Thor
Well it is a good start to what should be a great summer of blockbusters. A fun film and that’s where it lasts really. As a writer I felt like the character of Thor needed more background in the film. They start to get into it then bam just throw you right into the middle of things. Questions I’d like to of seen answered: How did he obtain his hammer? How did he gain his father’s respect more than Loki to begin with, etc etc. Did a lot of telling, no show. The acting in terms of the Asgard realm was pretty solid. Tom Hiddleston as Loki was the true standout in my mind. Chris Hemmsworth a close second as Thor. Anthony Hopkins had a decent role in my mind, sort of upstaged at times in my opinion. Idris Elba was very solid. Rene Russo had a throwaway role. Now to the earth’s aspects of acting….. Portman did not look like an Oscar winner. Stellan Skarsgard was at about 10% of his Good Will Hunting level. Kat Dennings was good comic relief at times. Clark Gregg I think is great as Agent Coulson, the character has really grown on me since Iron Man. Good use of revealing Renner’s character, they did really well not to overdo it and upstage the film.
The biggest problem I have with the film is the stupid sideways angle that they used way too much. Sure certain aspects benefited from it but mostly it was annoying. The director, Kenneth Branagh should stick to Shakespearean films like his earlier Much Ado About Nothing. The special effects were really entertaining, some of the best in recent memory. Also I think this film would’ve worked great in regular format, I think 3D was neat in some scenes but mostly over excessive. Great extra scene at the end. Fun flick.
6/10
by pat
Minority Report
I’m blown away and speechless. The latter third of this film is a thrill ride…. honestly can’t say I’ve been this blown back by a film since Inception or Shutter Island. This film could of had so many fatal flaws but everything worked out perfectly. Tom Cruise was a great choice for this lead role. Interesting that he worked on this right after Vanilla Sky because in a way there are a lot of similarities between the two. This totally felt like a Spielberg film but in a good way. Amazing sense of direction. Solid writing all around. Collin Farrel was great in his supporting role as was Max von Sydow. Damn.
9/10
Source Code
I had no real hype heading up to this film. I thought it was just going to be an average flick. I was proven wrong. Duncan Jones did not incur a sophomore slump. What I found very interesting about this film was that it sprung you right into the action. This could of easily been 20 minutes longer if they had explained the whole process of “Source Code” in the beginning. It would of lost some of it’s touch if it had done that. Jake Gyllenhaal awakes in a train and is very distraught. After several minutes of antics trying to find his bearings the train blows up.
He is then awoken again in some sort of capsule. He is instructed by the wonderfully talented Vera Farmiga that he is on a mission and needs to find the bomb. He instantly doesn’t believe her and thinks he’s being messed with. It takes another dose of “reality” for it to finally sink in to him. He must find the bomb. During his many attempts he begins to develop a close relationship with Michelle Monagnhan.
SPOILERS: The similarities between this and Duncan’s “Moon” are amazing. The whole ride home all I could do was connect the dots between the two. Colter Stevens and Sam Bell are very similar characters. Each are representations of their former selves. Colter being half a man with only his brain representing himself and Sam Bell a clone. Each struggle with a love they know they cannot really have. Colter starts to fall for Christina (Monaghan) and Sam is in love with his “wife” Both in reality are dead; Christina from the train wreck and Sam Bell’s wife from time. Colter and Sam both realize they need to take on the responsibility that has been brought upon them and change the world for the better. Colter’s responsibility to ultimately catch the terrorist and prevent the explosion and further attacks from happening, and Sam exposing Lunar Industries sadistic ways of employing clones. They sacrifice their lives for this as well. Colter knows that he is going to die after his final source code and accepts it. One of the clones of Sam Bell must sacrifice his life as well to cover up the incident on the Moon. They are true heroes.
END SPOILERS
This film can be a bit confusing, especially at the end. But it is what it is. I’m satisfied with the ending althought I think it requires a second viewing to fully understand it. Plain and simple, Source Code is a more audience/marketable friendly version of Moon. Although I still prefer Moon, Source Code is not that bad at all. It is definitely worth the money to catch it in theaters. Kudos to Ben Ripley for this screenplay, his first big league taste at films.
Rating: 8/10
Youth In Revolt
I really did not expect myself to like this film as much as I did. I like Cera as much as the next person but assumed his character would be the one dimensional awkward teenager he always plays. His role as Nick Twisp was so much more than that. As a lonely troubled teenager he has barely any connections to another soul. Through chance he meets and connects with a girl named Sheeni. Instantly he falls in love with her. Through great yet weirdly worded dialogue a wonderful story is told. Nick will break bad for once in his life to save the only connection he has. Great cast of actors alongside Cera as well; Buscemi, Liotta, Justin Long, Fred Willard and Galifianakis. This film had me cracking up the whole time. Definitely one of the better surprises of the last few years.
8.5/10
reviewed by Phat jesus aka pat
Wag the Dog (Barry Levinson, 1997)
Wag the Dog tells the story of Robert DeNiro, aide to the president, as he tries his utmost best to keep his employer in the Oval Office. He does so by creating the most deceitful stories you will ever hear. Dustin Hoffman is the Hollywood producer assisting him. Barry Levinson directs the film with his usual precision - best seen in Sleepers or What Just Happened? The film is basically a satire on the media and how the public will believe everything they hear.
The film is awesome on a whole other level. The levels of deceit are absolutely fucking ridiculous. But the beauty of how the public eats every lie up is just incredible and it really makes you think about what we’re told every day by our TV sets is real and what’s not. DeNiro is absolutely immense, his performance is unbelievable - he delivers his lines perfectly. Hoffman is typically Dustin - which is divine. The addition of Harrelson is hilarious. The final scenes had me bawling with laughter. Great film. So good.
Final Rating: 9/10
The Town (Ben Affleck) SPOILERS AHEAD.
This movie shocked me. I took Ben Affleck as a beefhead before I saw this and I was an idiot for doing so. I wasn’t bored during any part of this film. It takes place in Boston and its about this guy named Doug (Affleck) and his 3 friends rob a bank nearly killing a woman who infact falls in love with him and he hides all of this from her until she finds out, scared to death to see him again. A tale filled with twists and turns and some of the most crazy gunfights I’ve ever seen. Pay attention after they rob the last bank if you watch this. Ben Affleck does one of the most badass things I’ve seen in a while. Great film.
Forest’s score: 8/10
Equilibrium (Kurt Wimmer, 2002)
Pretty sweet action movie with a pulse, unlike most of the shit that’s churned out these days. Wimmer’s direction is good and the choreography is excellent - a few slow motion scenes give away the reality of the action but it doesn’t let down the scenes as a whole. Christian Bale delivers another of his great performances - his transformation from emotionless governmental instrument into a man in search of justice is brilliant and as I said before it’s just another of his great performances. Some of the supporting cast aren’t exactly sensational but Bale carries the whole film perfectly. Some parts of the screenplay felt rather like Fahrenheit 451 - what with the burning of books etc., aswell as the similarities between both the main character of that and Bale’s character. Regardless, the screenplay still holds up on it’s own.
Final rating - A great action thriller with some exquisite action scenes.
- 9/10.
