well worth it.
If you are like me and like your 200 million dollar budgeted popcorn summer blockbusters with a little bit of substance please seek out "Pacific Rim". On paper it might seem like a 12 year olds fanboy magna novel, which it is but it also is escapism to the very core. Look for end of the year awards consideration for the special effects, sound and sound editing, cinematography and if there is any justice at least a nomination for Ron Pearlman for "Best Supporting Actor".
Friday, July 12, 2013
The Heat
On paper "The Heat" is just another in the long line of generic buddy cop comedies with the asterisk this time of having two females in the lead roles. The list of "buddy cop" movies is long and except for a few exceptions (Lethal Weapon, Tango and Cash, Turner and Hooch) it is a mostly generic, unoriginal genre. Thanks to fantastic chemistry between stars Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy, "The Heat is funnier then it has any business being.
"The Heat" starts out fairly predictable and for a moment it seemed like it would just be a rehash of Bullock's film "Miss Congeniality". Bullock plays an uptight, yet efficient FBI officer who is in need of a serious makeover, both professionally and personally. It's when Bullock is assigned to a drug smuggling case in Boston where she teams up with a local officer played by McCarthy. Bullock can play the ugly duckling role almost too comfortably and once "The Heat" gets going its nice to see her step out of her wheelhouse and genuinely looks like she's having fun dropping F-bombs and shooting people.
For me McCarthy is the real stand out here. After the triumph that was "Bridesmaids" McCarthy was deemed Hollywood's next big comedy superstar, and deservedly so. Though after this year's absolutely dreadful "Identity Thief" I thought McCarthy may have gotten too big too fast and was on a course to follow Jack Black as a huge star who suddenly just collapses onto itself. She plays tough as nails "Bahstahn" cop Shannon Mullins here and if you are a fan of the cop genre as I am the stuff she does with your stereotypical cop film details is absolutely dead on. If this was a remake of "Point Break" Bullock would be Johnny Utah and McCarthy would be a cross between Patrick Swayze and Gary Busey's characters.
As with most comedies, the plot is really not important here though the screenwriter Katie Dippold does make the crime at hand somewhat interesting and I was kind of thrown off by the semi surprise twist towards the end. The movie is also filled with a lot of great bit players who make the most of their screen time including former "New Kids on the Block" member Joey Mcintyre and Thomas F. Wilson known most notably as "Biff" from the "Back to the Future" franchise.
For a mainstream comedy "The Heat" hits on pretty much every level. I appreciated the physical comedic talents of the two main leads showed as well as their performances with the dialogue. If "This is the End" seems a little to left of center for you then I would fully endorse seeing "The Heat" for some good hearty laughs.
"The Heat" starts out fairly predictable and for a moment it seemed like it would just be a rehash of Bullock's film "Miss Congeniality". Bullock plays an uptight, yet efficient FBI officer who is in need of a serious makeover, both professionally and personally. It's when Bullock is assigned to a drug smuggling case in Boston where she teams up with a local officer played by McCarthy. Bullock can play the ugly duckling role almost too comfortably and once "The Heat" gets going its nice to see her step out of her wheelhouse and genuinely looks like she's having fun dropping F-bombs and shooting people.
For me McCarthy is the real stand out here. After the triumph that was "Bridesmaids" McCarthy was deemed Hollywood's next big comedy superstar, and deservedly so. Though after this year's absolutely dreadful "Identity Thief" I thought McCarthy may have gotten too big too fast and was on a course to follow Jack Black as a huge star who suddenly just collapses onto itself. She plays tough as nails "Bahstahn" cop Shannon Mullins here and if you are a fan of the cop genre as I am the stuff she does with your stereotypical cop film details is absolutely dead on. If this was a remake of "Point Break" Bullock would be Johnny Utah and McCarthy would be a cross between Patrick Swayze and Gary Busey's characters.
As with most comedies, the plot is really not important here though the screenwriter Katie Dippold does make the crime at hand somewhat interesting and I was kind of thrown off by the semi surprise twist towards the end. The movie is also filled with a lot of great bit players who make the most of their screen time including former "New Kids on the Block" member Joey Mcintyre and Thomas F. Wilson known most notably as "Biff" from the "Back to the Future" franchise.
For a mainstream comedy "The Heat" hits on pretty much every level. I appreciated the physical comedic talents of the two main leads showed as well as their performances with the dialogue. If "This is the End" seems a little to left of center for you then I would fully endorse seeing "The Heat" for some good hearty laughs.
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