The World's End reviewed

Image courtesy of Focus Features/ NBC Universal

     With The World's End hitting theaters yesterday, we are looking at the last of the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy movies, with Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz being the first two released.  Just what sort of trilogy is this? one may ask.  By the power of Grayskull, it is a trilogy of Cornetto ice cream flavors.  Really.  A different flavor appeared in each of the three movies.

     Don't go looking for anything deeper that connects these movies together, other than the stellar cast that has continued to entertain us with their wit and antics for almost the past decade.  Does The World's End follow suit?  You bet it does, so let's dive right into it.

     Written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright and directed by Wright, The World's End has a story that, somehow, is more over the top than either of the ones that came before it.  Sure, a lot of us can relate to getting out of high school and expecting some great times that summer.  Those of us with a few more years of living even know what it is like in our mid-lives to want to get some of the old crew together for another chance to relive the so-called glory days.  And most of us are very familiar with the wonderful thought of dropping a pint... or 12... while pulling ourselves around a pub crawl.

     The manner in which Wright and Pegg tell the story is what really puts it out there, though. What we might consider "living", or moving ourselves through the usual rote, mundane daily chores and habits of our lives, is brought to vivid life by the very adolescent needs of the very grown-up Gary King (Pegg).

     As usual, I really try to steer away from spoilers, but the gist of the plot surrounds Gary wrangling up his four best buddies from high school days and going out for a pub crawl roughly 20 years later.  Along the way, we meet up with Argus Filch (not really, but it is David Bradley playing a crotchety old man.  Wait, that sounds just like Walder Frey from Game of Thrones.  But we won't typecast him.) and Rosamund Pike (Jack Reacher, Die Another Day) playing the sister of one of our motley bunch.

     There is a constant battle going against King, because he just won't grow up and be what everyone else thinks he should be.  They are all just one great big hilarious mess, and that about sums up Wright and Pegg's portrait of humanity in this movie:  a mess.  Imperfect.  Contradictory.  Imbalanced.  And most importantly, possessing a vitality that demonstrates why the human race plans on sticking around this Spaceship Earth for quite some time to follow.

     A great soundtrack is woven through the movie and compliments every scene the songs accompany.  I thought the Doors Alabama Song (Whiskey Jar) was a standout inclusion, as was Silver Bullet's 20 Seconds to Comply.  I'm Free by the Soup Dragons makes an entertaining on-going joke throughout, as well.

     The humor is masterfully woven into the dialogue with minimal slapstick, and I'm afraid I probably missed even more to laugh at, as it was coming from all directions.  At the heart of all of this humor is really the dynamic between Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, though.  Their ability to play off each other has been instrumental in the success of all three Edgar Wright films, and their own movie Paul.  In The World's End, this camaraderie is extended to the likes of Martin Freeman (The Hobbit, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), Eddie Marsan (Jack the Giant Slayer, Sherlock Holmes), and Paddy Considine (Hot Fuzz, The Bourne Ultimatum).  Freeman is far more Arthur Dent than Bilbo Baggins here.  I'm not used to seeing Marsan in a comedic role and I think he really gives one of the better performances.  Considine gets a far bigger role than just being one of the Andys in this one.

     As the premise was laid out, I felt the first five to ten minutes were slightly slower than I was anticipating, but after that, there was no stopping them.  In retrospect, Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead took a few moments at the very start to establish the ideas, also.

     If I am going to pick a favorite, it is probably Hot Fuzz, closely followed by The World's End and Shaun of the Dead (they are within hundredths of a point).  If you enjoy a cleverly written movie with drinking and great friendships on display, and an inclusion of action and some crazy antics, then look no further and go out to see The World's End.  I'm glad I did.  I'm giving it:       8.8 out of 10

 

Elysium reviewed

Image courtesy of TriStar Pictures

     I was a big fan of Neill Blomkamp’s District 9.  So was Peter Jackson (producer), so I feel I’m in decent, qualified company.  His gritty, realistic sci-fi cinematography combined with usually seamless and immersive CGI/ special effects makes for a fantastic medium to deliver his vision of the story.  Complimenting the visuals is the depth of humanity that Blomkamp manages to convey in the characters he is putting into these scenes.  Whether it is Sharlto Copley’s Wickus Van De Merwe in District 9 or Matt Damon’s Max in Elysium, we are watching real people in challenging, emotionally-charged interactions throughout the movie.

     There is no time wasted prior to establishing the parallels of the modern day divide between the haves and the have-nots, and Blomkamp’s desolate Earth packed with the 99% while the 1% crowd enjoys all the perks of the space station Elysium, which includes the sort of all-encompassing healthcare that can do anything for you.  Provided you are part of the 1%.

     Elysium security is headed up by Jessica Delacourt (Jodi Foster), carrying a slightly maniacal, do-what-it-takes attitude wherever she goes—butting heads with the president, issuing covert commands, and ultimately looking out for no one but herself.  I really felt her character could have just made Jack Nicholson’s speech from A Few Good Men and it wouldn’t have seemed out of place.  You know the speech I mean… the one where Maverick couldn’t handle the truth.

     Far better, I thought, is Copley’s turn as Kruger.  A psychotic agent working for Delacourt stationed down on Earth.  Kruger’s mind breaks even further as the movie continues and Max (Damon) attempts to make a risky trip from Earth to Elysium.

     How does Max’s journey go? Well, you’ll just need to go watch Elysium if you want to know.  It is the movie, and I don’t like putting spoilers down.

     Other notable thoughts were that I neither liked nor disliked the score.  Ryan Amon now has one movie under his belt for Composer, so it will be interesting to see if he sticks in this genre, if Blomkamp uses him again, or if he goes a different direction entirely.

     It is always entertaining to see a “future” movie’s choice of product placement, too.  Apparently GMC is still around in the year 2154.  So is Homeland Security—I bet you are all feeling safer now.  Bugatti and Nissan find homes as well.  I know there were more, but I don’t remember them.  They didn’t feel out of place, though.  I was curious enough about this, so looked things up on Blomkamp’s choices.  Apparently there were some pretty conscious thoughts going into it, and I would suggest doing a search to see why he made his choices.

     I really enjoyed this movie, and like many sci-fi features, I would recommend catching it on the big screen.  I’m giving this:   8.5 out of 10

The Wolverine reviewed

    

Image courtesy of 20th Century Fox and Marvel

As a long-time fan of Logan/ Wolverine, I enjoyed watching the first outing of Hugh Jackman as the titular character in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine.  With that being said, I think they could have done a much better job for his origin or “first” story arc.  I feel character development surrounding the angst of Logan and his mutation was weak, Liev Schreiber played a passable Victor Creed, and Ryan Reynolds gave a decent enough performance as the maniac Deadpool to warrant discussion of a standalone movie for him.  Toss in some of Wolverine’s history working in Canada and his love interest (Silverfox, played by Lynn Collins), and now you have the makings of a busy, over-reaching mess.  Sure it was action packed, but is that what fans of Wolverine really wanted?  Probably not, as is evidenced by the strong support and turnout for Jackman’s new movie as Logan… The Wolverine.

     The Wolverine has successfully remedied most of the aforementioned issues that its predecessor suffered from.  Taking the general plot from Chris Claremont’s Wolverine mini-series (1982), we get a glimpse into Logan’s time he spent in Japan away from the X-Men.  While there, he learns to deal with his seeming immortality, manages to fall in love with someone other than Jean Grey (Mariko Yashida played by Tao Okamoto), and battles for his (and others) lives with the help of Yukio (Rila Fukushima) against the scheming Yashida clan.  Included in those battles are our first glimpse of Viper and the Silver Samurai (although I don’t think he is ever referenced as such).

     As far as I’m concerned, this is much closer to a character driven story than it is a comic book action flick.  There is plenty of action, but the interactions between Logan, Mariko, and Yukio are emotionally-driven, and I think that really helps tell this story.  When we get to an action sequence, it moves the story along between the characters as a useful accoutrement, rather than serving as nothing more than a simple, visual adrenaline rush .We learn more about who Logan really is in a few conversations—something that the first movie wasn’t really able to do in two hours.  Viper (Svetlana Khodchenkova) didn’t really work for me as a villain choice, and what director James Mangold (Walk the Line, 3:10 to Yuma) felt he needed to show us includes a little over-the-top comic book action (I think there was just no escaping a bit of that).  Marco Beltrami provides a great soundtrack blending classically Japanese compositions with well-placed, action-ready pieces that compliment the scene, rather than overpower and force the feeling on you.

     If a third Wolverine movie could be written and directed as well as The Wolverine, I would definitely not look at it as a “trilogy” money-grab.  It would be a welcome addition to the cinematic story of one of the more complex characters in the world of superheroes.  I’m giving this:     8.0 out of 10

The Lone Ranger reviewed

Image courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

     If you've heard about The Lone Ranger at all, then it was probably nothing very flattering.  It's been critically panned by almost anyone who isn't your everyday movie-going audience.  You know.... the people that movies are actually made for.  The average person shelling out $8.38 for a ticket (National Association of Theater Owners) has enjoyed it for the most part.

     That's me, in case you haven't noticed from my past reviews.  Just an average movie-going guy, shelling out his cash and possibly sneaking in a box of $1 candy from Walmart.  So, here's what I thought of it:  It was a fun movie to watch, probably due to the amount of levity that followed John Reid, a.k.a. the Lone Ranger (played by Armie Hammer) and Tonto (played by Johnny Depp and brought to his usual levels of character eccentricity) throughout Texas.

     I'll be upfront about the amount of levity.  This movie felt all over the place, seeming to struggle to find its own identity.  It was a western, an action and adventure, a comedy, a little romance, and even a little mystery.  All rolled into one movie.  This didn't really bother me.  There was enough to like about all the different parts to find it enjoyable.  I do think Gore Verbinski should have spent a little more directorial effort in focusing on a more singular identity.  In that regard, I feel he had a much stronger performance in how he shot Pirates of the Caribbean.

     I remember watching Lone Ranger reruns in the eighties on some independent TV station (I imagine) out of Rockford, probably with my brother Matt and Dad; these are mostly just bits and pieces of memory, like him using silver bullets, never ever taking the mask off, going after the bad guy Cavendish, and not being in the business of killing anyone-- just bringing justice to their crimes.  The 2013 version stays fairly true to all of that.

     You'll want to keep in mind that like Man of Steel, this too is an origin story.  From the arrival of John Reid into Texas, through the events that spark him to don the mask, to his friendship with Tonto, we see it all again for the first time.

     I found some of the more enjoyable acting to come out of William Fichtner (Elysium, Prison Break, Entourage) and Tom Wilkinson (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Michael Clayton).  As the villains of our story, I thought they brought a some variety to their characters that fleshed them out more than the Lone Ranger.

     Hans Zimmer once again provides a movie with a well-composed score, and makes sure to tuck in Rossini's William Tell Overture, a Lone Ranger staple.

     I think it all works.  Will it continue to work?  Will this become a new, big Disney franchise?  Probably not, as the numbers at the box office have spoken.  Focus will be shifted to Pirates of the Caribbean 5 (I don't think there is a title yet) and The Lone Ranger will be left (ironically) alone, with the studio scratching their heads as to what went wrong.  I'm glad I saw it in the theater.  I'm giving it:      7 out of 10