Rio

Yet again I'm a little behind schedule getting my post up, I have a couple of excuses, first of all work's been a bit exhausting this week, plus the Stanley Cup Playoffs [GO CANUCKS GO!]have been diverting a lot of my attention these days, however, I think the main excuse when it comes to the review for this particular movie is that just wasn't that great, so I don't have that much to say.

I didn't hate it, but I most certainly didn't love it. As I've previously mentioned I'm actually a huge fan of animation, and I really thought that 'Rio' would be a good one, but I was disappointed. It certainly had it's moments, the colours are gorgeous, and the carnivale scenes are pretty fantastic. Jesse Eisenberg is adorable as a neurotic macaw and Jemaine Dupuis [from 'Flight of the Conchords' which is awesome] was hilarious as the evil cockatoo, but other than that the movie was just kind of blah.

I went to the movie on Easter Monday, and I have to admit, I forgot it was a holiday. I was promptly reminded when I got into the theatre, that was packed with kids and their parents. And as the movie went on I started to feel bad for those parents. Sure, I paid to be there, and to see it in my old nemesis, 3D, but I don't ever buy snacks at the theatre, so my expenses are down to just the ridiculous $15.5o to get in. However, the poor parents around me had to pay for not only themselves, but also their munchkins [again, for the terribly overpriced 3D]. And all of the kids around me had those snack packs, I'm not sure how much those are running these days, but I'm sure it's not cheap. And after shelling out the big bucks they had to sit through a movie that didn't offer anything for them. I've found in the past that watching kids movies with kids in the audience often improves the watching experience, they laugh at silly things and really get into it, which helps me get into it. Not this time. There were a few '3D moments' that they 'oohed' at, but that was about it, even the kids weren't really into it, which lead to me just being a bit bored.

I really don't like putting out bad vibes for movies, especially animated ones, but I was really hoping for more from 'Rio', and was sorely disappointed. I also have to admit that we seem to be sitting in a little movie lull here. I honestly have no clue what I'm going to see on Monday. I'm not really excited about anything that's in theatres right now. The awards season movies are all gone and the summer blockbuster season doesn't start until 'Thor' comes out on May 6th [which I'm super psyched for]. Sure, 'Fast Five' came out this week. I'm sure anyone who's perused this blog before will remember my absolute astonishment that yet another movie is being made in this franchise. Let me just add that both Rotten Tomatoes and Entertainment Weekly, have given this movie favourable reviews, I expect to see pigs flying past my window any minute now. These are both places I usually check to see if a movie is worth seeing if I'm still on the fence, they have let me down. So, no, I won't be seeing 'Fast Five' on Monday, if anyone has any suggestions, bring em' on!

Sprite Suicide, or Why I Hate Commercials

For the first time since I started my blog in January I missed my matinee, but that doesn't mean I lack things to say. Far from it actually, I've been wanting to do a post about this particular blight to cinema for a while but just haven't gotten around to it.

Last week when I went to see 'Hanna' [which was great] I had to sit through eleven, that's right ELEVEN! commercials before I got to see the movie. Now I understand that we're still in a time of economic recovery and all that, but do theatres really need that much corporate sponsorship? Movies aren't cheap to make or distribute, I really do get that, but why does that mean I have to be forced to sit through multiple car, pop and bank commercials before I even get to see the trailers?! I can understand maybe three or four commercials, that's normally about how many trailers there are before movies, so sure, let's make it equal. Having to endure a minimum of 10 minutes of commercials before I get to see my movie does not only make me not want to be a patron of these products but also makes me want to search out a commercial-free theatre, if such a thing exists, or even do something I can barely contemplate, arrive late to a movie on purpose, I hate those people even more...but I digress, that's a blog for another day.

Moving on from the quantity of commercials, I want to focus on one alone. The worst one. The one I hate most of all. Let me paint you a picture. It's a scorching hot day, and two groups of sweaty guys are standing around and playing hoops across a parched playground. Two of these guys look at each other and then suddenly take a run at each other. As they come together they jump in to the air, collide...and burst into water? Apparently this looks like fun and couple more guys run in to each other. All their friends bask in their water, feeling refreshed. WHAT THE HELL!? Am I the only one who doesn't see the connection between these guys essentially committing suicide and refreshment? 'Yay! My thirst is quenched! Hey Johnny, aren't you feeling re- Oh. Right.' Blech, this thing infuriates me. I sure hope Sprite rethinks it's advertising campaign, not that I would switch from Ginger Ale to them for my non-cola beverages anyway, but still.

That's all for now, see you next Monday!

Hanna

I'll admit it, I've been at a bit of a loss at how exactly to review 'Hanna'. [and it doesn't help that the Stanley Cup Playoffs have been doing their best to distract me] There's a lot going on in this movie, and I really feel that words can't particularly describe it. Director Joe Wright [Pride & Prejudice, Atonement] whets his action chops with his usual visual style and fantastic cast.

The movie centres around teenaged Hanna, who has spent her life being trained to be the perfect assassin by her father[Eric Bana]; who then puts those incredible skills on display as she searches for revenge against the woman who killed her mother [Cate Blanchett]

Saoirse Ronan [pronouced seer-sha] is angelic in looks but fights like Jason Bourne, as Hanna, taking out men [with guns] three times her size. The fights are crisply choreographed, Hanna is an extremely efficient killer, not expending any extra energy. She also manages to capture the wonder of a girl who is seeing the world for the first time. Her wide blue eyes take in everything both assessing danger and appreciating the beauty at the same time.

The visuals of this movie are fantastic, going from the blinding white of the Northern forest where Hanna was raised to the scorching red desert in Morocco where she ends up after killing her way out of a holding cell. You get the feeling that nothing that is captured on film was there by accident. Wright also has a fondness for long one shots. There are two fine examples in this movie. One follows Hanna's father Erik outside a train station and down underground, all in one steadycam shot. There aren't a lot of things that bring out the extreme film nerd in me, but that type of shot certainly is one of them. The second occurs amid massive containers on a dock, that also bring to light the absolutely fabulous sound design of this movie. The music following the camera and accentuating characters and their actions.

A little more about the sound design. It's one of those things I think gets ignored by audiences because they don't know what it is. If you want to find out, watch 'Hanna'. The music is very unique, [it was scored by the elusive Chemical Brothers] and sometimes hides in the background, but often an essential part of the action.

This film was unique and well done, and actually has an interesting Vancouver connection. The idea for the story comes from Seth Lochhead, a Nanaimo native who attended the Vancouver Film School. If 'Hanna' is any indication of the type of movies he's going to write, I certainly hope he has some more up his sleeve.

Until next time....GO CANUCKS GO! Sorry. Couldn't help it.

Source Code

'Source Code' is odd. But a good odd, an odd that I actually really appreciate in this day and age where it seems like at least 60% of the movies that are released are re-makes, re-interpretations or out and out sequels. While there are little bits of different stories (particularly 'Grounhog Day' with hints of 'Inception') this story feels new and unique, and on top of all that it's very well done.

I think what I appreciate most about this movie is that it doesn't pander to the lowest common denominator; it assumes that its' audience is intelligent enough to comprehend it's vaguely complicated plot. Understanding how Capt. Colter Stevens [Jake Gyllenhaal] is reliving the last 8 minutes is reliving another man's life is not as important as understanding the whys and hows of his task. We're given a scientific explanation by the head of the Source Code program [Jeffrey Wright] that includes a little biology and some quantum physics, with a little parallel universe thrown in, but honestly, I really feel that it's all secondary, although it was a nice touch to have Colter throw the explanation back, showing he gets it and that he isn't just some dumb soldier. This might be a plot that wouldn't have worked 4 or 5 years ago, but with a movie-going audience familiar with TV shows like 'Lost' and 'Fringe' and movies like 'Inception' there's no need explain the science too much and let us just get on with the action.

While there is plenty of action in 'Source Code' it also, surprisingly, has its fair share of comedic moments.[with a fair few provided by Canadian funnyman Russell Peteres!] The first few times he goes through the last 8 minutes of teacher Sean Fentriss' life are fairly funny. [this was the moment that mostly reminded me of 'Groundhog Day'] At first he's just surprised and then he thinks it's a simulation, which causes him to act like a bit of a fool. Being in a pretty empty theatre and laughing as he tries to convince his fellow travelers that they're not real made me feel foolish myself, but that's the way matinees are sometimes. But as he finally realises that all the people, especially the lovely Christine who sits across from him, on this train are indeed real and actually now deceased he starts to take his task seriously. His task is to find a bomb and then the bomber that is on the doomed train, to stop a second bomb from going off later on in the day, not an easy task to do in 8 minutes. However, after many attempts and dying in an explosion over and over again finding the bomber seems almost anticlimactic.

The real test comes as Colter decides that he needs to save the people on the train-even if they're already dead. I found the end to be pretty cut and dry, but I've heard from a few people who saw 'Source Code' and say that it sparked some debates, always a good sign in my books.

On top of a great story this movie was excellently acted by all. Gyllenhaal is always strong in my eyes, whether it's in indie flicks or big blockbusters. The ladies of the film, Michelle Monaghan and Vera Farigma are also wonderful, both shine in very different ways opposite their strong leading man. I've been a Farigma fan since she was in the little watched, Hallmark produced, Snow White [I have an extreme weakness for Hallmark miniseries] and more recently in 'The Departed' and 'Up in the Air'. She's no less fantastic in this film, although it was nice the see a more vulnerable performance from her.

To finish up I'd like to say that I'd like to see more movies like this, and I hope that other studios take note that maybe it's time to be more original. One last thing, there are a bunch of movies that I'm looking forward to seeing coming out on Friday, and I'd love a little help deciding which one I should see on Monday, so vote on that poll up on the right!

March Trailer Wrap Up

Welcome to the March Trailer Wrap Up! I'm sure you've all been waiting with bated breath to see how long it would take me to get this sucker out! No 16 days late this month!! Last month I had a friend say that she had to go and track down all the trailers that I mentioned but didn't include on the original post! My bad! This time around I'm including even more trailers AND links to all the ones that I don't post here. Now onto this months trailers!

First for February was the 'The Adjustment Bureau'. Unsurprisingly all the trailers attached to this flick were potential blockbusters that are on their way. First there was Transformers 3. Now, I'm not really sure why they've gone ahead and made another Transformers movie, but I'm pretty excited that there's no Megan Fox in this one. I may let myself down and see this one in theatres. There's just something about seeing this type of movie on the big screen, they're so loud and full of explosions that just can't quite be equalled on a home theatre system. Then there's Source Code, when I saw the trailer I hadn't heard of the movie and thought it looked pretty interesting, now I'm thinking it might in fact be the movie I see tomorrow. I'm a Jake Gyllenhaal fan anyways, and a well told sci-fi-ish drama is always good in my books. Then came Fast Five. When the trailer first started, I thought to myself, 'Mmm, this looks interesting.' Then I heard Vin Diesel's voice, and I thought 'Oh no, they didn't, did they?' And then I saw Paul Walker running and I knew, for some, inexplicable reason, yet another addition to the Fast and the Furious franchise was on our hands. And this time Dwayne The Rock Johnson's joined the cast, cue exasperated eye roll from this girl. I haven't seen one since 2 and I won't be seeing this one either. Last but most certainly not least was the trailer for Paul, and I think we all know how I feel about that, see previous post here. It sure made up for having to watch the 'Fast Five' trailer.

Next up was 'Rango'. And I have to admit I was super psyched for the trailers for this one, kids movies are so much fun! However the first trailer was for Born to Be Wild and it doesn't look so much like fun, but educational and heart warming and not something I generally see in threatres. BUT it does have the wonderful voice of Morgan Freeman to make my ears happy.

Then there was the Zookeeper. Kevin James in what appears to be a Doctor Dolittle/Night at the Museum crossover. Pass. I was getting a little concerned that I wasn't going to like any of the trailers I saw but I was finally saved when the preview for 'Rio' started. This looks like another well done flick from the folks who made 'Ice Age', they've replace the ice and snow with the beaches and bright colours of Rio... and a macaw voiced by 'The Social Network's Jesse Eisenberg. I'm totally there.

Then from our friends who have now made four, count 'em four, 'Shrek' movies and still can't seem to give up the franchise comes Puss in Boots. Thank goodness, I don't think I could take a Donkey movie. Antonio Banderas is great as this character, but I'm just not sure if it needs it's own movie. I'll reserve judgment until I start to hear the reviews, but the trailer's pretty cute.

My final animated trailer comes from a movie I already know I'm going to see, Kung Fu Panda. I wasn't sure about the first one, since Jack Black's so hit and miss, and it ended up being hilarious, and this one looks like it won't disappoint!

When I finally saw 'Paul' after waiting so long to see I was actually pretty curious to see what previews would be attached to it. They certainly did not disappoint, I'm looking forward to seeing all four of them later this year. I think I mentioned in the February trailer post that I'm really looking forward to X-Men: First Class, even though Marvel has a way of letting me down with characters that I love. Also James MacAvoy is awesome, and I hadn't seen 'Jane Eyre' yet, but Michael Fassbender who played Rochester stars opposite MacAvoy's Charles Xavier as Erik Lehnsherr, the man who would be Magneto, which makes me even more excited! Next up was 'Arthur'. I know that Russell Brand is a little odd, and not everyone 'gets' him, but I personally think he's a comic genius. He stole every scene he was in in 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' and now he gets to carry a movie on his in this one, sharing the screen with the always wonderful Helen Mirren. I know it's a remake of the Dudley Moore version, a version I haven't seen, but I don't know if I'll even bother, I don't know if I'll want the running comparison going on in my head while I watch the new one.

Then I got to see another trailer for Bridesmaids. As previously stated, I'm all over this one. Judd Apatow, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph. Yes, yes and yes. The final trailer before I finally got to see 'Paul' was for 'Your Highness'. I'm aware that it looks silly, and is trying to appeal to the men 18-35 demographic, however, I think it looks funny and I'm looking forward to see if Natalie Portman can pull off an outright comedy to follow up her Oscar win, and if James Franco can redeem himself for his not-so-hot Oscar hosting.

I was actually surprised by the trailers I saw when I went to see 'The Butcher the Chef and the Swordsman'. I figured seeing as it was a foreign movie there would be foreign trailers attached to it. Not so much, I had to sit through another reminder that 'Fast Five' is actually coming to theatres, blech. I got to see the 'Bridesmaids' and 'Kung Fu Panda 2' trailers again and then there was finally a trailer for Snowflower and the Secret Fan, it looks like beautiful cross-generational film about friendship. When I look back at the previews here I have to think that the theatre didn't know what type of person would be watching 'The Butcher, the Chef and the Swordsman,' so they attached one trailer for each general demographic, including kids...which is weird, 'cause this wasn't a kid movie at all.

My final movie for March was 'Jane Eyre'. And I finally saw some trailers that I hadn't seen yet. First was the new Brad Pitt/Sean Penn movie 'The Tree of Life'. Visually, it looks really amazing, but I honestly have no idea what the movie's about after watching the trailer. Watch it, let me know if you figure it out. But I guess it does make me curious to see the movie, so I guess the trailer worked.

Then I got to see a preview for the Golden Globe and Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film, 'In a Better World'. This Danish film looks like it's right up my alley and I'll have to keep and eye out to see if it actually comes to town.

Next up was 'The Conspirator'. It follows the trial of the only woman co-conspirator in the Lincoln assination, starring James MacAvoy [someone's having a busy summer!] and Robin Wright. It looks pretty darn good, even though I'm generally a fan of American flag waving flicks. It's going on my ever growing list of movies to see this year.

My final March trailer was Miral. It's also politically charged, but this time it's the Middle East, not post Civil War America. However, it looks like it will be quite good, and I think it's received some positive attention at the festivals it's been screened at this year. Another for me too see? Probably. With all the good movies coming out this year, I don't know how I'm going to have the time or the money to see them all, let alone the energy to write a blog post about all of them! I think some time management might be in future!

Until tomorrow [or more likely, Tuesday] have a good one and watch some trailers!