TopCorn

Lucas drops a bomb with "Red Tails"

2012-01-30T14:29:00.000-08:00

Red Tails @ Fox Little Theatre 2

The Movie: 1 of Five Kernels

This Tuskegee airmen retread wastes the talents of a greatcast of black actors in service to a script that would’ve felt corny duringWWII.

The Pop: N/A

The Film

Diminshedreturns, it’s the best way to describe George Lucas’s film career. His firstfeature film THX-1138 adapted from his very ambiguous short, showed a stylishvision of a dystopic future in a progressive cinematic language. After it bomedat the box office Lucas mined his childhood for warm feelings which gave himthe clout to make Star Wars. Now I like Star Wars, but while its ambitious inits technical scope, its storytelling is rote, solid, but rote. After thatLucas wisely stepped away from the directors chair and the writers quill and heserved as an enabler. He facilitated grand visions, that were fleshed out bysuperior story tellers. Unfortunatley Lucas hasn’t been content to remain aproducer and we end up with films whos lofty ambitions are dashed by a lack of prowess.

Thetale of the Tuskegee Airmen, the only black pilots in WW II, is a sad epicdeserving big screen treatment. Originally it was envisioned by Lucas as apotential trilogy, but he ended up focusing on this single film to encapsulatethe vaunted group of pilots who defended a nation who treated them like secondclass citizens. HBO several years ago made a great film which barely coveredthe actually aerial combat aspects, but focused on the social issues back inAmerica. Lucas argued that studios balked at financing a film of this scope withan all black cast, I admit that global markets definitely do not react as wellto black casts, but the career of Tyler Perry testifies to the fact that thereis definitely a market for those kind of films. The real mis-step though is atthe script level. The corny script pervades the rest of the film and sucks thelife out of it.

Thestory revolves mainly around two pilots and two officers all of them strugglingwith being black in a white man’s army. The officers are trying to secure thepilots better assignments, higher value targets. The pilots are busy chasingafter any glory they can find in front of their gun scopes, while strugglingwith alcoholism, and love on the ground. There are also some other pilots and amechanic who have a fair amount of banter, but could’ve easily been named comedicsidekick 1 & 2 or cannon fodder. There is also the one pilot (Michael from “TheWire”) who ends up basically in Billy Wilders Stalag 17. These pilots though prove themselves in the air enoughto earn a mission protecting bombers. Their mission is to stay with the bombersand make sure they’re safe, because the Nazi’s (George Lucas’s mortal enemies)have been sending in diversionary planes to draw the fighters off and attackthe slow moving bombers. The airmen do great at their new mission and earn therespect of their white counterparts. Now though the Germans have JET POWER, andthe airmen have to do the best they can do in their older, slower planes to winthe war.

Atits core if you carve out a ton of the trite bullshit forced into the script,it’s a solid story about black pilots succeeding where their white counterpartsfailed. About overcoming not just racism but feelings of inferiority, and howit would shape the future of the civil rights movement. It hits a great laundrylist of issues, but it never manages to make you care about any of it.

Thefilms cast is great, there are several young actors from “The Wire” as pilots,Bubbles is the mechanic, the two leads deliver solid performances as well.Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding Jr as the officers both seem to be half asleepthrough their performances, maybe aware of how shitty the a script they’reworking on. The actors do their best, and their rapport works well enough tokeep you vaguely interested, but as the film gets more and more convolutednothing can save it from irrelevance.

Theone place the film does soar is its aerial combat. It should come as nosurprise that the magicians at ILM did a great job at bring to life WWII dog-fights.The company was ostensibly created to recreate WWII dog fights as spacebattles, so they’ve ironically returned to recreating the original materialwith much more high tech toys. That being said I’m a big fan of aerial combat,I will happily watch documentaries with crude recreations of dog fights, but Icared so little about the consequences or the fate of the characters that thefootage was less than thrilling. Also, the editing of the sequences leftsomething to be desired. Oddly enough if you look at the recent Aviator and Flyboys you’ll see far superior aerial sequences.

Flyboys, is important in my view tobring up. It’s a recent film about aviators in a world war that while alsostymied by a mediocre script ended up being MUCH better then Red Tails. Both were films that studiosdidn’t want to finance and both could’ve been better. It’s odd though to hearLucas play the race card when a similar film, with similar themes and a similaridea can’t get financed either. However when Flyboys failed to fly, no one blamed the audiences for beingracist, nor did anyone decry the quality of the film, it wasn’t praised orpanned really. The built it audience for these films though is razor thin, andto expand that, you have to bring something special to the table, which Red Tails definitely failed at.

Forall of the films technical prowess is both a help and a hindrance. Sure thescript was corny, but great performances might’ve warmed you up to it. Howeverit’s a lot to ask actor to work around a bad script and bad direction. The filmreeks of green screen and is filled with bad composites. You can tell theactors have no context for their situation, they don’t feel immersed in theaction, and so the audience doesn’t either. That’s one of the lessons Lucasnever cared to learn, actors are the real special effects in a film.

The Pop:

I got to see this at a screening on the Fox Lot, its kind offun to go out there and walk past the building holding the Simpons writers, butalso a bit of a hassle.

Haywire's a knockout.

2012-01-17T21:49:00.000-08:00

Haywire @ LA Film School

The Movie: 4 of 5 Kernels

This action packed romp, keeps the pace sizzling andsurrounds its physically dynamic ingénue with a top flight cast and lets herkick their asses.

The Pop: 4 of 5 Kernels

Harry and David’s dry fruit.

The Film

Anynew Soderberg film is a call for rejoicing, but I especially look forward tohis pulpy flicks. B-movies in most hands get elevated to art house cool underSoderberg’s direction. His range is as impressive for its distinctive stamp asfor its sheer quality. Now with his latest film he’s combining his greatcasting sensibility with his ability to razzle dazzle and proves that he knowshow to create a taut action thriller. Throw in a script by Lem Dobbs to keepthe pieces in place and you get a great ride of a movie.

Thefilm centers on Mallory, a tough as nail spy for hire. A woman, but it’s amistake to think of her as one. Mallory is hired to free a political prisoner,everything goes as planned. However as soon as she gets home she’s begged to goon another assignment by her boss and former lover. She relents and ends upbeing double crossed. Mallorys in the cold alone, she has to find a way to getback to America and get revenge on the people who set her up.

Sothe film does have a solid espionage thriller plot, but it avoids getting toopreachy or complicated. Instead it aims dead center down the middle to keep themission clear and the bad guys quaking. I really appreciate when a film reallyknows what it is and what its trying to do, sure the plot has echoes ofBlackwater and secret armys, and international intrigue, but it knows that’snot why we came to see the movie, we came to watch a hero.

Andwhat a hero do we get to watch. Gina Carrano, an MMA cage fighter, has got thephysical goods and the acting instincts to go along with them. She’s not goingto win an Oscar anytime soon for her riveting peformance, but if she can findmore pieces that highlight her physical attributes and let her build her chopsshe could easily be a rising star. As it is her fight scenes are great roughand tumble throw downs, but the girls got some real moves that take her intothe action, rather then artfully skirting around it. Editing also inevitably saves the day, there are some real“animalistic” moments and reactions from Carrano that show you flashes of a rawtalent waiting to be sculpted.

Totalk about the lead we have to talk about her great supporting cast, a who’swho’s of great actors. Fassbender, McGregor, Douglas, Banderas, even ChanningTatum and Michael Angarano deliver the goods. Each of them give Mallorysomething solid and real to react to and elevate the entire film to somethingworth watching. Watching Mallory terrify, attack and submit the motley crew isworth the price of admission, apparently several of the action scenes were re-shootadditions, but they place the film at the top of its genre for combining solidstory telling with solid fight choreography.

Soderberghas always been a one of a kind filmmaker and now he’s become an even betterpopulist filmmaker, but its great to see him always pushing himself. He’s neverone to rest on his laurels, except for his few sequels each project feels likean evolution a chance for him to tell a new kind of story about a new kind ofcharacter. My only slight qualm might be that Soderberg’s wonderful simplicity,and individuality robbed us of some of the classic tropes of martial arts filmsuch as the “boss” fight and the “karate school” fight, the typical fightswhere the protagonist is most challenged either by the sheer power of heropponent or the sheer size and number of them. Mallory goes through the filmrelatively unscathed, but that’s part of what makes her and the film so cool.

The Corn

I got to see this film at Jeff Goldsmith’s wonderfulscreening series. Its always a good time, but they don’t serve food, I snuck insome dried fruit because I between the hour wait in line, 2 hour movie and hourand a half q&A that’s about a 4-5 hour commitment. The whole dried fruitpieces are quite good, even if they don’t compare to Kirklands.

*Funny side note: the interview after the film was with GinaCarrano the star, she was quite different from her bad ass character, more of agiggly girl, kind of enchanting in her own right, but a bit of a trip to thinkabout when considering the film and a testament to her performance.

You can't escape the Carnage!

2012-01-10T16:06:00.001-08:00

Carnage @ Universal Little theatre 2

The Movie: 4 of 5 Kernels

This claustrophobic collision of two sets of upper classparents shows you what happen when “people stop being nice, and start beingreal”.

The Pop N/A: free screening = no pop corn

The Film:

Thishas been a big year for sophisticated plays adapting to the screen, Carnage, A Dangerous Method (whichChristolph Waltz dropped out of in favor of the former), and War Horse. Each one was taken to thescreen by a great director who started working in the seventies and each oneseems perfectly suited to the man behind the lens. Carnage reflects both Polanski’s interest in putting his charactersin a pressure cooker, and probably reflects some of his own recentclaustrophobia under his recent house arrest. The film traps you with these characters who go off therails, luckily the cast is great, the set design fertile, and the directionassured enough to keep you onboard. At the end of the film you’re eager to getout of the theatre and breathe some fresh air, but you won’t regret the timespent.

Thefilm revolves around two sets of parents, their children got into a fight at apark and they’ve gathered to deal with it like civilized adults. As soon as yousee the four power-house actors on screen though, you know nothing will besimply settled. Each one has an incredible life behind their eyes, they are allsuppressing something, and if they never crossed paths these repressions wouldstay below the surface. However around the touchy subject of children aconflagration is set off that traps these people together, with shiftingalliance and increased lunacy. The results are a delight to watch that makesyou cringe and laugh.

Ofthe plays that have been made into movies this year, this one is the mosttheatrical. Its single location gives few opportunities for characters toescape, to even find a quiet moment to regroup. Instead every opportunity to leave,to separate the rivals is squandered or ruined. In some cases its easy to decrya film for not opening the play up, however Polanski is a master at keeping afilm contained and the play calls for it. It works well, even if by the timethe film is over your eager for escape.

Luckilywhile the film proceeds we are stewarded by an excellent cast. Kate Winslet’s milky beauty as the hypochondriacand put apon housewife is somewhat wasted at times, but she performs admirablyeven in the background of scenes. John C Reilly as the schlubby husband seemsan odd match for Jodie Foster, but he brings the film some much needed levity.Christolph Waltz boorish lawyer cuts through social niceties like a hot knifethrough butter and he does it with such practiced ease. The real scene stealerthough is Jodie Foster’s neurotic dynamo of writer, its great to see her in a piece that gives her a challenge,she’s a powder keg waiting to blow and watching her fall apart on screen is areal treat.

It’seasy to speculate about why Polanski chose this as his next project. Maybe itwas easy to relate to the claustrophobic setting. Maybe he simply wantedsomething that could be shot simply and quickly to get back into the game offilm-making. Either way he took to the material. He nailed the tone and gavethe film an easy free flowing feel. The film is staged wonderfully and the castreally does turn in some great work for him. Also mentions must be made for theset designer, there were pieces of the apartment a mish-mash of art styles thatI couldn’t keep my eyes off of. It really gave the film a great texture.

Igave this film a strong rating, because it’s a well made piece of film making.If you think it’d be your cup of tea then it probably is, not everyone willlove this movie. However if you and your partner are feeling brave, then try aride on this film and see how you feel about each other after.

The Corn:

The downside of free screenings is a lack of concessions inthis case, but the quiet little theatre with its guild audience was a perfectcompliment to the film.

Tin Tin vs Tin Tin

2012-01-03T22:26:00.001-08:00

The Adventures of Tin Tin @ Americana Pacific 18

The Movie: 4 of 5 Kernels

This perfect popcorn movie falls a little short in theempathy department but dazzles with thrills and spills enough to leave yousmiling.

The Pop: 4 of 5 Kernels

Very Buttered, multi-salted popcorn, with jalapeno’s, Lime& Orange Diet coke, plus M&M’s

The Film

Adaptingcan be so difficult, but the results can be sublime. In Tin Tin there is the translation of the globally loved Tin Timcomics into a full fledged American blockbuster. The other adaptation ofSpielberg to the medium of animationwith the wunderkins at WETA backing him up. The latter is more successful thenthe former, that is to say that the film is a technical masterpiece, a greatsynthesis on the motion capture work of Avatar,& Rise of the Planet of the Apes withthe detailed animated world that is just shy of the uncanny valley that lieshome to the recent films of Zemeckis. The downside is that while the script iswhip-smart, clever and filled with a series of great action set pieces, itsprotagonist is very difficult to root for, because he seems to have no realreason to be there. It ends up being a fundamental flaw to the film, but onethat it mostly overcomes through a solid character arc from the sidekick and ofcourse the marvel that is seeing one of the greatest living film makers giventhe keys to a shiny new set of toys. (to liberally mix my metaphors)

Theplot of Tin Tin revolves around the mystery of the Unicorn, a ship sunken in the1600’s. Our protagonist the eponymous Tin Tin buys a model of said ship, and isimmediately approached by two figures each wishing to buy it lest the shipbring him trouble. Tin Tin refuses and brings the ship home, where his dogSnowy accidentally breaks it, loosing a hidden piece of the ship. Tin Tin’sapartment ransacked, the ship taken, but the missing piece is not. Tin Tinfollows the clues from there to track down the mystery and ends up beingabducted and thrown onto a ship. There he meets up with the drunken CaptainHaddock and the two escape their jailers and pursue the mystery of the Unicorntrying to beat the sinister Sakharine to it.

Thereis a bit more to the story in terms of Haddock and Sakharine and theirancestors and a curse, but the basic point is everyone’s looking to solve themystery and find the treasure. The problem arises in that Tin Tin’s motivationis not to recover the treasure for his own personal wealth or some sort ofaltruistic support of a loved one. He’s just a reporter after a story who getsin way over his head and won’t stop chasing the story even as it repeatedlyleads him towards his own doom. Now once he meets Haddock who at least has somestake in the plot the story at least becomes a tad more sympathetic, but stillwhy Tin Tin persists boggles the mind. This wouldn’t be so bad if this were asequel, I’m not saying I need an origin story, but I’ve never read thesecomics. I have no affinity for this character and while he’s not unlikeable,he’s not really that interesting, his dog is, but him, enh, he’s just okay.

The film has been compared to Indiana Jones and thecomparison is even what led Spielberg to secure the rights over 20 years ago.However two main things separate Tin Tin from Jones in this key department ofprotagonist empathy. First of all at the start of most Indy films, Indy iscool, the guys is just awesome. Second of all somebody usually sacrifices theirlife for Indy, we see that other people like him. Third of all Indy is drawn intohis quests by outside forces, the army sends him after the arc and Marion drawshim in deeper, He lands in the middle of India where the children have beenkidnapped, and his father is kidnapped leading him into the heart of Berlin tosave him. He’s a reluctant hero, where Tin Tin is a reporter with zero self-preservationinstinct. It’s a big problem for the film, but I imagine that to fans of thecomics it matters less, they know and love Tin Tin. This reminds me of one ofmy biggest problems with The Passion,Jesus is not painted as a likable or interesting character, he’s a pious sadsack for most of the film and sure I’m not the audience for that film, but itsstill a failure in storytelling.

Okayso that caveat out of the way the rest of the film is filled with somewonderfully gorgeous and imaginative filmmaking. Seeing Spielberg use themedium and push it is a lot of fun. He’s still got a traditional approach to andtakes real joy in a great transition, there are some in the film that wouldmake David Lean proud. There are excellent one shots, some awesome stuntsinvolving planes, burning pirate ships, sword fights and my favorite zero-galcohol bubbles. It’s a blast to watch.

The motive for the all animated film came from the desire tohave a dog who could perform on cue and Snowy is a real delight. He’s full ofpersonality and is a great character. There are many times when I could careless about what happens to Tin Tin as long as Snowy makes it out alive.

SoI know I spent the majority of the review bitching about the big downfall ofthe film and barely touched on all the awesomeness encompassed by the rest ofit. I can take nothing away from the spectacle on display it is very well done,very well paced, and with a solid smattering of comic relief. However asimpressed as I was by the rest of the film, its disappointing for a film tohave so much going for it, but miss the key to a great film. You have to wantto root for the main character; you should be on the edge of your seatwondering what will happen next, not because you believe in the peril, butbecause you believe in the character. I did not and so the film fell quiteshort, it almost knocked it down to 3 kernels, almost. Hopefully when thesequel comes out they’ll have made the character a tad more relatable orhopefully my own view on the matter will have evolved and I’ll be able to cheerthe good guys on to victory.

The Corn

The Americana offers a lot of choices and its wonderful, butcan cause mishaps. The butter, ranch salt and parmesan salt were properlydistributed (by moi) for a great flavor almost making the M&M’s unnecessary.

However, their Choose your own adventure, soda fountainswhile a ton of fun can lead to combinations like orange lime diet Coke. Nowcitrus on citrus sounded good, but the flavors blended oddly, didn’t ruin it,just wouldn’t recommend to anyone.

Impossible for Cruise not to look cool running

2011-12-29T18:20:00.001-08:00

Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol @ Arclight Sherman Oaks

The Movie: 3 of 5 Kernels

The action packed extravaganza misses the one special effectit needed a decent story.

The Pop

Popcorn and Diet coke

The Film

Thusfar the Mission Impossible franchise has hewed from to its television roots.The events of the last film barely touch the follow ups, but they were stilldecidedly cinematic, Ethan Hunt went on a real journey as a character in eachone, he looked cool doing it too. Each film has been better then the last one,until now, while the fourth film does manage to top some of the stunts, effectsand gadgets of the last film, it doesn’t manage to eclipse its story or itsantagonist. In many ways some top shelf filmmaking is on display, sadly theeffort is marred by missing the bigger picture.

Thestory starts with an agent on the run, being assassinated and having filesstolen from him. Then we jump to a Russian prison where two IMF agents helpbreak Ethan Hunt out. From there Ethan and his new team head to the Kremlin tofind out some information on a potential bad guy who dabbles in nuclearweapons. The infiltration of the Kremlin is compromised by our bad guy, and theKremlin is blown up. The IMF/Hunt are blamed, and the entire organization isdisavowed. Ethan’s boss is killed and he picks up a new buddy in the form ofBrandt an “analyst” in just as good shape as Cruise. From there its up to theselast four IMF agents led by Hunt to stop a mad man from starting nuclear war.

Thefilm has two more big action set pieces, one around the tallest building in theworld in Dubai, and then another high tech party infiltration in Mumbai thatspills out into the streets. One of the biggest problems of the film though, isthat it feels incredibly episodic. Every set piece is primarily built aroundshowing off a gadget and then that gadget failing, in a humorous fashion, andthen Tom Cruise running. This episodic nature wouldn’t be so bad if the filmhad created a larger character arc for Hunt, instead the two new characters getpretty lame back stories that they are trying to overcome. The other thing thatwas really missing from this film was a great antagonist/stakes.

Iknow ,I know what could be worse then globo-thermo-nuclear war, I mean if itworked for WarGames why not thisfilm? The problem is the peril is not immediate to our characters, yes itsobviously bad if WWIII breaks out, but we are never given someone specificallyto root for, there’s no sweethearts at home who are on the verge of death even.The other thing the antagonist is barely introduced, and makes a series ofmaddeningly illogical decisions and on top of which he is able to kick a ton ofass despite ostensibly being a mathematician.

Okay,so the film left me pretty cold, but before I hammer in my final coffin nailslet me say that it is a fantastic technical display. The effects are amazing,the action sequences are taught, (they would be even more hair raising if Icared what was happening, but still taught). The cast does a solid job of lookingsexy and cool and Simon Pegg saves the film with his spot on humor. The placewhere the film really succeeds is actually the editing and flow of the film.It’s classic Brad Bird.

Nowwe get to the biggest difficulty for this reviewer, to expect greatness fromthe fourth in a series is foolhardy. Really only Star Trek: Voyage Home exists as a great fourth film, and even thatwas is a quirky bon mot. The thing that made me excited besides the fact thatMI has had increasing returns on each film was Brad Bird. The shepherd of somegreat animations, and my favorite super hero film The Incredibles. His involvement potentially signaled to me thatthis would be a thematically rich film with great characters and some amazingaction sequences. To Bird’s credit the action sequences are awesome and there arehints of a theme, but its too little or too clunky to work. Where he doesreally leave his mark is the flow of the film, constantly slowing the film downfor a beat, throwing in some laughs after high tension scenes before puttingthe pressure back on. He and Simon Pegg gave the film a great buoyancy.

Theseries marks the first time Cruise has produced without his long time partnerPaula Wagner. It’s clear from even the nonsensical title that Cruise was interestedin making a cool movie that he looked cool in; he achieved that. The film isfull of Cruise doing just the coolest stuff, but at the end of the day I wasnever really rooting for him, because I was never given a reason to care. Theother thing is that the film really falls apart in its last half hour, throwingone crappy thing after another at the audience in an effort to just wrap thefilm up, so the goodwill they had created ebbed by the time the film finished. Don’tget me wrong the film contains some amazing crazy action filmed in the best waypossible and some great laughs, but the story fails to live up to the scale ofwhat’s being put on screen.

The Corn

Arclights large popcorn is only a dollar more and theperfect size to share amongst a group of friends. Mm delish too.

"Shame" it didn't fufill its potential

2011-12-16T13:39:00.001-08:00

Shame @ Arclight Hollywood

The Movie: 3 of5 Kernels

This exploration of sexual compulsion and sibling relationsis provocative and thought inducing, but fails to crescendo into a movingemotional experience.

The Pop: 4 of 5

Green Tea and English Tea cookies.

The film

Shame is an oddlyapropos title for the film; since it’s a shame that the film didn’t quite liveup to its own promise. Now I’m not going to lambast this film, it’s solidlymade, with great actors and some wonderful camera work, and a few great scenes,but the film just never quite gets me to that big revelatory insight that itsprotagonist seems to find. The film is best analogized to a beautiful emptyvessel, a vase if you will and it asks you to fill it up. There’s nothing wrongwith this approach to film, but it risks leaving its audience members cold anddetatched from the story.

Thestory has often been touted as being about a sex addict and his sister, andwhile that’s accurate it really misses the point. The film is about a man namedBrandon (Fassbender) struggling with his own compulsions and emotions. Hissister Sissi’s (Mulligan) arrival back into his life and apartment throws hisguarded secrets into peril. Brandon struggles for normalcy, to open up, butevery opportunity given to him he squanders and the only emotion besides shamehe is capable of seems to be pain.

Thefilm’s story is thin, and the exposition even thinner. Instead we are offeredreally just glimpses into this man’s life. The audience is a passive passengeron Brandon’s stoic journey from his fancy apartment, straight laced job intohis sexual underworld. The film starts in earnest when his estranged sisterfinally shows up, but even their interchanges are thin, partially becauseBrandon seems to want nothing to do with her, but can’t bare to simply cut herout of his life either.

Thesimplicity of the story is countered by the complexity of Brandon. His struggleis really almost entirely interior behind the eyes. His sexual compulsions, bethey the massive amounts of porn he stoically watches, the mid work masturbationbreaks, or the sorted hiring of hookers, never quite seems that bad. What’s badare his reaction to his own actions, the fact that he has no one to share with,and when he finally gets those opportunities to open up, he fails, because ofhis (say it with me) shame.

Thesaving grace of this film is decidedly the cast, who is great, but also notdelivering the most dynamic work of their career. Fassbender delivers an interestingcompanion piece to his Jung from ADangerous Method, both men tormented by their sexuality, both stoicallyreserved. It creates a similar problem though that I had with his Jungperformance, he doesn’t get to do much. Now that’s not to say that Fassbenderisn’t great doing little, he’s got a lot going on behind his eyes, and when hedoes finally start going off the rails he’s magnetic. Mulligan as his sister isa solid companion and she does get one tour de force moment in the film, andit’s a highlight, when she sings “New York, New York”. Ultimately though thecharacter feels like a bit of a caricature (though I may just be reacting toher cliché 3^rd act actions). My favorite performance doesn’t comefrom the leads, but from Lucy Walters’s “Woman on a Subway Train”, hercharacter doesn’t have a name, but she bookends the film and is able to screamsex and shame without saying a word.

Thefilm’s direction is as solidly stoic as the lead performance. Steve McQueen’slove of long takes and actors is firmly on display here. The man has a greateye for visuals and is able to really get his actors to expose themselvesliterally and figuratively. Oddly for a film obsessed with sex, it has lessthen you might think in it, most of the film is about the build up, not the payoff, but also the sex scenes are some of the least memorable. Many of them aremere cast offs for Brandon and the film captures that same fleeting feeling,the one pivotal sex/relationship scene does stay with you though, but not forits eroticism.

Ultimatelythe reason this film didn’t get a higher rating from me has to do with thisfleeting narrative. I imagine for some this film will really resonate, othersdisgust and others will jut be left more like me, a bit of a blank. I’ll givecredit that it’s a well made film, but at the end of it I’m left wondering whythe film was made, and why I watched it. Not regretful of either, justwondering what the point is and to the film’s credit that probably is thepoint. The film is meant to provoke, make you think about your own life andyour own shame. There’s nothing wrong with this, but when the film does reachits big moments at the end, you want to feel something like Brandon finallydoes, but for me I was just not connected enough to the film at that point tobe on board for its final blow.

The Corn

I this time was able to bring my drink in w/o comment. Thisdidn’t seem like a popcorn kind of movie, but it was nice to have asweet/bitter snack to go along with the film. Green tea and English Tea cookiesare a nice compliment; the crispy cookie (almost a cracker) with its lemonyfilling is a delicious counterpoint to the bitter tea.

"Tinker" Tailored to Perfection!

2011-12-09T11:55:00.001-08:00

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy @ LA Film School

The Movie: 5 of 5 Kernels

This espionage thriller will leave you reeling with itsfantastic cast, rich script, and confident assured direction.

The Pop: 2 of 5 Kernels

Snuck in M&M’s.

The Film

Longis the list of foreign directors who make a splash with a film and then followit up with either a disastrous English remake, or a disastrous studio flick andnever do we hear of them again on our shores. Tomas Alfredson’s breakout film Let Me In showed a confident stylishfilm maker who could generate mood and suspense like few others. Tinker Tailor Solder Spy (TTSS) provesthat he can do that and manage an amazing cast and create a beautiful periodpiece out of a dense novel and keep the viewer on the edge of their seat. It’sa treat to watch films like these, especially in the theatre, ones that don’tcoddle the viewer, but takes them on a journey through which they feeltransformed.

Thefilm is an espionage thriller based on a novel from John Le Carre who was anactual spy for MI-5 & 6 during the cold war, so the film never suffers forlack of story. The story revolves around George Smiley, he and the leader,Control, of the “Circus”, the British intelligent service, have been ousted.However before Control was ousted (and died) he suspected there was a moleinside his operation and he vehemently sought proof which proved his undoing.Now Smiley’s been asked to clandestinely investigate his old office, a den ofspies an secrecy, he’s got a single inside man working with him and its up tothem to find the mole.

That’sabout the first twenty minutes, after that the chase to find the mole is on.Smiley knows the mole is one of four men and he gets caught up investigatingtheir various back and forths, spying on spies is full of danger, intrigue anddifficulty, Smiley does it with a quiet intensity that is scary.

Theplot is a bit of a labyrinth and to say too much would start to spoil the funof letting the film unspool for you. Now that’s not to say that I ever feltlost in the film, or more specifically that the film makers ever felt lost,there’s always steady hand on the tiller, that delivers exposition without outsimply telling you what’s going on. The film’s rich atmosphere and densenarrative keeps you glued to the screen.

Walkingacross that screen is a collection of the finest talent the UK has to offer,led by Gary Oldman, who delivers a quiet performance that is just riveting.Mark Strong and Colin Firth are sublime counterparts one a focused spy turnedteacher, the other a cad of the most charming degree. Ciaran Hinds and TobyJones are under used, but their mere presence adds weight to the proceedings.Then of course there are the two hot rising stars Benedict Cumberpatch issimply brilliant as a mid-level spy out of his depth and Tom Hardy as a brutishspy channels Brando. The cast is pitch perfect and represents the pedigree ofthe film quite well.

Thedirection of the film is great, never overly flashy, always keeping you cuedinto what’s going on without telling you anything, and without telling what tofeel. The film leads you, but never thinks for you, it allows room for deduction,even though the “who done it” aspect, is almost beside the point. The look ofthe film as well hearkens back not to just its 70 era setting, but with its biggrain and dirty color palate, to another kind of cinema.

It’sdifficult to review a film, I only have praise and admiration for, suffice tosay, this is a must see. The film goes toe to toe with any spy film, even if itlacks the block buster effects, car chases and action scenes, that we nowassociate with the genre. We can only hope this will usher in a stylish new setof films, and some hybrids between Bond/Bourne and Smiley.

The Pop:

I was lucky enough to get to see this film for one of JeffGoldsmith’s Q&A’s. I’m a big fan of the podcast (as a nascent screenwriter:like all critics). LA Film school is definitely a nice venue, and we got thereearly enough to get some great seats. His Q&A’s are always a goodcombination of getting to know you questions along with some real incisive onesabout the films, and the writing technique. He’s never super critical, butunderstandably he probably wants to keep booking guests for his screeningseries.

Growing up a "Young Adult"

2011-12-09T11:54:00.001-08:00

Young Adult @ Arclight Hollywood

The Movie: 4 of 5 Kernels

This caustic tale of a delusional prom queen returned hometo save her high school flame from happy matrimony will leaving you laughingand pondering.

The Pop: 4 of 5 Kernels

Diet Coke, Popcorn, plus M&M’s.

The Film

JasonReitman established himself as a thoughtful filmmaker with some real insight tothe suburban realities that the average American faces. The last time he teamedwith Diablo Cody, Juno showed us athoughtful quirky side of teen pregnancy and the malaise surrounding suburbiaand high school. Cody is definitely more an adolescent; so far all of her filmshave really focused on the varying social mechanics of being a teenage girl,this latest film seems especially personal and insightful into a woman who’smaybe ready to grow up, even if that’s Cody and not her protagonist.

Thefilm is about Mavis (Theron), a beautiful deadbeat who would fit right into aBukowski novel. She drifts along chugging diet coke, clinging to her grand self-image,the one she applies with beauty products, and spirals deeper into alcoholism.Mavis has zero regrets though; she’s unable to be truly critical of her ownlife, lest her whole shell crumbles. Mavis learns that her high-schoolboyfriend just had a baby; she sees the notice as a sign that he needs to besaved from matrimony and fatherhood. She returns to her hometown anddesperately tries to reconnect with him, while there she runs into a classmateshe ignored in high school, Matt (Oswalt). The two of them bond over many many drinksand Mavis spills her plan to get Buddy (Wilson) back. Mavis gushes over Buddy,glares at his wife and their baby while wiling away the rest of her time intown drinking or finishing the last novel in a no longer popular young adultseries. Mavis’s return to her hometown highlights her own prolonged adolescenceas everyone she went to school with has grown up, except for her and Matt. Willshe get Buddy back? Will she grow up?

Mavisis a great character, she reminds me of just about all of Danny McBridescharacters. She is delusional and every time she thinks she’s learned a lesson,it’s a terrible one. She narrates the film via her YA novel, whose protagonistis the most popular and pretty girl in her school and a real bitch, just likeMavis was/is. The film is wickedly funny and wonderfully brave to give Mavisreally no redeeming qualities, she has a dog, but even her stewardship of thatlittle fluff ball seems suspect. It’s a real testament to the film, the actingand the writing that they create such a cringe worthy character, because thosecringes come from that weird place where your sort of rooting for her to dosomething terrible, like break up a marriage.

Toembody this twisted delusional character you need a great actress, and CharlizeTheron has proved herself to be that often. She’s proven she can ugly herselfup and still connect with an audience, but rarely has she embodied a characterwho’s so ugly on the inside. There are many scenes of Mavis looking trashed withlast night’s make up on, and then she goes to the spa and is transformed intothe beauty queen she once was. It’s funny though, because Theron’s beauty isalmost impossible to diminish by just taking off her make up. Her looks aside,she really does hold the screen with her low-key insanity. She’s caustic andunforgiving, but somehow we love her for it, and a lot of that comes from herscenes with Matt. Matt is a similar sad soul, but he was a sad geek in highschool, beneath her contempt. Now the dichotomy maintains, but she finds in hima compatriot, a confessor and a drinking buddy. He calls her on her craziness,and her wonderfully insane justifications and romantic musings make hercharacter pitiable, human.

Thewhole cast does a very good job, but those two definitely hold up the movie.Diablo Cody is definitely a talented screenwriter, as much as people bag onher. She’s got an acidic wit and a real talent for taking an aberrant notionand fleshing out its quirks and its heartfelt realities. She though is verylucky to have found Jason Reitman as such a game collaborator. Thus far he’sdirected his scripts and her scripts as features, and the two share a lot ofwit, quirk and willingness to explore the “bad” guy. Thus far Reitman’s madefilms about a man who fights for cigarette companies, a man who firespeople, a teenager who got knocked up, and now Mavis, and all of them come offas sympathetic characters. Now Cody’s solo efforts have not returned the samekind of dividends, I enjoyed both Jennifer’sBody and US of Tara, but theylack that Reitman touch.

Thereare a lot of little things that really distinguish Reitman and his filmmaking.The biggest one is simply tone, he establishes a very strong, usually warm toneup front. Crafts a sympathetic character immediately and also just his workwith actors gets the best out of them. He rarely gets scenery chewing or ribaldover the top performances. Nuanced and with great timing he delivers films thataren’t cloying, but manage to tug at the heartstrings.

Sowhile Young Adult won’t be toeveryone’s taste, if you’ve liked any of Reitman’s earlier films it shouldn’t disappoint.It’s a nice companion to a series of feel good films that are interested indeluding the audience, here the only delusion is the main characters and it’s asublime one.

The Pop:

So usually Arclight doesn’t care if you bring in outsidefood/drinks. They just shrug, so I was going to review an iced tea along withmy usual popcorn combo, but they stopped me this time. Those bastards, butluckily the popcorn and drink was good as usual.

Talk about a "Dangerous Method"

2011-12-06T17:27:00.001-08:00

A Dangerous Method @ Arclight Hollywood

The Movie: 4 of 5 Kernels

A couple ofstrong performances and some spirited low key directing open this play up, butthe film is definitely weighed down by words.

The Pop: 5 of 5 Kernels

Buttered Pop-Corn, Diet Coke, Plus M&M’s.

The Film

Cronenbergand Freud what a natural fit. Theyboth have clear interest in the human psyche and sexuality and how the twocross over. The tale of how Freud and Jung collaborated and quarreled is an interestingexamination of repression and hypocrisy. The men preached a vision which theycould not meet up to and its fascinating to explore the film from a similarview point. It’s a sturdy film, with some real talent involved and the endproduct is quite strong, but does not quite achieve its own ambitions. Taking aplay to the screen is always difficult and the film suffers somewhat from itsroots, but complaining that a film about Freud and Jung is too talky andabstract may be missing the point.

Thestory revolves primarily around Jung, his treatment and eventual entanglementswith Sabina, a troubled brilliant Russian Jew, and Freud the diffidentpatriarch of psychology. Jung yearns to push Freud’s theories further, to breakthem away from their solely sexual explanations of people’s pathologies, andexplore the fringes of the human psyche. Freud though surrounds himself withsycophants and his pragmatic scientific mind is more intent on maintaining thestatus quo, gaining legitimacy for his field. Where the two most differ is inthe results of the “Talking Cure”, Freud wants simply the patient to understandand accept who they are, Jung wants to take that patient on a journey to theirnext “level”, to not just accept, but to change. All of this swirls aroundJung’s infidelities with Sabina, and her own interest in becoming apsychologist.

Thefilm’s plot, it’s linear scene order if you will, is difficult to recount,because the film is less of an experience and more of its own declaration opento interpretation and analysis. It’s characters and their stakes are not welldefined, but their ideas and their interplays are densely woven tapestries ofcharacter. The film never really overcomes its theatrical roots, because somuch of the film is simply about talking, and that’s okay, but it’s difficultto root for any course of action, for any character to win. The film reallyjust presents these characters and their ideas and the gaps between their ideasand how they live their lives.

Nowwhile the film is full of talk and leaves you with something of a blank slatein term of what its about, that’s not to say there is not some wonderful filmmaking going on. The sets and locations, the design itself is evocative andbeautiful. The film really does its best work when characters are silent, orexchange a few mere utterances. When the characters carry on about their ideas it’sinteresting but inevitably long-winded. The film is a gem, a solid piece offilmmaking for contemplative adults.

It’sa shame though that the film (and this may be the play’s fault) doesn’t do moreto sketch the underlying ways the theories of these men end up affecting orironically play out in their own lives. There are touches of it, Jung really isthe central character and we do see him persuaded by his own work, to act outside his morals. However there’s never that sublime moment where everythingclicks. The films a bit of an anti-climax. It ends with title cards about thefate of the characters and basically it seems like Jung lived and his worklived, because he was aryan enough for the Nazi’s to ignore.

Theperformances are the real reason to come, Mortensen as Freud is just perfect,he kills it. Fassbinder who I’ve become a huge fan of delivers a solidperformance, it’s a repressed character and he does a great job of juststanding differently, but he doesn’t get to express a ton of range. Knightleyis solid, but not great, she often seems to be trying just a little too hard,its not terrible, just doesn’t quite nail it.

It’s a filmthat I think if you have interest in psychology, its founding characters, thenits worth a watch. It’s dense and doesn’t quite reach its own zenith, it feltlike the film could’ve gone on longer, and that being said what is there iswell done. Its hard not to wish they had taken a more fictional approach andhad Jung and Freud exchanging lovers or quarrelling openly, but that’s not whatthe film is supposed to be and that’s okay.

The Pop

Arclight’s usual goodness.

You come "Hugo", maybe you'll like your stay

2011-11-30T17:40:00.001-08:00

Hugo @ DGA Theatres 2

The Movie: 4 of 5 Kernels

This steady handed piece of cinema dazzles with itsinventive style, even if it runs long and the kid’s performances are stilted bytheir British accents.

The Pop: 4 of 5

N/A

The Film

Scorsesehas transcended mere filmmaker and become and institution. Luckily he has notgrown stagnant, instead he continues to advance and revel in the latestcinematic tools while telling the underdog stories he loves so much. Hugo a kid’s film is far from his gangstertales, but they reflect a similar nostalgia for the past with its brutal unfairrealities and its naive happy endings. The film’s style, its design, itstechnical achievements are all marvelous, but the script suffers in its length.It often feels like they’ve tried to shove things in simply because they werepart of the book, the sure handed craftsmanship unfortunately can’t mold theyoung performers quite into shape. So while the film swings for the fences, itmanages to instead being a decent showing from a great filmmaker.

Hugo revolves around the titularcharacter, an orphan who winds and fixes the clocks at the Paris train station,and avoids the brusque station agent, while stealing to live. Hugo has one goalto rebuild the mechanical man his father and he were fixing when his fatherdied. As Hugo struggles to live and finish the automaton, he catches theattention of George a toymaker irked by Hugo’s thieving. George finds Hugo’ssketchbook and its stunned to see sketches of the complex robot. Hugo makesfriends with George’s ward, Isabelle, hoping she can stop George from burningthe book. George agrees to let Hugo work off his debt, while Hugo and Isabellefinally get the mechanical man working and it unlocks an even greater mystery.

Thefilm has A TON of story, too much is literally just discussed. The film’sgreatest moments are in its dialogue free sections, where simple actions evokeall that you need to know and love in the characters. It probably doesn’t helpthat when these French characters speak, it’s in English, with British accents.However as a film that is testament to the age of silent cinema the mangleddialogue seems somehow appropriate. It often felt like the story was strugglingto make its grand thematic connections, but to its credit it definitely doeshave a great strong theme that pays off in the end. Getting to the end was thestruggle unfortunately.

Iam a big fan of Chloe Moretz, she’s proven herself spunky, wry and able to holdher own with giant stars and outsized language. Maybe the part of an innocentParisian girl in the thirties was too much for her, but more likely herperformance needed a steadier guide. Scorsese for years has worked with actorsat the top of their game, and the two young leads are suitable and look theirparts, but they are not old pros yet. To their credit as the film advances thekids do seem to become more comfortable, subtler, they start to fit thetableau, but its difficult to slog through an overlong first act when you’renot really on board with the protagonist. Hugo especially seems justotherworldly, it sort of fits the character, but again it makes the film hardto watch.

Howeverwhat you’re watching is an old master with a fun new toolbox. I would stillhold that 3D is still a gimmick, but Scorsese is clearly reveling in its use.Every frame is composed for depth and rarely do things pop out of the screen,but looking into the image is a rich tapestry. Unlike so many 3D films thathave played it relatively safe with their invitations to look into the film,Hugo is really a masterful, purpose filled use of the technology. Scorsese hasalways been a supreme visualist with a steady hand keeping him from goingoverboard, and Hugo benefits greatly from his mastery and restraint.

Hugois a gem of a film, with some great performances by it supporting cast,Kinglsey especially. However as a kids film it feels stilted and long, as afilm for adults it’s simplistic and goofy, but individual scenes and momentscome to life in a way that is nothing short of magic. If only that feelingcould transport you through the whole film, but its hard to stay on board thestory, its hard not to wish you were on one of the trains in that stationtaking you somewhere they had nailed every little piece down. A good effort bya great filmmaker however is worth a watch, and there is probably just enoughfor kids to enjoy.

The Corn:

No snacks allowed at the DGA, but their theatre is quitenice and the seats comfortable. Also the 3D projection is top notch even withmy front row seats.

"Felt" so good

2011-11-28T13:37:00.001-08:00

The Muppets @ Arclight Sherman Oaks

The Movie: 5 of 5 Kernels

The triumphant return of the Muppets, will have yougiggling, cheering and holding back tears.

The Pop: 5 of 5 Kernels

Arclight’s delicious popcorn, Diet coke, plus store boughtM&M’s.

The Film

The Muppets are back! Admittedly they were never really thatfar gone, but their last few TV remakes of classic tales with the Muppets werenot their strongest effort. The latest film finds a whole new team attemptingto cash in on their own nostalgia while crafting a really fun Muppetexperience. The story is simple and solid, but the jokes, the songs, thewizardry and just the pure charm jump off the screen. I dare all people youngand old to watch this film and not smile.

Thefilm’s plot revolves around a brand new Muppet: Walter. Walter and his olderbrother Gary grew up in Smalltown, USA, watching the Muppets rise and fall ontelevision. Gary and his girlfriend Mary are taking a vacation in Hollywood,and they invite Walter to join them so he can see the Muppets Studio. They getto Hollywood and take a tour of the dilapidated studio, where Walter overhearsan Oil Baron’s plans to tear the studio down and drill oil there. Walter getsGary to help him contact Kermit the Frog and tells Kermit the nefarious plan,now its up to this unlikely bunch to get the Muppets back together for one lastshow to save their old studios and maybe their lives.

Thescript is great; it keeps things simple, but is amazingly meta (possibly toometa?). It drops joke after joke, and brings in just about every one of yourfavorite Muppets. The structure makes the film very easy to know where the filmis going, but it’s a joy to see how the film actually gets there. I do wonderthough as much as I loved the film, and do think it is genuinely funny, howmuch of that is pure nostalgia for the Muppets and the joy of seeing them get aproper big screen treatment?

Twomajor contributors to Flight of the Conchords, James Bobin: the Director, andBret Mckenzie: Composer/Actor are at work here and the film definitely remindsof the show, especially in the musical numbers. The music is solid throughoutmy favorite pieces were probably the covers and some of the old muppet songs,but the new pieces held their own and were quite fun. I think my favoritepieces were reminiscent of the viral videos they did before the film; Chickenscovering Cee-lo’s “Fuck You” and a barbershop quartet of “Smell’s Like TeenSpirit”.

Thepeformances throughout were a real treat, Jason Segel and Amy Adams were greatas the idealistic small town couple. Chris Cooper reveled in his snearingunable to laugh character and the list of celebrity cameos was hilarious thetwo highlights being Jim Parson and Jack Black. Of course the real stars asever are the Muppets themselves. These pieces of fabric are fully fleshed andrealized characters that you can’t tear your eyes off of, or not root for themto succeed. It’s amazing magic considering the performers are using just theirhands.

TheMuppets in so many ways feels like an answer to the problem of today’s films,the almost DIY aesthetic, the warmth and human wizardry that infuses everycharacter, and the sheer delight to be making movies and taking risks. The filmand the characters embodies this ethos incredibly well. Admittedlley this plebian(99%?) figure is owned by one of the largest conglomerates in the world, eagerto cash in on our nostalgia.

Likemost things Muppets isn’t perfect, the sheer amount of meta jokes while funnythrew me out of the film at times. It also seems like there were a few scenesthat are missing, probably sacrificed to keep the film’s tight pace. The more Ithink of the film though, its wry humor, its bits of satire, its warm charm,its ham fisted exposition continues what Jim Henson started. The makers of The Muppets are reverent of the originalsbut not slavish, they tread the fine line of nostalgia and innovation and do itquite well.

Descendants rises above

2011-11-21T19:09:00.001-08:00

The Descendants @ Arclight Hollywood

The Movie: 4 of 5 Kernels

Heart felt subtle approach to a series of complex issueswith a series of nuanced and wonderfully realized performances against themundanely exotic Hawaiian backdrop.

The Pop: 4 of 5 Kernels

Home brewed Coffee, Store bought M&M’s, Buttered Popcorn

The Film:

AlexanderPayne is undoubtedly a talented filmmaker who takes great care in exploringcultures and developing great characters who fall apart usually due to theirsubculture. In Election it was theschool culture, Sideways was about oenophiles, and Descendants explores the suburban Hawaiian. The protagonists of his films are farfrom perfect and they struggle to make the right decision and to deal with theconsequences of their bad decisions. Payne has been absent from the featureworld for seven years, luckily he’s returned to the silver screen with apoignant tale that has lessons to teach everyone about how they treat thepeople and land around them.

The film starts with an image of Elizabeth King, her hairblown back by the speed of her vessel darting across the water looking sereneand wonderful. The next time we see her she’s in a coma, as devoid of life asshe was full of it. Matt King her husband juggles his wife’s health, his newrole as single parent, and a significant land deal that will pay out huge sumsof money to him and his cousins, but could hurt the local community. Mattdiscovers, from his oldest daughter, that Elizabeth was cheating on him. Mattfinds out who the man was and he takes his daughter’s on a trip so he can seethe man face to face, and give his wife’s lover the chance say good bye to herbefore she dies.

Thefilm’s plot bear many of the hallmarks of a soap opera, a dysfunctional familywith a wealthy patriarch, a cheating wife, trouble daughters, familyinheritance and even a giant land deal. However maybe because its based on anovel or maybe because the screenwriters wanted to take a mature melodrama free(light) approach, the film is anything but a soap opera. It’s a study ofHawaii, of human nature, and of relationships and their fleeting existence.There is a depth to the story it reaches for something bigger then itself andits aspirations pay off. The film’s strong individual elements truly come togetherto form something special.

Igive a ton of credit to Payne for the masterful film. I admit there were timesI felt the movie dragged, but I would never wish for the movie to be paceddifferently. It lingers on faces and reactions, landscapes, and it’s lingering engagesthe viewer. The screenwriters also deserve kudos for taking such complexsubjects and finding ways for the characters to embody and express the greaterthemes at play. The real tour de force though are the performances, each one agem. Of course Clooney is great, its one of his finest performances, he weavesstoic, anger, sadness, with warmth, joy and that wry manic edge that Clooneydoes so well. Holding her own with him is Shailene Woodley as his daughter,Alexandra, she really does a lot of the heavy lifting and she manages to beboth real and charming.

I know littleabout Hawaiian culture, but it was wonderfully edifying to see the placedepicted as a place where people live and work, rather then just a back dropfor vacations, cop shows and war movies. That vibe, that rich history, informsthe film in a special way.

Thisfilm may be obscured in the years end award push. It avoids the histrionicsthat usually get Academy Awards. The film is gentle, it does not stir the air withstrum and vigor instead it sounds its mellow drum and invites you to soak inits vibes.

The Corn

I’ve becomequite a coffee drinker over the past few years, and while I wouldn’t callmyself a coffee snob, I’ve definitely gotten used to drinking good coffee. Irecently wasn’t able to find the beans I wanted so I bought some alternatebrand, big mistake. Luckily Cosco restocked their beans and I was able to getsome delicious French Pressed coffee made. It’s an interesting pairing with popcornand chocolate.

Et tu Clooney?

2011-11-21T19:08:00.001-08:00

Ides of March @ Vintage Vista

The Movie 4 of 5 kernels

This political tale feels like a great episode of West Wingwith an amazing cast and darker overtones.

The Pop 5 of 5 Kernels

Delicious buttery popcorn, diet coke, plus store boughtM&M’s.

The film

Ides of March named for the famous daythat Julius Caesar’s political (and actual) life came to an end, when even hisclosest friend betrayed him due to his avarice. It’s a good title for apolitical film, maybe even a good title for this film, but the play’s originaltitle Farragut North seems ultimatelymore apt for the message this film has about the political system. That’s whatthe movies about, its not even really about its characters, the characters themselvesare simply devices (albeit well wrought, finely played devices) to illustratethe churn that is modern politics.

Thefilm takes place in Ohio right before it’s democratic primary. The quaint cityof Cincinnati serves as back drop to the political operators and their back andforth games of cat and cat. Stephen is a top tier political consultant, he’syoung, smart, dedicated and is a political animal. He’s idealistically backingup Morris (Clooney), the presidential candidate who oozes charm, andtrustworthiness. Stephen thinks he’s the real deal. One day Stephen gets aphone call from the opposing candidates campaign head, who lays out why Stephenshould come work for him and why Morris is going to lose. Stephen doesn’t tellhis boss about the meeting. Meanwhile Stephen begins sleeping with one of theinterns when he discovers that she slept with Morris, and not only that, she’spregnant. Now the game is afoot Stephen has to navigate the murky politicalwaters of his boss’s infidelity, a young girl’s pregnancy, and his superior’slack of trust.

Thefilm is an adaptation of a play and to its credit it really does a good job ofopening scenes up and using the very grounded and real backdrop of Cincinnatito make everything seem somehow realer. There are also some brilliant ellipses,dialogue or chunks of time that would’ve been depicted in most films aredropped or only eluded to in favor of getting to the meat of the movie. Thereare definite detriments to the adaptation process, the movie still feels a lotlike a play, not in a bad way, just that if the script wasn’t realized withsuch solid directing and great performances it would’ve felt very stagey.

Theperformances are the real thing to talk about, Clooney is every bit thepolitician his natural charisma and libido come across perfectly to play theless then perfect candidate. Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti aregreat as rival campaign heads, each one with their distinctive style, Giamattia little more explosive, Hoffman a little more lethal. Then of course there’sGosling who’s going through quite the renaissance, between this and Drive he’s got two smaller characterdriven films that he leads and is really the best part of. Finally there’s EvanRachel Wood, to preface: I do not like her, the majority of the films she’sbeen in since Thirteen have shown aself involved actress who always seems to be pleading with the camera for theattention her parents never bestowed on her, (overly harsh?). However even shedelivers a performance that doesn’t make me wish I were somewhere else. She isprimarily used for the one thing she does very well, sexually enticing to oldermen. However when she goes through turmoil I was very on board for her journey.She was not acting with a capital A. It would be easy to say, that she finallyhas great costars to bounce off of, but this girl couldn’t even make her sceneswith Mickey Rourke work. So I’m gonna say she was just waiting for the rightdirector.

GeorgeClooney is so easy to love, it makes him easy to hate. He’s handsome, a damnfine actor, and he’s continued to prove that he’s a good producer and director.Only one of his films has been a real abortion, and that was his attempt atcomedy. Steadily guiding these dramas though seems to be his calling. Ides doesn’t quite live up to his debut Good Night and Good Luck, but that hasmore to do with the strength of the earlier film then the merit of this one.This film is beautifully shot, masterfully composed, and is filled with thecinematic magic that is two actors at their best squaring off in scene afterscene.

UltimatelyIdes of March is a very good filmabout the political system, and its very well made. All the praise I’ve laid onit is true, but it is hard to escape the feeling that West Wing has covered remarkably similar ground, albeit with less sinisterpathos. This film is definitely worthyour attention, but I wonder about its resonance. The allegory’s not thatstrong or fresh it’s just good. Sometimes that’s enough.

The Corn:

Vista’s usual goodness, piled with butter, and accompaniedby diet coke, and a serving size of M&M’s.

I’ve begun buying bigger bags and taking smaller portions ofM&M’s to the movies for both fiscal, but mostly, and dietary reasons.“Regular” M&M bags have two 150 calorie servings in them, so this is a niceeasy way to cut my calorie load and guilt load during the movies.

Stealing my time.

2011-11-15T13:04:00.001-08:00

Tower Heist @ Vintage Vista Cinema

The Movie: 1 of 5 Kernels.

This slick production with a cast of A-listers will leaveyou wishing for your time and money back.

The Pop: 4 of 5 Kernels

Popcorn (buttered) Diet Coke, plus store bought M&M’s.

The Film:

Goinginto a Bret Ratner or Eddie Murphy (and sadly increasingly Ben Stiller) filmyou know you’re probably going to be disappointed. Even your low expectationswon’t be met, but Tower Heist withits great cast, snappy trailer, and ripped from the headlines premise seemedworth a watch. Sure I knew this film wouldn’t change the world or even my viewof cinema, but it was good for a few chuckles, right? Sadly the operative wordis a few.

Theplot of the film revolves around a Building Manager, Josh, for the most upscaleapartment in Manhattan. He’s great at his job, knows every tenant and theirneeds, plus runs his staff like a friendly dictator. When one of the buildingstenants, Artur Shaw, is found to have embezzled millions including the entirestaff’s pension. Josh gets angry and ends up getting fired, so he and hisbrother enlist small time crook, Slide, to help them rob Shaw’s vault. Josh andhis rag tag crew go about prepping for their heist while Slide puts themthrough their paces and teaches them to become robbers. Will their knowledge ofthe building and some can-do attitude be enough for these loveable losers toget the money and their justice?

Ofcourse it will, who cares, it’s a movie. I wouldn’t be so blasé about themovie’s rote typical ending if the screenwriters (or whomever is actuallyresponsible for the finished script) had actually amused, entertained, orcreated palpable suspense on the way to the obligatory ending. This film alsoholds an odd distinction of doing a lot to set up characters and make themlikable and interesting, but does almost nothing to make these characterschange or evolve. So the whole film becomes about plot and how these charactersare gonna pull off this heist, so you’d think that portion of the film would beairtight, but no. The plotting gets sloppy and sloppier as it heads into it’sthird act. The filmmakers seem to be shrugging at this point, figuring that youhaven’t walked out yet, you’re not gonna wait an hour into the movie to do so.

Nowits unfair to say the film was unbearable or unfunny. There are occasionalchuckles and the movie keeps its pace up, charging towards it ending. Howeverthe film just shows disregard for the intellect of the audience. It’s odd for afilm to spend so much time on set up and not spend time getting us emotionally involvedwith the characters and rooting for them to over come their obstacles. Its not thatthis film is bad as that it’s exceedingly mediocre and a waste of time for boththe audience and the cast.

Icould go on dissecting this film’s failure to meet its promise. How Bret Ratnerhas become nothing more then a paycheck director who should focus on producing.The point really is DON’T SEE THS PIECE OF CRAP. The film doesn’toffend or bore (completely) it just takes no risks and lacks the cohesion aheist film needs.

The Corn:

Vista’s goodness, was a little dry, but the film was boringenough that I didn’t’ worry about going to get an extra squirt of butter.Another nice thing about this theatre being a single theatre is that you canstill hear the movie when you go to the lobby.

Clash of the spectacle!

2011-11-11T14:21:00.001-08:00

Immortals @ Amc Century City 15

The Movie 4 of 5 Kernels: Visual splendor elevates the thinstory to fulfill its epic tale.

The Pop: 5 of 5 Kernels: Super buttery popcorn, Diet coke,store bought M&M’s.

The Film

Talesof Theseus and the greek gods are nearly as old as storytelling itself. Theinformal version of immortality granted by the passage of deeds through wordsover eons. This film is about Immortals in the figurative and literal sense,its about the challenges of living forever, of wielding great power and ofgreat renown.

Immortality,the driving force behind many great deeds, both good and evil. It’s the dreamthat drives us to succeed and to breed. We mortals have only found two ways tolive beyond our deaths. One is by by having our stories told again and again.The other by passing on our genetic code to our offspring and hoping theypropagate our legends and/or make some of their own. These renditions thoughchange through time, genetic lines mutate, story’s change, but often that seedis still visible. Immortals thelatest sword and sandals epic retells the immortal story of Theseus, the greekwarrior, and it’s plot resembles the classic tale, but the fashion in which itdepicts gods and mortals have never quite been realized so gloriously. I don’tknow if Immortals will ring onthrough the years, but it certainly resonates today.

Thestory of Theseus is one of the oldest tales and like so many stories that gettold for thousands of years, the truth is elusive, but the outline is the same.Theseus is an outcast in his village which is facing the onslaught of KingHyperion, a mad man with aspirations for world domination. A seer Phaedra,predicts King Hyperion gaining a Bow with which he could free the Titans, theonly beings able to challenge the Gods. Hyperion searches every holy site forthe Bow as he takes over all of Greece. Theseus’s village is overrun, hismother killed, Theseus is incensed and try to kill the King. The king has himbanished to his salt mines. On the way to the mines Theseus meets Phaedra andthey help each other escape Hyperions guards. Now it’s up to Phaedra toconvince Theseus to take up the heroic mantle that fate has placed before him,and save humanity from Hyperion.

Thefilm definitely takes its fair share of derivations from the classic Greekmyth, but it crafts a really fun, epic film. The script itself is so-so, theoverall structure works well enough, but the film is kind of thin, and when youreach third act that thinness results in a apathy for the truly awesome eventsunfolding. The script though is really just the bones for Tarsem Singh to fillwith his unique vision.

Nowthe two films that are best to compare Immortals to are the recent Clash of the Titans and 300. Immortals depictsgods and their fantastic abilities like Clashdid, but in the visceral style that made 300so watchable. Every frame of film is a piece of art, and will keep you involvedno matter how thin the story is, the beauty jumps off screen. Speaking ofjumping off screen, I saw a 3-d print of the film, and for the most part it wasa very well done reserved use of the technology, that being said it addedlittle to the film.

Tarsemmay be an unparalleled visualist, but working with actors is not always hisstrong suit. Now some of the casting is so great that little help is needed,Mickey Rourke’s magnetic screen presence and physical bulk make it impossibleto take your eyes off him. Frieda Pinto’s fragile sensuality is explored in awhole new way, and she is able to play both ethereal and human. Luke Evans andJohn Hurt as Zeus bring their respective brooding good looks and gentle charmto their dual role. Even Steven Dorff is in fine form, however there is thematter of the film’s lead. Henry Cavill now there is nothing wrong per se withhis performance, but he does not prove that he is able to support a franchisein this film. Physically he’s great, and in silence he’s great, but dialogue(and this may be the dialogues fault) does not trip off his tongue deftly. Hischaracter has an arc, but the actor is not able to play that transition, his performancenever substantially changes. He works well enough as a cipher for the audience,but he is outshone by all the supporting cast.

UltimatelyI would recommend that anyone who thought the trailer looked cool should seethe film. It’s a two hour visual overload, with enough story and solidperformances to keep you involved. Sure the film could’ve been better, but oneonly needs to look at the recent Clash ofthe Titans to see how they could do much much worse.

The Corn:

AMC 16’s butter pumps were working well, and I kind of likehow they give you little cups of jalapeno’s so you’re not just ladling from abig bucket of jalapenos. Over all I generally enjoy my experience at thistheatre and even though I sat in the front row for this film, it was stillquite enjoyable and the seats weren’t too bad.

Gotta like these odds

2011-10-13T16:01:00.000-07:00

50/50 @ Vintage Vista Cinema

The Movie: 4 of 5 Kernels

A film that balances on the precipice of comedy and drama ends up really hitting home in the end while delivering chuckles throughout thanks to it’s great cast, if you like Seth Rogen you’ll prob love this film.

The Pop: 5 of 5 Kernels

Buttered Popcorn, Diet coke, plus store bought M&M’s.

The Film

Mixing genres is simultaneously one of the best bets to invigorate a film with life, and to make a mess. Genre is great because it sets up a series of expectations to be met, but the sheer limited amount of genres means that they’re only so many films to rehash. Then we get into the mess of genre mash-ups. In our post internet freewheeling media world the audience is definitely a lot better at processing these intersecting genres, but if you look at material like the recent Cowboys VS Aliens , its clear that just hitting your genre’s beats aren’t enough to make a good film. 50/50 manages though not just to survive the crash of genre but thrive due to the collison.

The basic premise of the film is pretty typical, man goes about his tepid life with his sweet girlfriend and then he gets the bad news he’s got cancer. Turns out having cancer is hard and dude eventually loses the girlfriend, and leans on his best friend and his nubile young therapist. Sparks fly between the two and we’re left to wonder if he’ll pull through his tricky cancer and if those two will fall in love.

Grafted wonderfully onto this solid piece of genre is a really fun Bro-mance. The typical male adolescent character in the form of the ultimate adolescent Seth Rogen plays Kyle. Here I’m sure lies the real dividing line in the film will be for most people, because the rest of the film is really good touching drama with Joseph Gordon Levitt, but if you enjoy Seth Rogen’s brand of humor then Kyle should have you gut bust laughing at times. He is the comedy and the rest of the film with its somber situations is the straight man. He is as inappropriate to the situation as can be, yet still gets a wonderful redemptive moment at the end.

Everyone else in the film does a great job as well, but they are really playing much more the tragedy of the moment and they all do it really well. The women in the film are top-notch as soon as you see Bryce Dallas Howard, Anna Kendrick, and Angelica Huston, you immediately understand their roles in the film and are eager to see them play out. Joseph Gordon Levitt is one of my favorite young actors and he delivers again with some real intensity, his performance is rather dry, but towards the end you’ll be in or near tears.

Of course Levitt’s lucky to have a great script, really solid directing and super effective music from Will Reiser, Jonothan Levine and Michael Giacchino respectively. Reiser’s script is harrowing and well structured, Levine gets great performances and uses just enough style, too much could’ve been distracting while Giacchino turns in one of his more underperformed but still emotionally hard hitting scores.

I gotta say this film is another in the tide of great films coming out. The films that aren’t quite sure if they’re Oscar contenders so they’re getting released in the relative calm of the post summer hangover. I hope that when the real contenders come out they can match the emotional rollercoaster and joy of a film like 50/50.

The Corn:

Vista’s usual goodness, seriously go to there if you haven’t such a great place to watch a movie.

Moneyball hits the sweet spot

2011-10-04T20:25:00.000-07:00

Moneyball @ The Grove: Pacific Theatres

The Movie 5 of 5 Kernels: A moving and effective piece offilm making that makes high dramas out of the statistics surrounding baseball.

The Pop: 5 of 5 Kernels

The Farm’s Comfort Fare Prix Fix dinner

The Film

Rare,that’s a perfect word for a film like Moneyball.It’s rare to see a film get stopped and abandoned by its orignal director then brought back to lifeso well. It’s rare for a film about baseball to feature so little actualbaseball. It’s rare to enjoy a film so much that centers on numbers andstatistics. It’s rare to see a sports film where winning and losing aren’t ascrucial as how you play the game. Moneyballis a rare film, an actor who is always interested in crafting something freshversus collecting a paycheck and a director who loves examining the man behindthe scenes and their inspirations.

Moneyball centers on Billy Beane, the stubborn General Manager of theunderfunded Oakland A’s. His team has just barely missed its chance to go tothe world series, and the players he found and fostered have been picked up bythe teams with big salaries. Billy Beane is determined to win, and he knows ifhe can’t get more money, to buy more talent, then he’s gonna have to becreative to do it. Enter Peter Brandt a plucky economics major with a simpleidea, that baseball thinks is crazy, about what it takes for a team to win, theplayers have to get on base. The two of them quickly turn the game and world ofbaseball on its ear, by ignoring their detractors and adhering to the coldlogic of numbers while opening their own hearts and minds to their team mates.

Thisfilm is based on the book by of the same name by Michael Lewis, and was quicklyoptioned to be a movie. Soon Steven Soderbergh was on the cusp of making thefilm when Sony got cold feet about Soderbergh’s radical take on the film andpulled the plug. Now I definitely lament not getting the chance to see whatSoderbergh would’ve done with the material, but considering the fact that thetop notch Contagion just came out andthis film was so good, it looks like the real winner here are the audiences.

BennetMiller is in many ways the exact opposite kind of director from Soderbergh.He’s only made two previous films, one of them a documentary about a tour busdriver, The Cruise, gave us insightinto a wonderfully twisted mind and Capote,lifted the veil on the character’s behind one of the best books ever written. Nowwith Moneyball he and Aaron Sorkintake us behind the scenes of baseball. A past time which can often be slow andboring but which comes to life in their hands.

Sorkin(and Zaillian)’s script is whip smart, and clever. Brad Pitt is great as BillyBeane, and the supporting cast of Jonah Hill, Chris Pratt and a cast of greatcharacter actors revel in the chance to make these real people come to life.There are no perfect heroes here, there are few rousing speeches testifying tothe glory of the game and the men playing it. Instead the film is a slow burnas the cold hard numbers open Billy Beane up to a world of possibilities. He’sout on a limb and he learns to connect with his team as he risks it all. Thecharacters are so well drawn and the drama of their victories and failures areclear, you always rooting for them to succeed and heartbroken at theirfailures.

The team and the numbers and the game are all secondarythough to Pitt’s sterling kinetic performance. Sometimes only his eyes arealive, but they fill the screen and draw you in. Pitt is a classic movie starand this film proves that he’s still got tons of game. The performance remindsyou of the sheer power of star wattage and makes it impossible not to root forthis film.

The Corn

Still eating less of my beloved pop-corn, but this time Iwas lucky enough to treat myself (and my special lady friend) to the GrouponPrix Fix meal at The Farm.

First of all: I love me some Groupon, especially when itsfor a place I already know is good like the farm.

The Farm has delicious food that’s pricey but worth it, westarted with the Buratta, which came with thick delicious tomatoes to spreadthe savory cheese over and a light balsamic dripping.

Then we had the Farm Steak and Chicken Pot Pie. The Steakcame with a blue cheese crust and was delicious, the Pot Pie was pure comfortfood bliss, it was huge and its crust was flaky and delicious the whole thingmelted in our mouths.

We finished with a fudge brownie with ice-cream which wasrich and delicious and definitely not store bought.

I’d highly recommend the farm for a date you want to impressor for people from out of town, you can show them the Grove which is neat if itweren’t for all the people.

DRIVEs over and through you.

2011-09-16T14:02:00.000-07:00

Drive @ Arclight Hollywood

The Movie 4 of 5 Kernels: A lyrical gem of a film who’ssimple script is confidently brought to life with a great sense of reservedstyle and incredible performances.

The Pop: 5 of 5 Kernels

Popcorn layered, Diet coke, plus store bought M&M’s.

The Film

Thecurse of anticipation was a looming specter for me and this film in the pastfew weeks. When I heard about the combination of Nicolas Winding Refn and RyanGosling along with the parade of excellent actors joining them it was hard notto be excited. The marketing campaign and buzz surrounding the film marked thisas something special worth watching. So heavily burdened with expectations of afresh and great piece of filmmaking I sat down and let the film wash over me,let me take it on its wild ride.

Theplot of the film is simple classic noir. Gosling is the Driver, a character whowould fit in an Ayn Rand novel, he drives for the movies and he drives forcriminals with a very limited set of conditions. The driver’s boss, Shannon, ismixed up with some gangsters who back them to start stock car racing. Meanwhilethe Driver is falling in love with his neighbor Irene and her son. Then Irene’shusband, Standard, returns from jail and he’s in trouble with some toughcharacters, and they’re threatening Irene. The Driver offers to help Standardpull of a heist and then things go epically awry and its up to the Driver to dowhatever it takes to protect Irene and her son.

The script is quite good, butalso nothing special, this film could’ve easily turned into a transporter ripoff if it weren’t for the talent brought to bear on the film. Gosling and Refnhave created something that flirts with the commercial, but really is a classicpiece of art house noir. The film’s skimpy plot is stretched out by longexpressive passages of the Driver’s existence, either him wanly looking out onthe city, or spending time with Irene and her son. The driving scenes areexcellent albeit simple and clever, they’re not trying to outdo the spectacle ofother film’s with cars dashing about instead the scenes are clever and concise,every beat leaves you riveted. The film’s use of violence is awesome, there isa gritty gory brutality brought to bear, so the violence really hits homewithout feeling like the usual tawdry action movies.The film succeeds in the intangible,it lives in the silent exchanges between its actors, the menace and lovescreams off the screen. This work is a great synthesis of Refn’s earlier Pusher by way of his recent Valhalla Rising. There is the real worldgritiness, but also the slow lyrical build of emotions that keep you rootingfor the Driver.

TheDriver, Gosling is proving himself to be a dynamic firebrand of an actor whoyou can’t take your eyes off of. The film revels in its languid medium shots ofits pensive star. Gosling spends most of the film wearing a mask of emotion,never revealing anything except with his soft keen eyes. The entire movie isbased around Gosling’s underplayed subtle performance and the entire tone seemsto soften to match him. The film even in its moments of awesome brutality andgore, never seems to pass judgment, but instead keeps you on the edge of yourseat, cheering for the Driver to overcome. Also Gosling and Carey Mulligan aretwo actors who’s chemistry jumps off the screen and makes all the events thatfollow make sense. The film underplays their relationship as well, letting theactors do the heavy lifting for an unconsummated love story.

Did this film live up to myincredible anticipation, sort of, I enjoyed the hell out of it watching it.Reflecting upon the film really only improves it in my opinion as well. Howeversometimes anticipation is so high that it simply can’t be quite met, and thatis sort of the case here. I think this is a truly special and unique film and Iwas thoroughly entertained, but somehow I hoped for a film that would change mylife, and maybe this film did, but it didn’t feel like it. However the film didinspire both deep emotion and deep thought about the nature of filmmaking andthat alone makes it more then worth the ticket price.

The Corn:

Arlight’s usual goodness, no complaints.

I would mention though that Hollywood’s parking prices havegone up, so now its 3 dollars to park in their lot which is a lot for the privilege.

Spread the word

2011-09-14T12:02:00.001-07:00

Contagion @ Arclight Sherman Oaks

The Movie 5 of 5 Kernels

This riveting star studded thriller leaves you breathless asit depicts the harrowing results of a true epidemic striking across the globe.

The Pop: 4 of 5 Kernels

Pre-show meal @ Arclight Café: Beet Salad, Pop-Corn Chicken,Glenfiddich.

The Film

Any time Steven Soderbergh has a film coming out you know it’sgoing to be something special, unlike anything else being offered in themarketplace. Even his popcorn films like the Ocean’s trilogy offer anintangible quality that’s difficult to pin-point and even harder to not admire.The last time he collaborated with Scott Z. Burns they produced the brilliantand irreverent The Informant. I hadheard about the concept of Contagionwas immediately excited, as it plays into a lot of my everyday paranoia aboutthe fragile large scale infrastructure we rely on everyday to live ourcomfortable lives. Luckily they both delivered a story that manages both theglobal and human drama and how the two are intertwined in a way that while itmight be ignored come awards seasoned should be heralded as one of the year’sbest and smartest films.

Thefilm centers around a global pandemic, a virus that spreads easily and killsquickly, is detected early in the outbreak, but can’t be controlled. The filmcenters mostly on America and China, and largely on various health workers,scientists, reporters and people on the ground struggling, as the world turnsdeadly around them. It tracks with(seemingly) great accuracy the fall of society under the onslaught of thevirus.

It’shard to really encapsulate the plot further without spoiling some of the dramaof the film. The plot itself is very strong, but the scripts greatest feat isin balancing the delivery of information while building empathetic andinteresting characters. Watching them struggle with their roles in thepandemic, from survivor to healer. The flow of information is almost seamless,and the heavy technical stuff is either broken down enough to make the meaningclear or ignored. I thought the balance of the various stories and locales wasgreat, but I’m sure some might complain about the American centric view, andhow some stories get less attention then others. The script though is quite aharrowing journey through an epidemic and it really brings you the issue frommany viewpoints, and the glimpses form a great overall picture of the eventsunfolding.

Thecast who provide these windows into the world is grade-A, Soderbergh is one ofthe only directors who could handle a cast of this scale and fameand tell avery human and relatable story. The movie stars shed their glamour, and none areleft to chew scenery, instead smart steady acting rules the day to bring realhumanity to their characters. The first half hour does feel like a celebritypacked clip show, but the feeling fades as the film takes over.

The direction is really quite marvelous and pushes this filmover the top for me. There is a sense of danger and paranoia infused in thefilm, that will make this not just a piece of cinema, but a piece of advocacy,something highlights the struggle with pandemics and the need to be cautious.From the very beginning the camera focuses on the things people touch, and wordlesslymake it clear that the virus has transmitted from surface to surface and personto person. No one is safe in this film and you will leave the theatre desperateto stay away from your fellow movie-goers.

So,yeah I’m a sucker for Soderbergh, but the man makes great films and this one isno exception. I can’t recommend the film enough for everyone to see both as apiece of entertainment and a piece of education. The film is not preachy anddoesn’t really even have some sort of moralistic coda, it examines the issue tothe best of its ability without bias. It’s heroes and villains are people, andthose people are all potential victims driven by forces they can’t control,just like real life.

The Corn:

So ended up skipping the popcorn, because I wanted to makeit on time for the film.

I did get a delicious snack beforehand though at theArclight Café, the minimal menu is well executed and the Sherman Oaks café is definitelymy favorite with its booths, and giant windows overlooking the 101/404interchange. Something inherently los angelan about the locale.

30 minutes or less of entertainment

2011-08-29T18:46:00.000-07:00

30 Mins or Less @ Arclight Sherman Oaks

The Movie: 2 of 5 Kernels:

This cast of top notch comedians can’t breathe life into this stilted convoluted mess.

The Pop: 3 of 5 Kernels

Dinner @ Townhouse: Beet Salad, Prime Dip, Shocktop Summer Beer

The film:

I wish I could blame my disappointment in this film simply on the high expectations set by Ruben Fleischer & Jesse Eisenberg’s last effort Zombieland. 30 Minutes or Less though does not merely fail by comparison but by any standard to simply entertain. The script is solid but flawed, and the top-notch cast could’ve pushed the film over the top, but the editing and directing ruin it. Ultimately its sad to see such an assembly of talent deliver such a middling effort.

The story revolves around Dwayne, a blowhard who’s rich father rides his ass. Dwayne decides to kill the old man, but he needs money to hire a hit man, so he and his guy Friday, Travis decide to kidnap and strap a bomb to slacker pizza delivery boy, Nick. Nick has 10 hours to rob a bank and get Dwayne his hundred thousand dollars for the hit-man who’s on his way to town. Nick gets his ex-best-friend Chet to help him and the two squabble and struggle to rob the bank, evade the police, and not get killed.

The film has a pretty fun core concept, the slacker pushed to do something extraordinary. The problem is you need a sympathetic character to root for. All the characters in this film are assholes. Nick is ostensibly the protagonist, but his redeeming characteristic is that he’s got a shitty life. The only person who clearly wants something is Dwayne but he’s a giant man child. The cast of despicables is played by a who’s who of hilarity, but they can’t overcome the mediocre script and lack luster direction.

Danny McBride and Aziz Anisari are two very different comics on the rise for very similar kinds of performances. They are ridiculous, selfish and ignorant of their effects on others. McBride is in great form here, but he’s also not doing anything new. Aziz Anisari really hit some of his jokes, but he and Jesse Eisenberg seem to have almost no chemistry together. Nick Swardson is a great second man to Danny McBride, and Jesse Eisenberg imbibes Nick with as much humanity as he can, but its not enough to make me care about the guy, only about Eisenberg’s career. The most consistent player and highlight of the film was Michael Pena’s dopey assassin. To all the actors credit though they are doing the best with what they are given.

The script is built around a fun concept, and is filled with some great one liners, ridiculous characters, and a few bits of extreme raunch that seem to be part of today’s comedy recipe. The film really falters in terms of getting the audience on board with its characters and then in managing the overall structure of the script to build tension and create a cathartic release at the end. Attempts to wrap things up nicely at the end and give everyone their moment, are so rushed and contrived they can’t over come the convoluted beginnings of the film. The script though is a decent backbone to the comedy and I’ve enjoyed better comedies with worse scripts this summer.

The place where this film really disappointed me was in the direction and editing. Ruben Fleischer’s work on Zombie-Land really nailed tone and had a great stylistic edge with some super fun action scenes. In this film though the actors never seemed to gel, there was never the magical rapport that fuels buddy comedies. Then there are the action elements, which are all pretty dull. Scenes full of car chases, fights with assassins, flame throwers and explosives all feel incredibly anti-climactic and a lot of is just in the clunky editing and shot choices. There were just a ton of missed opportunities to find the funny or pump the adrenaline and I imagine another month or two in the editing room and this thing would’ve come out a lot better.

One of the worst things about this film is just the ruin of talent and expectation. The script was on the infamous black list, the director’s last film was the comedy of that year, the lead actor was nominated for an academy award for one of the best films of that year centered around his performance, and two of the hottest comedians were all wasted in this sloppy dirge of a film.

The Corn:

Confession time folks, I’m gonna be cutting back on my popcorn consumption, (unless I’m at a movie theatre where I’ve never tried their kernels). Not to say that there won’t be any more popcorn for me, but the high caloric treat has become a habitual default for my movie going habit, and I’m trying to make some changes to stay in shape.

I’ll try and use this as an opportunity though to review restaurants near theatres though, like today with Townhouse:

I’m a big fan of the décor and feel of Townhouse, it’s dark and full of leather and cryptic artsy photos, but also has sports on its many TV’s.

In general I’ve been disappointed by their food a few times, its not bad, its just not as good as the ambiance and prices would lead you to believe.

This time though the Beet Salad and Prime Dip (French dip with cheese and grilled onions) were quite delicious and except for the salad’s sweet vanilla dressing I would def recommend to anyone.

King Kong ain't got nothing on Caesar!

2011-08-15T13:50:00.001-07:00

Rise of the Planet of the Apes @ Vintage Vista

The Movie: 5 of 5 Kernels

The must-see movie of the summer hooks you with a great central relationship and evolves into an epic action film.

The Pop: 4 of 5 Kernels

Buttered Popcorn, Red Vines and Diet Coke.

The Film

This summer’s tentpole pictures have been a mixed bag, all have had their share of action, and some their share of competent plotting, but with few exceptions none have combined those with heart. Ironically the film with the most humanity is about an ape, then again one of summers other top contenders did center on an alien. In Rise of the Plante of the Apes (Rise) the filmmakers pull of a hat trick, they made me feel, think, and cheer with their empathic characters, their morally divisive story lines and their thrilling action scenes. That’s what made Rise my must see film for this summer.

Rise starts out in the jungles where poachers beset a troop of chimpanzees. The chimps are taken to Gen-sys, where they are being used for drug trials by Will (Franco). Will is a scientist trying to cure Alzheimer’s because his own father is afflicted, but when one of the ape’s breaks out and goes on a rampage, Jacobs shuts down the program and orders all the chimps put down. It turns out the chimp, which was showing signs of intelligence had a baby and Will ends up taking it home. Will intends to find a sanctuary for the animal, but it shows signs of intelligence, it turns out his gene therapy was passed onto the infant chimp. Will keeps the Chimp who his father names Caesar. Caesar grows up with Will and his father, and Will begins using the drug on his father who’s Alzheimer’s appears to dissipate. When the drugs affects fade and his father’s Alzheimer’s comes back with a vengeance, Caesar attacks a neighbor and ends up being locked away with other chimps. Caesar is inhumanely treated there and decides to take control of the chimp troop and fight back against any humans who’d stand in his way to freedom, and in the process he makes all the other chimps super smart as well, setting the stage for an awesome man vs chimp struggle.

So yeah there’s a fair amount of plot at play in the film, but one of the places the film really succeeds is taking all this plot and keeping it on the move, the film never comes to a halt its always moving forward either thematically or plot-wise. The other place the film succeeds in a huge way is just in creating an incredible amount of empathy for Caesar. The motion capture CGI performance by Andy Serkis, is one of the most affecting performances I’ve seen all year, and the best argument since Avatar for nominating someone for these computer aided performances. I really can’t say enough about how great a job they did bringing the Caesar character to life.

The effects in the film really are great, they continue to show that Weta can go toe to toe with ILM, especially for creature effects. The apes are amazingly lifelike creatures, occasionally flirting with the uncanny valley. The opening really shows off the skilled craftsmen ship at work, with some close up that you would swear were real chimps. I’m always a little conflicted about CGI animals, because while they’re obviously easier to work with they often lack that magic and reality that comes from live animals, but the lives of these animals, especially chimps as they grow into adults is often sad. This film does a great job of addressing the issue both in the film and in the making of the film.

Finally the film has eclipsed my summer blockbuster list, because of its weight. It’s trafficking well in thematically rich grounds and its not afraid to shine a light on its issues. Such as animal testing, their positives and negatives, as well as the lives of animals and the way we treat them. Also with the animals becoming intelligent it begs the question of what is the dividing line between a pet or animal and a person. Finally the film being a prequel of sorts to Planet of the Apes, there is the wonderful inner conflict. Knowing that the actions taking place would lead to the end of mankind, but not being sure if I should root for or against this action. That internal conflict makes this film a real rarity in summer blockbusters.

I really do want to take a brief moment to laud Rupert Wyatt, the director; he really nailed the tone of this film, and was able to balance many themes and technical elements to make a film with a great amount of heart. For a sophomore effort of this scale, I am eager to see both his first film and his subsequent films. I can only hope they also include as much technical achievement and heart as well.

The Corn

Vista’s popcorn was a little off the mark, when I ran into a warm butter vein in the middle that was delicious, but overall wasn’t the greatest they’ve had. Combining with fresh Red Vines was delicious though.

Top of the Block

2011-08-10T14:06:00.000-07:00

Attack the Block @ Arclight Hollywood

The Movie: 4 of 5 Kernels

This alien mashed up with urban London drama crackles with humor and life, delivering scares and thrills to delight.

The Pop: 3 of 5 Kernels

Buttered Popcorn, diet coke plus M&M’s.

The Film

Just last week I wrote about Cowboys and Aliens and the downfalls of that film’s attempt to meld with the sci-fi alien genre. One of my big complaints is that Alien’s have become a very safe antagonist; one that has no teeth unless used as some sort of thematic parable. Well Attack the Block (ATB), is content to allow the aliens in this case to instead of being symbolic, they simply allow the great set of characters to be fully explored and touch on the thematic elements that are key to the Urban Blight dramas that are coming out of England, while delivering a raucous and fun alien invasion story.

The film revolves around a group of hooligan kids, on their way to being fully blown criminal adults. In the middle of robbing a young woman something flies out of the sky and detonates the car next to them. The kids inspect it and are attacked by some small alien creature. They chase it down and kill it, then proudly show off the small icky alien. They decide to keep the alien safe by storing it in the “weed room” the safest spot they know of, in their boss’s apartment. Soon though more creatures land and the kids go out eager to stop the alien invasion, but these creatures are much bigger and much deadlier and the kids have to scramble, work together, make alliances and overcome their own selfishness to save the world.

The film keeps things sublimely simple; it has a great cast of young characters, each of whom has their own distinctive and cheeky personality. We get just enough about each of them to root for them and get a pay off later. It’s easy to dismiss the scripts tight plotting as contrived, but I think it was brilliantly executed. The film is just really suffused with charm from these kids and their funny dialects. I’ve seen my share of films in similar settings, but never one so funny, yet able to also touch on the same ideas about being poor and disenfranchised youth living in slums. It’s a delicate balance that is pulled off well; because they never let you dwell on the depressing aspects of these kids lives.

The film really takes it time at the beginning, but once things get going, the film really keeps the pace up. The alien creatures are a really great combination of physical and visual effects, and they are quite terrifying with their day glow sets of teeth. The film has some great quick scares and some fun straight up action scenes, but it’s best when building tension. The film does a great job of being a bit of a pot boiler as well bringing everything around full circle and really delivering a pitch perfect ending.

It’s a little sad for me to see British film makers on a tiny budget make a film that so thoroughly eclipses the recent work in Cowboys and Aliens, but ATB really focused on making such an entertaining film built around an alien invasion story rather then a western poorly grafted to aliens. The films both tread difficult tightropes, but it’s hard to say if one failed and the other succeeded because one was better then the other or if their respective genres were just more or less appropriate for today’s audiences.

The Corn

Arclight’s popcorn was a little off its game. I must’ve gotten some that had been sitting around for a bit, the texture and flavor were off, and while I feel like I watched the guy douse my popcorn in butter, I actually tasted very little on the snack itself, so who knows, maybe it’s a bad butter pump, or maybe my sense of taste is becoming a butter addict and just needs MORE.

Sloppy,Charming,Stylish

2011-08-08T15:03:00.000-07:00

Crazy Stupid Love @ Livermore Cinema

The Film 3 of 5 Kernels:

This rom-com’s sloppy story glides by on style and charm with a great cast.

The Pop 3 of 5 Kernels

Buttered & Salted Popcorn, M&M’s and Sobe Green Tea

The Film

Romantic comedies of late have been vehicle for actresses on the rise or decline to hold their place in the cinematic marketplace. Traipsing over familiar territory with predictable jokes and outcomes and usually being outshined by their supporting characters. Crazy Stupid Love tries to breach new ground with mixed success. Instead of focusing on a women too pretty to believe she can’t find a date it focuses on the romantic notion of love instilled into us by so many previous romantic films and how they fail us.

The film focuses on Cal, the perfect albeit boring family man and his wife Emily in the midst of a divorce. Cal glumly accepts his wife’s request for a divorce and then is taken under the wing of lady’s man Jacob. Jacob teaches Cal how to successfully hit on women while Cal’s son lusts after the babysitter and the babysitter lusts after Cal. Then there is Hanna the law student on the verge of a dull relationship turning into a dull marriage who catches Jacob’s eye all of which leads into a pit of a pot boiler at the end.

First of all this movie must be recognized for assembling a great and very attractive cast. Gosling is great really nailing the humor and heart of his character and not taking things too seriously, also the camera clearly loves him and the directors take the gaze normally bestowed upon the female lead and dissect his looks thoroughly. Steve Carrel delivers yet another heart warming goofy real performance that grounds the entire film. The rest of the cast all deliver on the angst ridden premise but these two are the center of the film and steal the show.

The film while a stylish bon mot is awkwardly paced and struggles towards its end. There plethora of tenuously connected characters colliding at the end is roughly pulled off. Throughout the film it will detour away from the main story into some fun, but often hammy side story, and while each story pays off and is cute, I found myself getting really antsy for the film to get to the next piece. Also while the film is quite charming, and shot great there is a real indie film air, something that feels kind of hackeyed about the script that’s hard to get my finger on. In lesser hands the film would’ve turned into a cliché riddled mess.

As it is the film makers are aware of their hoary clichés and do their best to embrace the conventions and push past them with mixed results. The end is about as typical as you could get, but the whole thing has enough heart and enough style to leave you smiling, but not to reward too much thought about the film’s mechanics.

The Corn

The pop corn once covered in butterd and season salt was pretty good, but not great, the array of Pepsi products had me ordering a sobe green tea, which is just not quite the flavor compliment I needed. Alas.

Cowboys and Aliens empty entertainment

2011-08-08T15:00:00.000-07:00

Cowboys and Aliens @ Arclight Hollywood

The film 3 of 5 Kernels

This genre mash-up is fun and very well made, but it feels a little paint by numbers and takes its time before the story really gets cranking.

The Pop: 5 of 5 Kernels

Buttered Popcorn, Diet coke plus M&M’s.

The Film

Cowboy’s and Aliens, was the big tentpole picture I had my summer hopes pinned on. Its pedigree is impeccable and as a giant fan of both westerns and science fiction this was the film to beat in a summer filled with over the top adrenalized thrill rides. The film didn’t exactly disappoint, but it didn’t hit the heights of my expectations either. Instead the film is a really solid entry in both its respective genres, but the combination is not transcendent, because the film lacks a unifying metaphor.

The plot is a pretty simple western one for the most part. A man wakes in the desert with no memory, but he proves himself deadly quickly. He comes to a small town, bereft of gold, and ruled by a cattle baron and his cruel son. The stranger takes no guff from anybody and soon he’s in jail. The cattle baron wants the stranger for himself though, but before he can take him the town is attacked by aliens who steal the town’s people, the only way to stop them seems to be the wrist mounted weapon the stranger is wearing. So a posse is formed and the cowboys go after the aliens to get their people back and on the way they unify all the western tropes they can.

The film is built around a solid classic western premise, the alien’s stand in for the usual villains be they bandits or “injuns”. A group of do-gooders pursue and the film really leads up to a grand climactic finale where they face off. The structure is one of the films greatest strengths and weakness. I love westerns, but its very difficult to pull of the pacing and tone of old westerns, the west was a grisly place, but in the 50’s it seemed like a place where hero’s could exist, the western has evolved though so its difficult to conceive of a west an cannily friendly as this one, even though the film has its share of cruelty. The other big difference with most “modern” westerns is pacing. If you look at 3:10 to Yuma, it’s fast paced and intense in its grisly world. Cowboys and Alien’s really takes its time, and the film isn’t necessarily rewarding enough of your patience to make the wait worthwhile.

The other big issue with the film is the other genre it mashes on top of this western, and it’s a problem with many modern day films. ALIENS, they have become the new defacto bad guy. In an age after the cold war, and where the global conflicts we do have are murky at best in terms of where loyalties should lie, movie studios have looked to the sky to find an enemy that can be hated, persecuted, and killed and allow the audience (of youngsters and their parents) to cheer them on.

There are great twists on this notion that can make a film truly special, like District 9 and Avatar. Where the aliens are true metaphors that reflect back a bigger theme that the films try to impart, and are at their core really about what it means to not just be human, but to be good/righteous. Westerns and alien films should hold a mirror up to the times they are made in. Through these shallow looking glasses we can find clarity about our own motivations and actions. Cowboys and Aliens though is too busy serving other masters to reach for the audience’s soul.

All that being said, the film is fun, is incredibly well made with a top notch cast. Daniel Craig is pretty much repeating his stoic and occasionally emotive bond performance. Harrison Ford narrowly weaves his way though a pretty convoluted character, but the actor ends up making it work. Olivia Wilde, is gorgeous as ever, she again plays a character that doesn’t quite fit in with anything else in the movie, I don’t know if her beauty makes her so otherworldly or just the roles she’s attracted to. Adam Beach is also solid, but the two minor characters who steal their scenes are Sam Rockwell and Walton Goggins.

Technically the film really is a good western and a good sci-fi, the film’s shot with a clean starkness reminiscent of John Ford’s later work. The flow of action is very clean, and then the alien creatures are great designs, truly menacing, and incredibly well realized as parts of the world. The film really does have some great imaginative moments as well, my favorite being the upside down river boat in the desert.

I wished this film was a little better, but I have a lot of respect for the decisions made for the film. They endeavored to make a western and graft aliens into the storyline, I just wish they had made a more modern western with either a faster pace or a greater adrenaline thrills early on. That being said a solid entry, and one definitely worth watching at some point.

The Pop:

I’ve talked about arclight’s great popcorn plenty. Let me inform you of a great new app for the iphone (and potentially others) where you can buy tickets for arclight on your phone, select seats on your phone, and show your phone to get in. I love having ticket stubs but I hate wasting paper, and I love the convenience of this simple device that ties in to your arclight membership so you still get points when you buy tickets there.

Bosses boasts belly laughs

2011-07-18T13:04:00.001-07:00

Horrible Bosses @ Arclight Sherman oaks

The movie 4 of 5 Kernels:

This profane raunch com brings the chuckles with a simple script letting a star studded and hilarious cast work their magic.

The Pop: 1 of 5

Farmers Market Smore’s corn (caramel corn with marshmallows & chocolate)

The Film

This year is really shaping up to be an excellent year for comedy and Horrible Bosses is another solid entry. Undoubtedly these profane comedies were birthed from the Judd Apatow revolution, films that drop F-bombs with abandon and are centered around a tight linked group of friends and a single high concept idea. Admittedly these comedies seem aimed squarely at the lowest common denominator, and their plots are just excuses for their ensembles to shine, but when they deliver the humor its hard to care.

Horrible Bosses is about three friends with bosses they want to kill. They are pushed past their breaking points and decide to turn their dreams into a reality. They decided to try and hire a hitman, but end up with a “murder consultant” who delivers them advice that could easily be mined from procedural cop shows. The guys decide that if they each kill one another’s bosses then it’ll be harder to pin the crimes on them. So they recon their bosses houses and hijinks ensue which involve spilled cocaine, cheating spouses and phallic foods.

The films plot serves as a great proving ground for a ton of fun jokes and some great actors to have a great time. The star power at work is surprising in its own right as many of the actors in the film could easily open a film by themselves, but each one gamely participates in the hilarity. First the bosses, Collin Farrell forfeits his good looks to be a great dirtbag, Jennifer Aniston is clearly having an amazingly fun time as a sexually aggressive dentist, and Kevin Spacey is sublime as the sinister and blustery supreme asshole of a boss, basically reprising his roles from Swimming with Sharks. Each of them delivers great turns that make you actively root for their downfall.

Then there’s the hero’s who aren’t necessarily paragons of virtue themselves, but compared to their bosses they’re definitely who you want to win. Jason Bateman continues to prove how funny he can be as the just off center straight man. Jason Sudekis is funny, but an actor I have a hard time resolving my feelings about, he has sort of a young Chevy Chase vibe, he’s very self aware and often times seems like he’s still acting on SNL, it’s not that he’s not funny, it’s just that he’s never exactly believable. Also he’s the lothario of the group, and while I’ll admit the man’s handsome, it’s a stretch for me to believe that Sudekis is somehow bedding women left and right like his character in the movie. The real scene stealer of the group is the inimitable Charlie Day, he’s definitely the idiot of the group, but he’s no where near as crazy as he is on It’s Always Sunny, but he’s consistently hilarious nailing all of his lines.

Seth Gordon directed this film and he’s done a great job of making the film both stylish and relatable. The cast obviously was having a great time, and their rapport jumps off the screen. A lot of things were done right in this film; it moved well and wrapped things up very nicely.

The Pop:

Got some Smore’s popcorn from the farmers market, it’s a neat idea, caarmel corn with chocolate and marshmallows, but the chocolate melts in odd ways that turns the chocolate into a single mass, the real problem though is the popcorn itself is stale and chewy. A real popcorn sin if there was one.

Super 8's child actors are the real special effect

2011-07-06T12:58:00.000-07:00

Super 8 @ Arclight Sherman Oaks

The Movie 4 of 5 Kernels:

Super 8 harkens back to a simpler time where character driven kids films ruled, and mashes it together with a series of more modern sci-fi tropes with mixed results.

The Pop: 3 of 5

Cheesecake factorys nacho platter (I did not actually bring this into theatre, more on that below)

The film

J.J. Abrams is having an incredible decade and his name has become synonymous with quality geek fare, and to his credit when he sits in the director’s chair the films that come out are greater then the sum of their parts. That being said all of his films have problems and downsides and loopholes, but Abram’s succeeds where most modern film-makers fail. He makes the character story work first and then wedges the sci-fi on top of it. So yes, often the science fiction elements in his film are troublesome, but you’re too busy being concerned with the plight of the characters to care about these failings.

In Super 8 the film revolves around a group of teens of the verge of sexual maturity, that time before you’re sole concern is how cool you look to the opposite sex. Joe, the protagonist is the stalwart make up and effects guy for the film, doing anything the bossy director Charles insists. Joe is also dealing with the recent loss of his mother and ends up falling for Alice the daughter of the man responsible for her death, and the short film’s new leading lady. Joe and Alice’s chemistry is immediate as they film along a set of train tracks, when the train is explosively derailed. The kids flee the scene as the military arrives at the train crash it turns out the cargo is something sinister. The kids continue to make their movie as the military takes over the town and the sinister cargo, some sort of creature causes havoc all around the town. To say too much more would be spoilerific, suffice to say the kids, the film, the alien and the military all meet in a way that is grisly yet heartwarming.

So to start with the good and there is a lot of it. The film just has a great feel, much has been made of the film being a throwback to the days of Spielberg in the late 70’s/early 80’s and for good reason. The film really does a great job of capturing a set of kids who aren’t cynical, its not just the way they jump on their bikes, it’s the society they live in that’s still got the red scare hanging over them and no internet to over educate them. A time when America was united and its populace simply not as well informed, and the film almost makes you yearn to go back.

The most refreshing thing about the film is that the real show stealer aren’t the special effects, which are incredibly well done, ILM is in top form. The fireballs and explosions though don’t hold a candle to the chemistry between the kids and the genuine pathos and joy that derives from their bond. Of all of the lessons Abrams learned from his masterful producer, Spielberg, it’s how to get great performances out of the kids, they are a delight and the real reason to watch the film.

Now the downsides, so while the effects are great, seamlessly woven into the film, the logic of the creature and the military for that matter is highly dubious, so as you get further into the film, it starts to fall apart, luckily the film is so good up until the third act that the craziness that ensues after that point is forgiven, and its not that what happens isn’t cool, it just makes you ask the question why, over and over again about the way things are working. Suddenly movie logic reigns supreme, now to the films credit its finale is emotionally perfect, it hits its heartfelt tone, but it’s a sloppy ride to get there.

Overall the film is definitely worth a watch on the big screen, but I would also love to see just another film without any of the military or sci-fi elements. Just let it rest on the kids shoulders like films used to. That would be a real throw back, to a time before special effects and marketing ruled the Cineplex. I won’t hold my breath, but I might just re-watch Super-8 to get that feeling back again.

The Corn

So I went to the Cheescake factory with some friends and got their ridiculously large nacho platter. If you go to Sherman oaks and want to go to Cheescake factory expect a wait, I’ll never quite understand the factory’s lure, but people seem to be willing to wait hours for it.

I was gonna get some theatre treats, but since the Cheesecake factory’s service was so slow I hightailed it into the theatre, as I was highly anticipating seeing this movie and I believe that you MUST see the first frame of a film if you truly want to get its measure, and this film rewarded that desire as its simple elegant opening speaks a million words with it simple push in shot.

The x franchise mutates back into something watchable

2011-06-10T13:04:00.001-07:00

X-Men First Class @ Arclight Sherman Oaks

The Movie 4 of 5 Kernels

X-men gets the reboot and kicks it up a quality notch, the film has enough style, pathos and great performances to make a so-so script really work.

The Pop 5 of 5 Kernels

Arclight’s signature caramel corn along with a cup of coffee.

The Film

The 2011 summer of super hero’s continues with the 5^th entry in the X-men franchise. Just like the namesake comics this series is rapidly expanding and bringing on new blood and spinning off new titles. First Class comes in the wake of the sour taste left by X3 and the first Wolverine film and while it shares much in common with it’s predecessors, it’s confident and stylish director and amazing cast turn a cookie cutter script into a solid start for a new trilogy.

The film centers on Xavier (McAvoy) and Magneto (Fassbinder) before they were archenemies. We meet both as kid from vastly disparate realms, Xavier is a kind hearted lad who takes in a young mystique, not at all alarmed by her blue hue, where Magneto is a young Jew being inducted into a secret program inside a Nazi concentration camp by Sebastian Shaw (Bacon). Fast forward to the swinging 60’s, where Xavier is more of a playboy then a saint and Magneto more of a spy then a leader. Magneto is hunting Shaw, while the CIA also looks into him, the CIA gets Xavier to help them and Xavier runs into Magneto. The two form a partnership, because each of them wants to go after Shaw, who is hell-bent on starting World War III so that mutants can rise up from the ashes of a nuclear apocalypse. Shaw’s got a squad of mutants, so Magneto and Xavier recruit their own team of young mutants to help battle Shaw who is turning up the heat in the cold war game between Russia and America.

This film is tricky. It got the original director of X3, Matthew Vaughn, who walked away from that mess of a film, because he felt like a cog in the machine. His return is a blessing, but is it a sign that he was willing to be a cog? Or that he was going to deliver his own unique mark on the film?

It’s a pretty even split. The film is definitely filled with stylish touches that Vaughn must be credited for, especially the costumes and sets which reek of a visualist at play. Vaughn’s past films though are superiorly told stories, not necessarily the story themselves, but just the fashion in which they are told and depicted. There is only so much storytelling flair that can be fit in, when you’re also trying to cram in a variety of characters and service all of them so that they don’t simply feel thrown in, but not so much that it slows the film down. It’s a tricky balance that the film as a whole pulls off, but only because of its strong cast.

The film is filled with characters, there are the two main characters, an antagonist, three female love interests/plot devices/secondary characters, and then 6 other secondary characters and all but two of them get at least a small nod to their back story and a character arc. All of which is a just a ton of story, luckily the film is smart to basically keep everyone and every scene addressing the same theme of being a mutant and searching for acceptance. It’s a simple but powerful theme that is covered in a few too many conversations, and the first two X films, but it still works to tie everything together.

So all these characters have got to be played by somebody, and the cast of kids is a solid motley crew of teen stars, plus the powerhouse Jennifer Lawrence as mystique. Rose Byrne is typically great, and we even get to see her in lingerie a particular treat for this reviewer. The real standouts of course are Fassbinder, McAvoy and Bacon. Bacon is great as the charming and conniving Shaw. A man who’s untouchable, and doesn’t age and he plays it great. McAvoy does his best with a character that is ultimately rather bland especially in contrast to all the characters around him. Then there’s FASSBINDER, in the past month my appreciation of the Irish German actor has expanded exponentially he’s handsome charming and emotive. He brings a lot to the screen and he is by far the film’s biggest special effect.

The special effects: it’s difficult to review a film like this without touching on its action and effects. The action is solidly done, but the effects themselves are a mixed bag. The film was shot 13 months before its release date, a rush for a movie of this scale. Some of the effects are great, the submarine lifting out of the water, Mystiques transformations some are mediocre: pieces of the flight combat scenes, Havoc’s energy rings and some are kind of lousy: other aerial combat scenes, simple push ins for transitions. The effects do their job well enough, but some of them were simply bad, and others were just good enough that they got by, and indicated what the action was supposed to be, there was no real stand out effect that was something so amazing that we’d never seen before, but a few were well done.

So, the film isn’t the strongest in the X-pack, but it’s far from the worst. It does a lot of things right, and juggles a lot of things that could easily drag the film down. If you’re a comic book fan, it’ll be a treat to see the blue and yellow costumes brought to life, if you’re a movie fan you’ll enjoy Fassbinder’s powerful performance. It was great to see Vaughn tackle the studio challenge, but I’m eager for him to return to his more independent roots, where he may have to stretch his dollars like Mr. Fantastic, but all in service of his concise vision.

The Corn:

Arclight’s caramel corn is great; a sugar coma in a clear tub, and their coffee was surprisingly solid considering it was just from a carafe.

Beware all who dare watch POTC 4

2011-05-31T12:32:00.000-07:00

Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides @ the Vista

The movie: 0 of 5 Kernels

This bloated mess of a movie can’t even intrests it’s supposed protagonist Jack Sparrow to care about the inane plot, or lack luster action scenes. DO NOT WATCH THIS CRAP!

The Pop: 4 of 5 Kernels

Buttery popcorn, Diet coke, plus M&M’s (store bought)

The Film

First an apology to anyone discovering this review after seeing the film…I should’ve posted this sooner to warn people of this truly terrible film.

The Pirates franchise started off super strong, the first time I saw the film I dismissed it as enjoyable fluff, but upon subsequent viewings I became a real fan of the plot, and even Orlando Bloom’s peformance. The sequels though have been a practice in diminishing returns as the third one became a bloated behemoth that collapsed under its over long running time and suddenly serious tone. Going into the fourth one I had low expectations, because of this sequel trend, but also because director Rob Marshall had signed on. Rob Marshall might be my least favorite director, he has a habit of getting his hands on great material and adapting it so that everything great about it is gone. He seems to have the reputation of a director actors like to work with, but he’s gotten some of the worst performances out of great actors. As a visualist he’s got a great affinity for the female form, and even moments of panache, but he’s a journeyman at best. The one thing that Marshall’s directing did postivley highlight, was just how good a director Verbinski was, because Marshall tries and fails to ape his style.

The inane plot revolves around Jack Sparrow (sort of), being enlisted by the English King to beat the Spanish to the fountain of youth. Jack escapes from the English to track down an imposter which turns out to be his old love, Penelope Cruz, she shanghai’s him. It turns out she’s Blackbeard the most feared pirate’s daughter. So Jack has to lead Blackbeard who wants the fountain because he’s learned its his fate to die at a one legged man’s hand (Barbosa has one leg). Then there’s some stuff with a mermaid and a missionary, Cruz and Jack have a love story, a bunch of random boring stuff happens with the occasional lackluster fight scene thrown in. Even trying to recount the plot I’m getting bored.

The only reason I’m going to write further is to implore no one to see this movie. It is shorter then the third but it feels longer, its boring, and it’s really a fundamentally flawed film. Jack Sparrow is the supposed protagonist, but his character has always been more the puck-ish trickster. His goals really have nothing to do with finding the fountain of youth, which the whole film is about. There is even a point in the film when Barbosa and Blackbeard are about to fight and they yell for their respective crews to attack, and Sparrow says hey we don’t need to fight we can just sit back, drink and bet, let those two fight. The MAIN CHARACTER doesn’t care about what’s happening in the film, why should we? Also Depp does his best, but that shine that infused the first three films with so much mirth and magic just isn’t there in this incarnation for which I blame Marhsall.

The Corn:

Vista’s usual goodness!iHIs

The Rock rolls over the Fast Five

2011-05-31T12:15:00.001-07:00

Fast Five @ Arclight Sherman Oaks

The Movie :4 of 5 Kernels

This action packed romped gets a real adrenaline boost from the Brazilian setting and the inclusion of The Rock.

The Pop: 5 of 5 Kernels

Pre show at the café: Cheeseburger and Salad.

The Film

The fast and the furious franchise is notoriously spotty and cheesy. Eschewing originality for flashiness and acting with hot cars has equaled success for this franchise. In the fifth entry though the film really shines. It never lets up and hits its action tropes with fun and panache while delivering just enough story to keep you rooting for the protagonists.

The film picks up with Brian (Walker) and Mia on the run, waiting to meet up with Dom (Diesel) in Brazil. The three meet up and pick up a job from the crime boss of all Brazil. The job goes wrong and Mia,Brian and Dom end up on the ATF radar and the bad side of the Big Boss of Brazil. So the three of them assemble an international cadre of bad-ass drivers and thief’s to evade the American agents led by The Rock and pull of a big heist.

The plot stays simple, but moves. The scenes are taught, and the action is clean, the stakes are always clear. The car chases put cameras in the most outlandish of places like a music video by a gear head, but it works great. The Parkour-ish fight scenes are also great, and The Rock is sweating awesomeness as he cuts through the film, and takes his veneer of a character into a full fledged bad ass that reminds you why The Rock is the only bona fide action star left.

The film obviously isn’t high art, its goal is to entertain and that’s all it does. It does have a fun heist element, but there are definitely a lot of pure exposition scenes, but its all done with so much flash and style that it keeps the whole thing moving. This stands out as the best of the franchise, really upping the ante, but also hitting its character beats at the same time. If you enjoy action you’ll love this.

The Corn

The Arclight café’s are almost always great, but I especially like the Sherman Oaks one. Some people I know hate it’s view of the 101 freeway, but I think it’s one of the ultimate LA views, rolling hills dotted with houses, while cars zoom by in the foreground and a the sun dazzles as it sets in the background.

Their food is also generally really good, unfortunately they recently changed the menu so my favorite item wasn’t available, but the burger was Juicy and the salad was delicious and crispy.

Thor brings down the hammer!

2011-05-10T11:02:00.002-07:00

Thor @ Vintage Vista Cinemas

The Movie: 4 of 5 Kernels: The film manages to thread the needle between a grandiose world of pomp and circumstance, and the grimmer real world with comedic aplomb while delivering some awesome action scenes.

The Pop: 5 of 5 Kernels

Buttered pop-corn, diet coke, plus store bought M&M’s.

The Film

In the pantheon of Marvel hero’s Thor has always been an odd character. In terms of taking that character and his outlandish world and adapting it for the big screen its in many ways shocking that this film was ever green lit. This is the time of the fanboy and Marvel now a full fledged film studio embraces one of their most outlandish hero’s, where most would try and change him. Sure there’s lots of toys to be made out of the various and sundry inhabitants of Asgard, but it takes a comic book studio like Marvel to do justice to one of it’s characters that has always strode the line between awesome and goofy.

The plot of the film revolves around the titular Thor (Hemsworth), the heir to the throne of Odin (Hopkins), and his duplicitous brother Loki. Loki convinces Thor that he must use his great might to take on an old foe, and break a truce with Frost Giants, the villains who once held a frosty grip on the universe. Odin is forced to step in, and he’s so angry at his son, that he refuses to allow him to be king, because he has no humility. He strips Thor of his power, embedding it into Mijornor, his magical hammer, and casts them both to earth. Where Thor meets Jane Foster (Portman), a meteorologist who’s on the verge of a big discovery. Thor, Jane and her scientist friends cavort on earth as Thor struggles to get his powers back and makes peace with his banishment, while his brother usurps the throne, then it becomes a question of will Thor be able to get his powers back in time to save the universe from his brother?

The plot is decent enough, and has some classical Shakespearean storytelling of royal families and their rivalries. Overall the script really works, it allows the regal world of Asgard it’s weight, while still keeping a fair amount of comedic relief to keep things bouncing along. On earth where Thor is a fish out of water is where the film really shines. The love story between him and Jane feels a little tacked on, but the chemistry between the two makes up for it. At times the film feels a little long, but overall it does such a good job of hitting its emotional beats and solid performances make the film work.

On the downside, while the effects for the most part were great, and some of the action sequences showed a real creative bravado, there were definitely some mediocre compositing done, at times the shots just looked like what they were green screen with a cgi background. Other times, like when they first enter the world on the frost giants with their epic ruins it looks great. I think that’s one of the downsides of a film this big having a director with little vfx experience, he’s great with actors, but not always great at making the final call on a shot. Overall the effects are great, but sometimes these little things really throw me out of a movie.

A lot of credit should go to Kenneth Braughnagh, he was an odd fit, but in many ways a natural choice to bring to life the world of Asgard, not so different from Shakespeare’s England. Visually the film also makes a lot of great creative choices, and the film’s design looks great. The Bi-frost, a rainbow bridge, was one of the things I was really looking forward to seeing realized, and while they did a great job, I was disappointed with the muted quartz light version they depicted.

In the end though its great to see a film that is of such a large scale, and a big building block towards their big Avenger’s film next summer, take such chances. Hemsworth and Hiddleston are unknowns who really shine in their parts along side their more experienced co-stars. The film has a feeling of connection to the rest of the marvelverse, and not just through its obligatory shield tie-in (which works much better in this film then Iron Man 2), but there is a sense of gravity, and comedy that mark these films as a touch above.

The Corn

Vista’s warm buttery pop corn was lightly doused, and I was pleasantly surprised to not find the bottom kernels floating in a pool of oil. As always I have to recommend if you haven’t tried putting M&M’s into the popcorn, they warm up and melt in your mouth in an exquisite manner.

Fast Five @ Dole Cannery Theaters

2011-05-10T11:02:00.001-07:00

Guest Reviewer: Jeff Kent

The movie: 3 out of 5 Kernels

Fast Five takes is fun filled spectacle that relies heavily on the tropes (I don’t know what that means!) of the previous films and the heist film genre.

The Pop: 0 of 5 Kernels? I picked at my date’s greek dinner prior to the show.

The Film

I missed the last Fast and Furious film but had seen the first three. It’s been a while but the premise is basically the same: enter the seemingly superficial world of candy colored sexy cars and realize that although we may come from different parts of life, we can find similarities, cherish our differences and be family. As always, the film is fun and while it drags at times (pun intended?) it’s accomplishes its goal of being sugary entertainment.

At the point when you’re making the fifth movie in a series, there’s a certain required amount of fan service that is due to your audience and Fast Five carries this out in abundance. There’s a neverending supply of amazing cars. The impossibly good looking characters from throughout the series come together for, as expected, “one last score”. The characters basically rehash the family scene from the first film and the epilogue follows the formula from the past films.

Basically, this film is a mashup of heist films, Fast and the Furious, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. At one point they talk about getting their team together and the montage is practically lifted from Oceans 11. The characters meet, bust each others’ balls, the women stand up for themselves, and then they all stand around a table looking at a map while discussing how the job is impossible. Except that the payday can’t be beat. Last minute changes require them to almost scrap the job but they adjust and pull it off. As always, it’s not just theft, it’s theft to teach a rich bad guy a lesson. But then do they get the money or do they get away with just their lives?

Here’s just a short list of spoiler free clichés in film:

· Like the occasional episode where GI Joe teams up with cobra, opponents join the same side to fight a common enemy. When you join sides, you pick up your new bro by clasping their forearm.

· After a firefight someone reveals a critical wound in the getaway car.

· The cop has two requests. The second request is to always “stay out of my way” or some variation on that theme.

Sadly, the film doesn’t always stand up to scrutiny and leaves you with some questions:

· Wouldn’t this theft cause horrendous quality of life issues for all the impoverished people that benefit from the villains charity?

· Why is the Rock always sweaty? Did he just do a ton of push ups? Why does he have a pube goatee?

· Vin Diesel is old and fat.

· Everyone is kind of grimey, in a sexy sweaty kind of way.

· Was Brazil chosen because the audience probably plays a lot of COD?

· Similarly, why is everyone doing these flying GSP type punches? I guess they all got MMA training? Well, I guess they are in Brazil.

· Uhhh, why didn’t they show the drag race scene for the Porsche? The scene basically went as follows:

Vin; I’m gonna race you for your Porsche!

Brazilian Guy: No way, I’m gonna win your car.

…Next scene at Garage…

Not Vin Diesel: Oh man, I can’t believe we won that race that you won’t see until the dvd comes out!

This movie had probably the lowest amount of actual car racing/car scenes in the whole series. It’s as if they’re tired of it.

Oh, and the movie is horribly violent. Bystanders and infrastructure getting horribly damaged throughout makes me feel that all the characters are either simplistic or sociopaths. Obviously you can’t enjoy the movie if you think about consequences but at some point they I have to realize that well maybe you didn’t directly kill the DEA agent but you are responsible for getting into that situation.

Regardless, the film makes up for everything by doing a Marvel movie type epilogue featuring Eva Mendes. All movies should have that.

Water for Elephants @ Arclight Sherman Oaks

2011-05-03T11:55:00.001-07:00

The movie: 3 of 5 Kernels

This weepy melodrama set in the fantastic world of the depression era circus is solidly done, but falls short with its lackluster romance and egregious casting of Witherspoon.

The Pop: 5 of 5 Kernels

Lightly layered popcorn, with diet coke plus store bought M&M’s.

The Film

I’ve made it a rule to avoid reading books before I see the films anymore. A film has never ruined a book for me, but many solidly done films have failed to live up to their literary predecessors. Is it even fair to compare a film to its novel? The mediums are so different, should we really expect that a film can reach and affect and audience in the same way? None of that stops films from being made out of beloved books though, so it should at least be addressed, in this case I did read the novel beforehand. I broke my own rule; just as I began reading they announced the film, and the casting. Originally they had cast Sean Penn in the role Christoph Waltz played and while Waltz delivers, he can’t hold a candle to the imaginary performance I envisioned from Penn. The book is able to be melodramatic, entertaining and transcendent the film only truly succeeds in the first, struggles with the second and utterly fails with the third.

The film is the story of Jacob (Pattison) a veterinary student whose parents death in a car wreck upends Jacob’s life. Left to fend for himself in the middle of the great depression Jacob ends up hitching a ride on a circus train. Jacob quickly takes to the circus life and especially to the ringmaster’s wife, Marlena (Witherspoon), and her horses. Soon the ringmaster (Waltz) the despot of the circus, has taken Jacob under his wing and has him training their newly acquired elephant, but Jacob can’t stand the abuse the Ringmaster doles out to the elephant, his wife and the rest of the circus and he’s forced to make hard choices to see that all survive.

The story is a solidly done melodrama, and the film does a pretty good job of bring the crazy world of the circus and its colorful characters to life. That being said one only needs to look at Carnivale the HBO show to see a circus and it all its charms and intrigues brought to life. Comparisons aside the story of the dueling alpha male and the new young buck over a woman and the future of the circus is fraught with drama, but the two leads fail to sizzle on screen.

I really place the blame for the lackluster romance on Witherspoon, not that it’s her fault per se that her and Pattison have no chemistry, but Witherspoon’s entire peformance was lacking. Not that looks are everything, but in the book the character is a luminant beauty and Witherspoon sadly just isn’t that, she’s never really been a bombshell, she’s always been better as the funny girl, or the one with a forceful personality, here she’s left simply to glower and pout, and she’s really outdone by Pattinson in that department. Also, Waltz is good as the ringleader, bringing that smiling tiger in a cage performance that electrified in Inglorious Bastards, but he doesn’t quite capture the sad humanity that makes his character so interesting in the book and to the rest of the men and women in the circus.

Again though, is it fair to compare. A film is not a book, but that doesn’t stop it from being able to reach similar heights for their audiences. I’m not sure that an adaptation as faithful to the forward moving plot could’ve done much better with the material, but the film as it passes its midpoint really starts to lose steam, and I’m pretty sure it’s because at the end of the day the film doesn’t know what it wants to be about. The book was rich with theme, and a movie really has to concetrate it’s thematic load, here it didn’t and so it ended up saying a little about a lot of things. The movie ends up feeling anti-climatic, because the third act which has the moment we’ve been waiting for, when it happens is over in a flash and seems almost inconsequential at that point, just another ring in this circus act.

The Corn

Arclight delivers its usual goodness, I asked for it to be lightly layered def enjoyed it more, so maybe more is less with butter, lets see if I remember that next time I order some kernels.

Win Win @ arclight Hollywood

2011-04-22T23:19:00.000-07:00

The Movie: 4 of 5 Kernels

This charming drama filled with character and humor keeps you rooting for it.

The Pop: 5 of 5 Kernels

Well buttered popcorn, diet coke, plus store bought M&M’s.

The film

To be a member and willing participant in the generation of permanent adolescence, its difficult to complain about the lack of sophisticated films. Today is the time of the thirteen-year-old boy, where the comics I read as a boy are being realized as epic films, and studios plan their schedule around their action tent poles that satiate my blood lust. There are numerous exceptions of course and many of them come out of Sundance and the independent film world. Tom McCarthy’s latest film continues to prove he is not just a craftsman, but also a romantic.

Win Win is a thoroughly modern story about how intersecting lives can influence each other and how the machinations of society have the potential to crush us. The film is about Mike (Giamatti) a family man and lawyer who struggles to make ends meets while coaching the losing wrestling team. Mike decides to take guardianship of Leo, a near senile old man, so that he can collect a stipend. Soon Mike finds Kyle, Leo’s grandson and brings him home. Kyle is a taciturn young man whose optimistic ambivalence changes Mike and his family’s life. Soon Kyle is thriving at school; leading Mike’s wresting team to city finals and the only thing that can de-rail them is the return of Kyle’s mother.

The film takes its time; exposition is sparse and woven into the fabric of daily lives. The characters are rich and nimbly balance comedy and drama; each one is full of heart and verve. The script consistently keeps you guessing, you root for the characters even though at times you’re unsure what they want, but know that they deserve better. It also avoids the cliché’s and pitfalls its subject matter could easily delve into. The film is a drama filled with comedy and heart, so any tears are backed up by substance and erased with laughter.

The film is a triumph of the ordinary human spirit, and our ability and need to come together when forces larger then ourselves conspire to eradicate us. All of this is brought forth subtly with a great cast. A great actor fills every role, and two of the comedians who are accustomed to “bigger” performance Jeffery Tambor and Bobby Canavale deserve praise for making their parts both funny and personal. Paul Giamatti and Amy Ryan are great, and their relationship grounds the entire film. Then there is newcomer Alex Shaffer, his muted performance eclipses a mere depiction of a sullen teen and provides snatches of insight to his troubled interior as well as providing some of the biggest laughs of the film.

The film definitely takes its time, its story meanders forward picking up speed as it heads for its collision course ending. The film manages to avoid most hoary clichés, but it depends on some stretched logic to get to the home stretch. That being said the film is a mature and admirable piece of cinema that will pluck your heartstrings and funny bone.

The Corn:

Buttery goodness becomes overwhelmingly oily as you get to the bottom of the popcorn, the best solution I know would be less butter, but I think we can come up with something better, don’t you?

Hanna @ Vintage Vista

2011-04-15T11:03:00.000-07:00

Hanna 4 of 5 Kernels

This arthouse action film delivers its kicks to all the right places with its great cast, superb cinematography, and awesome score, but is almost ruined by its length.

The Pop 4 of 5 Kernels

Well buttered popcorn, store bought diet coke, plus M&M’s and red startbursts.

The film

It’s difficult to overstate my love for the female teenage assassin genre. I am a life long Natalie Portman fan thanks to her appearance in The Proffesional, no amount of Star War’s prequels could convince me otherwise. Last years Kick-Ass was sheer delight and it’s highlight was definitely Chloe Moretz’s foul mouthed Hit-Girl. If you had asked me two weeks ago about which girl wielding weapons flick I was looking forward to, Sucker Punch would’ve been top of my list, but just as Hanna had a far superior trailer, it also ended up being a far superior film. Of course the two films are completely different in their approaches and subject matter, but there is one definitive place where one film failed and the other succeeded, and that’s casting.

Hanna revolves around its titular character, a waif blond, who’s physical prowess and animal instincts seem superhuman. Hanna’s father, Eric, is raising her in a Tundra Forest, so far off the grid that Hanna’s only access to the real world is from an outdated encyclopedia. Hanna yearns to discover the world outside the forest, but Eric insists on training her til she’s alert even in her sleep. Finally she’s ready for her mission to hunt Marissa Wiegler, a CIA operative, and Eric leaves her to be captured/infiltrate the CIA. Marissa is no dummy though, she sends in a double to greet Hanna, Hanna executes her and anyone who gets close as she runs for freedom. Eventually Hanna ends up with a nice English family. Hanna learns no to only survive in the outside world, but how to make friends and fall in love. Soon Hanna will have to test her newfound humanity when she finally confronts Marissa.

The script has a lean tautness to it, that still somehow ends up going on too long, but more on that later. Where the film definitely succeeds is keeping things simple and unexplained, motives are murky at best, which can be frustrating, but it also means we get less time having things explained versus watching the action unfold. The scripts big reveal/twist could easily be guessed from the beginning, but seems too simple an explanation, but I like that simplicity, too often will a film get caught up in its own convoluted desire to be clever. Which again returns me to my Sucker Punch comparison.

The film has a single protagonist, whom we spend a solid half hour getting to know an empathize with, rather then introducing a single girl and then a series of other girls who all become fodder. The other great thing done right is the casting, the cast is absolutely top notch. Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett take what could easily be scene-chewing stereotypes and they breathe pathos and humanity into them. Even the nice English family has two great actors in Olivia Williams and Jason Fleming, it what could easily be throwaway parts, instead they help to form the emotinal resonance at the core of the film and show the contrast of what a “normal” family looks like and operates like.

Then there is the action itself, Zach Snyder will always have a place in my heart for his first three films, but the overblown action of Sucker Punch while a dazzling spectacle is so distant from reality and so unrelentless that it becomes numbing, and there never feels like any real danger. Here the action scenes are stunning, the characters always seem to be pushed to their edge, and on the verge of being killed.

Then there is the bravura way the action is shot. This film very much follows the model of Bourne for it’s action and a lot of its stoic approach, but where the Bourne films have become tour-de-force shaky cam shots to show the sheer dis-orientation and power of the fights, this is like dance. The camera moves fluidly in unbroken shots that still are fast paced and tense.

The Final plaudit is for the Chemical Brothers, they have woven a score that combines sound effects from the film and adds to the aural perspective constantly at play. The music pumps when it’s needed, and stays shyly reserved at other times. It’s a brilliant score that eclipses Daft Punks recent Tron Legacy work, both are genius, but one film is just better and the score reflects that.

Finally the downside the film is well paced at times, but the entire film would benefit from being tightened up. I understand and respect the desire to have the extra time to make the character’s journey more expansive, and I would even agree that it was successful in it’s mission, but an action film is a carefully balanced beast, and the scales tip the wrong way. The end when it finally comes seems to take forever. Joe Wright did so much right, but his own instincts as a maker of epics works against him, not that the film needs to cut it’s heart out, but it also needs to remember that it is ultimately supposed to be entertaining and the length makes the film feel dissonant and saps away a lot of the power of the finale, because I was simply eager for the film to be done.

The Corn

Vista’s usual goodness, but a note on starbursts, they are a mixed bag and when you end up with flavors you don’t like it’s difficult to handle the treacle sweetness, however their texture makes for a fun chewing combination with popcorn.

Frankenstein Live from the National Theatre @ Mann Hollywood 6

2011-04-06T12:46:00.000-07:00

The Movie?: 4 of 5 Kernels

Bravado performances lead this visual dazzling and richly realized look at the classic tale from the monster’s perspective.

The Pop: 4 of 5 Kernels

Super Buttered popcorn, red vines, sierra mist, jalapenos.

The Film

Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein is another of literatures classics that have been remade time and time again. The primal ideas stirred in the novel have inspired the macabre and the humorous, but something about this creation myth gone wrong speaks to people still. This latest stage rendition eschews the perspective of the creator and instead focuses on the creation to bring this play into sublime modernity.

The story you should know by now, man robs graves for body parts and cobbles them together into an abomination that he brings to life. Dr. Frankenstein so disgusted by his child of the grave, that he abandons it to the cruel world. The monster ambles and flails and scares away towns folk, he would be left a dumb creature of shadows if not for the kindness of a blind man. Unable to see the monster’s face he takes pity and teaches the creature, unfortunately the blind man’s children are not as welcoming and they chase him off. The creatures lashes out and burns their home to the ground, and then goes in search of his creator. The monster wants a companion and he’ll make hell for Frankenstein if he isn’t given what he wants.

I was unsure what to expect from this televised theatrical experience, but in the end the old truism of sporting events held true, the best seats in the house are at home, or at any rate with cameras zooming in for the close ups. The cameras never intrude on stage, but they are there to capture both the grandeur of the staging and the nuance of the performances, both of which are subtle and dazzling.

The staging of the play is elegantly simple, highly theatrical lighting sets the mood, but the thousands of incandescent bulbs that hang over the stage at times steal the show. They spark like bolts of lightning, glimmer like stars, and glow to set the mood. Down below simple sets and hard lights define the stage, and highlight the wonderful set pieces that range from colonial perfection to grim squalor.

All of this technical achievement is a fitting backdrop for such bravado performances. Benedict Cumberpatch is an Englishman on the rise, the night I went his performance, as the creature was stunning. He starts out as a freakish newborn flailing on the ground, discovery his footing and eventually turning into a fully fleshed man, capable of delicacy and violence. Jonny Lee Miller’s Dr. Frankenstein is reserved, but goes through his own desperate transformation. It’s difficult to compare the two actors as the two parts call for such different performances, but I am eager to see them switch roles as they do every night.

The rest of the cast is quite good, except for maybe Frankenstein’s father, who’s colorblind casting and melodramatic performances seemed dissonant in this otherwise pitch perfect play. Naiomie Harris is a bit over mannered as Frankenstein’s innocent bride, but she fits into the world well and she and the blind man provide great counterpoints of kindness in the cruel world of the play.

Danny Boyle has had a career that seemed focus on escaping expectations, the only one he hasn’t managed to cast off is that he will deliver a piece of performance of cinema that is top notch and unlike anything else in theatres. He’s a craftsman who even his side projects like this play bear the mark of a genius and the desire to see him work more.

The Pop:

Letting me use a butter pump is recipe for heart failure, my popcorn was smothered in the yellow gold. The Mann theatres sadly serve pepsi, so I ended up with a Sierra Mist instead, which was a bummer, but they’re fresh and chewy red vines went great with the pop corn and their hot dog was pretty good too, especially with popcorn on top.

Sucker Punch @ Vintage Vista

2011-03-31T17:30:00.000-07:00

The Movie: 3 of 5 Kernels

Melodramatic visual masturbation sustains, but never quite climaxes.

The Pop: 4 of 5 Kernels

Coffee (French-press!), Buttered popcorn, M&Ms.

The Film

There’s something sublime about a bad trailer for a hotly anticipated film. It’s like the film is a balloon full of your anticipations and a bad trailer instead of popping the balloon just unties the ribbon so you get to see the hot gas of your anticipation throw the thing around. It’s a stretched metaphor, but the point remains, Zach Snyder’s first three films proved him as a successful visceral storyteller who gets better and better with each outing. The first chink in the armor came when I saw his Legends of the Guardians. I had hoped that being free of any and all physical constraints would let him create something unparalleled. Instead the film ended up being so lackluster I never even got around to reviewing it.

Sucker Punch sounded like a fun, but worrisome concept from the get-go, basically Alice in Wonderland by ways of a mental hospital and lots of violence. A fun concept to be sure, but one that could sustain an entire film, I was doubtful. The first teaser trailer dazzled with it’s super slick CGI creations and sultry femme fatales doing battle, sure the CGI looked crappy, but this was not supposed to be a representation of the real world. The full trailer though with the inimitable Scott Glenn delivering a list of objectives was when I realized I should give up hope on this film being good, and frankly it made the viewing experience much better.

The story centers around, Baby Doll who’s mother dies and leaves her and her sister a fortune, much to her patently evil step-father’s chagrin. He goes berserk and Baby Doll tries to stop him, but ends up killing her own sister. The Step-father has her committed and bribes the head orderly to make sure she’s lobotomized. Baby Doll has five days before the “lobotomist” arrives, her only chance to escape is in the hands of her fellow mental patients, except suddenly the reality shifts and the mental hospital becomes a night club/bordello with the girls as forced participants. From this alternate reality the girls plot their escape and end up entering fantasies where they fight with guns and swords instead of their sexuality, to help them and Baby Doll escape.

Now the film has a lot of problems as an overall film, but Snyder’s commercial roots are on display. He crafts wonderfully, tight, tense, and dazzling scenes, each one a little music video and these segments are bravado pieces of work. However a film is not simply a stack of separate scenes and its hard to shake the feeling that this film is simply designed as an excuse to get from action scene to action scene. This formula can work successfully, and to the script’s credit it tries to shovel in a lot of melodrama in between, but the actresses are simply not up to the heavy lifting placed on their shoulders. The plot holes, lack luster dialogue, and incoherent motivations are glaring.

So ignoring the melodrama and the mediocre performances lets focus on the kick ass action. Snyder delivers four big action set pieces in these far away fantasy worlds. Each one is cool, but all of them are too long, the actresses often seem like wooden props in the colorful fantasies, and the film lacks a climactic action scene. The action scenes are in the classic video game mold of you fight a bunch of underlings until you face the big boss, except the film never has that climactic battle, as a matter of fact the film ends with a huge anti-climax, that takes any potential good will and squanders it. I’ll credit them for a bold ending, but sadly it’s a bold failure.

In a lot of ways that’s what the film is, a bold failure. Snyder continues to prove his merits as a visual stylist, able to evoke mood, but subtle performances has never been his strong point as a director. In the past he was able to gather an incredible cast, but here the constraints of the film, the need for eye-candy with enough time in their schedule to train for months before hand limited his options and severely dented the film, not that a better cast could’ve saved the script from its blunders, but at least it could’ve made them watchable. Instead even the films highlights, the over the top, amazing visual action scenes while impressive, even they lose their shine as we don’t care about the participants.

Finally, a SPOILER filled rant of sorts, this film ends with the return to the reality of the mental hospital as Baby Doll is lobotomized. You go through the whole film and all of the struggles to have her sacrifice herself for some other chick, who while featured, is even less memorable, and hands down the most annoying of the characters. So suddenly were supposed to be jazzed because the boring chick escapes, there is a lame backtory to justify this but, you barely were able to keep us interested in your primary protagonist, don’t try to spread the wealth. I admire the chutzpah of the mistake, but that the film just did not earn it. Then the other thing is, the whole film plays out inside the nightclub, even though they are actually in a mental hospital, now all of this nightclub reality is occurs, but my mind boggles to thing of an analog for it in the actual reality, I mean I get that he’s playing loose and fast with the rules, but it makes the film needlessly convoluted. Now taking these two missteps together, the film opens with an amazing sequence of the beastly stepfather who commits Baby Doll to the institute to have her lobotomized, but at the end of the film, she still ends up lobotomized and the Lead Orderly is the only who seems to be punished, and because we don’t know what he was actually doing in reality, only in the faux reality, we have no idea how bad of a guy this is, so when he’s arrested, no one cares. I wanted to see Baby Doll survive to defy her step-dad, that’s what the film set up and promised and it gives no satisfying alternative.

END OF SPOILERS

This has turned into a super long review, apologies, suffice to say that my lowered expectations made this film passably entertaining, and definitely impressed me with its dazzling visuals, but I still found myself bored, even as fights with dragons, and impossible camera moves amidst a sword fight with robots ensued. Hopefully Snyder’s worst instincts will be curbed as he tackles Superman for his next film.

The Pop

Vista’s popcorn was solid if not great, I made coffee at home and brought it in with zero hassle, but unfortunately it was not my best cup of coffee so points against me here, not really the theatre. (man, I suck)

Battle Los Angeles @ Arclight Cinerama Dome

2011-03-15T21:30:00.001-07:00

The Movie 3 of 5 Kernels

This alien invasion is a ground war that pits cliché’s against cliché’s in Santa Monica.

The Pop: 3 of 5 Kernels

Buttered popcorn, diet coke, and store bought M&M’s.

The Film:

Alien’s are the new vampires or is that zombies? Either way the great alien invasion that’s current surge in popularity is probably sprung from the Spielberg/Cruise War of the Worlds. An alien invasion has always been a great way to hold up a mirror to society, to show a parable of what it feels like to be the rebels, the insurgents, the underdogs in our own backyard. From The Day the Earth Stood Still to Invasion of the Body Snatchers, we saw the progress from the fear of the industrial revolution to the scare mongering of the Cold War era, now that the wall has fallen, 9/11 has left our psyche’s scarred and political correctness has made it next to impossible to vilify nation-states, or ethnic groups, the villain’s of today tend to be supernatural, corporate or extra terrestrial.

Battle LA is at its core a war film, you could very easily replace the aliens with a sufficiently advanced enemy, or flip the roles and simply depict the American invasions of tribal countries like Afghanistan, but American audiences aren’t keen on being the villains. One of the great strengths of the film is the methods of combat depicted, the aliens are not simply a series of flying saucers, three legged tri-pods, or grey men skulking around corn fields, instead this is a ground troop invasion. The aliens land and march onto our shores, guns blazing. These aliens aren’t so different from us, which gives the protagonists: a platoon of marine’s, a chance to actually fight back.

The plot of the movie centers on Staff Sgt Nantz, a man about to retire after 20 years in the Marines, his last tour he lost some men and he can’t handle combat any more, so of course the day his retirement is about to become official alien’s invade and the marines have to go to Santa Monica to evacuate civilians before Santa Monica is carpet bombed and destroyed. The film does a very good job of quickly introducing each of the Marines, enough so that when they die, there’s a tinge of sadness at the characters loss. Soon the Marines are the only ground soldiers left in the fight and thanks to being joined by Sgt Santo’s (Michelle Rodriguez) they learn how to defeat the aliens. Its then up to the Marine’s to survive long enough to take down the alien central control.

The plot is text-book and to its credit it executes the text book maneuvers quite well, to its discredit, it’s a cliché ridden pastiche of every war film you’ve ever seen. The soldiers are all caricatures, played with just enough charm to keep you interested, but when the film falls back on dialog, especially as the Marine’s struggle with their own demons and form a plan to defeat the aliens, but this is a war film so luckily it makes up for lackluster dialogue and clichés with some decent action.

The design of the aliens is quite good, and both the ground troops and the ships have enough detail to keep you very visually involved. Being a war film that centers on Marines, the grunts, this is a ground war, and the odds are evened on the ground, because while the Marines are outgunned if they stick together and remember their training (sadly a line not in the movie) they are able to over come and outsmart the invaders. In past alien invasion films, the key to success is always related to the protagonists role, in ID4, the main protagonists are a hot-shot pilot, a cable scientist use their skills of hacking and piloting, in War of the Worlds, a father simply does everything he has to to survive, and in Signs a pastor uses faith, here the protagonist are soldiers so the bullets and grenades fly. The Marines are good at evaluating (and explaining) what their alien counterparts are doing and it leads to some solid gun fire exchanges. The film stays pretty reserved until the very end in terms of pushing the shear bounds of reality, but until then you could almost believe its possible for a platoon of Marines to actually survive and fight.

Overall the film is solid, it’s got good enough cast, good enough action scenes, and while its script is clichéd, its also a solid classically executed plot that delivers the emotional turns the film needs to bring it to an awesome conclusion.

The Corn:

First off I hate the dome, it’s an over rated film going experience in LA.

2^nd of all this has been one of the first time, I’ve been pretty disappointed with the popcorn, it wasn’t horrible, but it had an odd flavor to it.

3^rd, the film froze in the middle, it was a 30 second blip, but it was a shocking failure from a theatre that’s usually so good.

Take Me Home Tonight @ Arclight

2011-03-03T16:47:00.001-08:00

The movie 3 of 5 Kernels

This by the numbers rom -com effuses charm thanks to its great cast and manages to squeeze out quite a few chuckles all to a great 80’s soundtrack.

The Pop 5 of 5 kernels

Popcorn with layerd butter, Diet coke, and store bought m&ms.

The Film

As we neared the millennium there was a rush from the anger of the 70’s, the hedonism of the 80’s and it resolved itself into the political correct culture that has reigned for the majority of the past two decades. This same self-censorship found its way into the majority of our films and especially the comedies. There was a dread of crossing the imaginary line that might offend, and then came Apatow. Apatow found a way to be vulgar and tell stories, sadly many of the subsequent bromances have a cookie cutter feel to them. Take Me Home Tonight delivers a fun romp that takes a trip back to the eighties flirting with the lines of bad taste and little sense.

The film is about Matt, a geeky college grad, who instead of finding a real job toil at Suncoast video until his high school crush walks in, he pretends to be a success and she invites him to a party. He and his friends have to lie, cheat and steal to keep his ruse up, so that Matt has a chance to score with his dream girl.

It’s the simplest of set ups and I’m a real sucker for greatest night ever movies, where everyone stays up all night and realizes something important about their lives as the sun rises. Take Me Home delivers on it simple premise and fills in the gap with plenty of chuckle inducing scenes.

Topher Grace is definitely the saving grace (no pun intended) of the film. He’s surrounded by a solid set of co-stars, but he anchors the film really well. Anna Farris and Chris’s Pratt’s storyline feels crammed in, but besides that the film moves quite well.

If you’re looking for a film that wants nothing more then to keep you entertained, and a bit nostalgic for some 80’s tunes, I can’t recommend the film enough. Def worth checking out on DVD if nothing else.

The Corn

Arclight doesn’t disappoint.

Just Go With It

2011-02-25T12:43:00.001-08:00

The Film 4 of 5 Kernels

Adam Sandler’s common denominator comedy often rushes to the inane or the immature for jokes, but ends up coming up with some genuine laughs.

The Pop 3 of 5 Kernels

Daphne’s kid meal and lemon drop soup.

The Movie

Adam Sandler can’t help but hold a special place in anyone’s heart that came of age in the 90’s. Even in the past few weeks I’ve seen and participated in heated arguments comparing his two masterpieces Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore. Lately Sandler has found roles that branch out in films like Spanglish, Reign Over Me and Funny People, all of which disappointed at the box office and the funny bone. So it’s a breath of fresh air to see Sandler return to form with a comedy that is solely interested in making thirteen year olds laugh.

Just Go With It is a command to the audience as much as a title for the film. The story revolves around Danny (Sandler) who overhears his bride to be making fun of him and talking about her other sexual conquests. So he runs away from his wedding and discovers the power that a wedding ring and fake story about an abusive wife has with the ladies. Eventually though he meets a Palmer whom he really likes and when she finds his wedding ring, he decides he can’t tell her the truth so he comes up with a story about a fake ex-wife. Palmer insists that they meet and Danny enlists his assistant Katherine (Aniston) to pretend to be his ex-wife. However she gets in a phone call yelling about her kids and Palmer insists on meeting the kids and then one of the kid’s essentially blackmails Danny into taking them all on a Hawaii vacation where more hijinks ensue as Danny tries to win over Palmer only to discover his feelings for Katherine.

The plot is convoluted and hackneyed, but hardly where the film shines. Sandler is top form and he and Aniston actually have some real chemistry on screen. The film comes of as charming and goofy and it never stops moving. Throw in Nick Swardson as the comedic back up, delivering a series of insane hijinks, prolonged cameos by Nicole Kidman and Dave Matthews, both of whom seemed to have a blast and you end up with a belly tickler of a movie. It doesn’t hurt that they also make sure to feature Sports Illustrated model Brooklyn Decker and Aniston in swimsuits.

The film is a light snack not a meal, but it will leave you satisfied. The film only aims to entertain and largely succeeds. That’s why a film like this gets such a high rating, if you think this would be your type of film , then go check it out, have some chuckles, bring the family, and then debate afterwards the merits of Adam Sandler’s filmography.

The Corn

Ended up grabbing a bite before hand at Daphne’s: the Greek chain. The kid’s meal was a little anemic in terms of the pita, but they gave you apples, which was nice and the lemon drop soup was pretty good too.

The Illusionist @ Vintage Cinema 3

2011-02-16T12:15:00.001-08:00

The film: 4 of 5 Kernels

The sublime hand drawn animation transports you through a simple melancholic tale of a magician fighting obsolescence and finding magic in the most unlikely of places.

The Pop: 5 of 5 Kernels

M&M’s from home, sprinkled in with buttered popcorn and diet coke.

The film

The title of best hand drawn animation used to rest with the big studios and really with Disney, but the mouse house and just about everyone else has followed Pixar to computer generated animation. Hand drawn has become a niche, but luckily that niche is populated by the likes of Chomet, Miyazaki and occasionally Plympton. The filmmakers use age old tools to tell stories that are timeless, but often that break with tradition. Sometimes the experimental bent of their films gets away from them and sometimes is comes together to achieve something sublime.

The Illusionist by Sylvain Chomet touches on the sublime, but takes a slow route to get there. I entered with high hopes for a film filled with the lunacy and charm of Triplets of Belleville and ended up slightly disappointed. Chomet has created a film that has much less bombast and moves much slower through an everyday world and an everyday story. The film is actually based on a Jaques Tati screenplay from the 50’s and the film brings to life the inherently simple and sad story that Tati wrote with less flair for the eccentric.

The story is about an aging Illusionist who’s vaudeville magic act is terribly unpopular compared to the modern day lures of rock bands and television. He travels from Paris to the UK in search of an audience. He ends up in a tiny town in Scotland where the small crowd adores him. A young woman entranced by his magic and his kind gifts decides to join up with him on his journeys. He dotes on the young girl like a daughter as he ends up in Edinburgh trying to get a show. He takes odd jobs just to buy a nice dress for the young girl. As the young girl finds love with a young man, the poor Illusionist does all he can to keep roof over head, food on table as his audiences dwindle and the magic seems to ebb out of the world.

So the story of the film is really kind of a bummer, but the film is suffused with delights. The whole film is done basically without dialogue, there are smatterings of words here and there and characters do speak, but really everything that’s expressed is done wordlessly. The craftsman ship of the film is top notch and you never are left wondering what’s happening or even why. It’s hard not to be amused by the illusionist’s act or his carnivorous bunny. From moment to moment the film brims with life and the charm of the stalwart main character.

The animation is beautiful and rough in a way that is an elegant reminder of its hand drawn origins. The sound and music are perfect; the score is a jazzy soothing ride that sets the tone well.

My only slight complaint about the film is that it starts to feel slow as you enter the third act, but that being said I wouldn’t change a thing about the film, it’s pace is purposeful and it’s ending is a bit heart breaking, but sweet.

The Corn

Vintage cinema’s recently switched over to coke in their fountains so I was excited to try it. To be fair it wasn’t anything special, but I like a good fountain drink and it was just fine. The popcorn was a wonderful buttery mess that had me feeling slippery as I walked out the door.

Green Hornet 3D @ Burbank 16

2011-01-18T14:01:00.001-08:00

The Movie: 2 of 5 Kernels

This boring caper meanders all over the place making infantile jokes and failing to choose a tone or establish a reason for the audience to care about what is happening on screen.

The Pop: 3 of 5 Kernels

Popcorn (which I over salted and over buttered) and diet coke.

The Film

I can’t say I wasn’t given fair warning that the Green Hornet would suck. The film has been a troubled production from its inception over a decade ago, being passed from writer to writer, star to star and director to director. Some stalwart producer was sure that this hornet would sting the box office and make it swell, but instead it popped and flopped. To their credit the producers were always interested in risky choices, from Kevin Smith to Steven Chow and finally Michel Gondry.

Gondry’s films are not always the strongest in terms of script, but his combination of technical wizardry and charm effuse his films and make them eminently watchable. His trademark style is in full effect, the action scenes take the traditional and turn it on its side, and the two leads have enough genuine chemistry on display to make their scenes enjoyable. The problem really lies with the script.

The film’s story starts out pretty straightforward, Britt Reid is a wild playboy, while his father is an upstanding newsman running the newspaper and delivering the ugly truth to the citizens. Britt’s father dies and Britt realizes he’s done nothing with his life decides to take on the bad guys by pretending to be one of them and then taking them out with the help of his sidekick Kato, a martial arts and gadget expert.

That’s the basic log line of the story, but the film seems to be trying to mine new ground and instead digs itself a hole it can never get out of. From its idiosyncratic introduction of a pretty lame villain, throwing in Cameron Diaz in for some kind of love interest/ thing for Kato and Britt to fight over, to the really poorly done 3^rd act twist about the fact that Britt’s father was actually murdered, the film eschews the easy solutions in front of them and tries to re-invent the wheel and ends up with a very bumpy ride.

As I write this, the film’s list of maladies grows, suffice to say the film meanders too much without being funny enough to sustain it, and it never gives you a reason to care about what is happening in the film, at times it purposefully under cuts its characters in an attempt seemingly to be funny, but instead is just alienating or annoying. So that basic encapsulation of awfulness, let’s focus on the few cool things.

Kato. Really everything cool about this movie (and arguably the franchise) comes down to Kato. Now I’m grouping Kato in with his series of inventions from his very cool coffee machine to Green Hornet’s Gas Gun. Then of course there’s the Black Beauty the car that steals the film. Kato himself has some pretty awesome kung-fu scenes where there is Kato Vision which is basically bullet time with Kato sped up, so as people and objects fly through the air in slow motion, Kato comes in at full speed to kick some ass. It’s a very cool effect, but I’ve also seen it done before about equally as well in the Jet Li film, The One. The film’s real strengths are underused, especially as the film nears its end, when the meandering and attempts to explain the inane plot ramp up.

So for brevity I will stop cataloguing the faults of this film and simply encourage you to skip it. If like me you’re a completionist or someone who just loves Green Hornet and must see this film. Trust me, watch it on DVD, without the 3D, you won’t miss a thing.

The Corn:

The Popcorn was actually pretty good, especially once I drenched it in butter, but then I put on some seasoning salt that they use to cook the popcorn in and went a little overboard and just well “a-salted” myself. Besides that gaff on my part not bad.

The King’s Speech @ Vintage Cinema 3

2011-01-13T15:08:00.001-08:00

The Movie: 4 of 5 Kernels

This classically told story is built around a series of performances that are both powerful and endearing and make up for this film’s meandering forward thrust.

The Pop: 4 of 5 Kernels

Layered Butter Popcorn, store bought diet coke & M&M’s.

The Film

Finely wrought adult cinema has become a rare quantity. It is refreshing to see a film that not only avoids pandering, but treats its audience like patient adults willing to be escorted along by its cast. A cast that delivers some of its finest performances, even while playing roles that are rather pedestrian compared to the eccentric characters we’ve seen them inhabit before. The one downfall that makes this film something I can’t universally recommend is that the subject matter and the approach to it, is a sconch boring.

The story is about BERTIE (Colin Firth), Duke of York younger brother to the man who will be king Edward (Guy Pierce). Edward though has taken up with a divorced woman, so their father has asked Bertie to help rally the nation, through the new fangled communication device the radio. However Bertie struggles with a stutter, and his wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) helps him find a speech therapist that can help him. Enter Lionel Logue (Geoffery Rush) the common Australian who shows no deference to royalty. The two quickly form a working relationship, but as Bertie’s stammer begins to dissapear, his brother abdicates the thrown and the friendship of teacher and student, becomes tested by the trials of kinghood.

Watching the trailers for this film, it seemed like the film would have a mad dash to the end, where the audience and the country would hear the ultimate speech from their new king and that would rally them to fight the Nazi’s. That is basically true of the ending, but when you get there, the momentous impact you hope to feel was not there for me. Instead I discovered this film is really about friendship and trust, between royalty and a commoner. That is the real and lovely story buried in this movie. As good as it is though, it doesn’t quite keep my attention.

What did keep my attention was the cast. Firth with a stutter raises his awkwardness from rakish to unbearable, but he finds a real power inside of the character. Rush is charming and fragile as Logue. Guy Pierces supporting turn, as the foppish brother is inspired. Then there’s Helena Bonham Carter, she got her start in these period pieces, and she is clearly having a great time bringing to life the charming personage of Queen Elizabeth.

The rest of the film is a piece of true craftsmanship. It is gorgeously designed, especially contrasting the royal trappings of country estates and Buckingham palace with the spacious but disheveled office of Logue. The production is top notch, and the script is solid, but without its luminous cast this film would fall flat for me, that being said with them, it makes it almost a must watch.

The Pop

Usual Vintage goodness, plus I discovered they’ve begun carrying Coke products in their fountain, a sadly happy discovery for me, because I hate pepsi.

Top Kernels of ‘10

2011-01-11T15:11:00.000-08:00

It’s always tough to choose your favorite film of the year. This has been a middling year in film for the most part with a few exceptional films that really were far superior to the bulk of the releases. The following represents a good cross section of some of the best films of the year though.

Best Indie Comic turned into movie: Kick Ass vs Scott Pilgrim

KICK ASS

Both films focus on delusional youth and the things they’ll do for a girl’s attention, but where Pilgrim’s fights were eye-candy anime style fun Kick-Ass weaved a grittier and gruesome trail of carnage while still making you chuckle, all the while telling you a story that was simple and poignant, where Pilrgrim while mature also meandered.

Best Pete Postlethwaite Death Scene: Town Vs Inception

THE TOWN: We lost a great character actor this year, who played significant patriarchal roles in each of the films he was in. Now Inception might be the better film, but SPOILER: his vicious gangland execution puts his repeated sad deaths in Inception to shame.

Best Facebook Movie: Catfish vs Social Network

TIE: I know it’s a total puss out to say it’s a tie, but it’s a testament to how good both these films are. They tackle similar ideas and subject matter but in diametrically opposite ways and both paint a moving and compelling picture that makes you question your own online existence and the reality of what’s being depicted.

Best Testosterone Overload: A-Team vs Expendables

A-TEAM: I’ll give the expendables a lot of credit for cranking out a charming and solid throwback with a series of testosterone greats, but A-TEAM really delivered on it’s promise and was filled with comedy, character and whizz bang action that will leave you thrilled.

Best Animated Film: Toy Story 3 VS How to Train your dragon

TOY STORY 3: really it’s kind of unfair to put anyone up against the Pixar powerhouse, but Dreamworks Animation really kicked up its game with Dragon, its their most fun and emotionally poignant film yet. However the final chapter of Toy Story 3 is a charming and elegant wrap up that will leave most weaping.

Best Comedy: The Other Guys Vs Cyrus

THE OTHER GUYS: this was a tough year for comedies, I almost put Macgruber instead of Cyrus that’s how bad it’s been. The Other Guys though again proved how funny Will Ferrel can be, he takes this film from kind of funny and makes it HILARIOUS

Best/Most Mind bending film: Black Swan VS enter the void

ENTER THE VOID: Black Swan may very well be my favorite film this year, and it was a mind bender to be sure, but nothing compares to the psychedelic experience of watching enter the void, you are sure to leave both films reeling, but Void will make you re-consider your whole life, rather then just ballet.

Worst Movie of the Year: Robin Hood vs Alice in Wonderland

ROBIN HOOD: This was pretty tough, because both of these films were made by and with really talented people who delivered a piss poor product. Alice though while crummy and boring at least looked cool, and had occasional moments of merriment, Robin Hood though was turgid, dumb, boring and bloated, and the movie was bad too.

THEATRE OF THE YEAR: Vintage Vista vs Arclight Hollywood

VISTA: this is a tough one, but while Arclight has the edge on the amount of theatres, they are marred by inconsistency over volume. The fact is that I attend arclight more often and pay more, most of the time it’s a good to great experience, but sometimes it falls short and when you pay that much money for something it’s a bummer. Vista with is rock bottom prices, beautiful theatre, great film presentation and concessions never let me down.

Tron Legacy @ Arclight Sherman Oaks

2011-01-05T18:06:00.001-08:00

The Movie: 3 of 5 Kernels

This sequel dazzles and often delights with a solidly told story that never hits its emotional climax.

The Pop: 5 of 5 Kernels

Buttered Popcorn, Diet Coke plus M&M’s from home.

The film:

I wasn’t even a year old when Tron came out, but that didn’t keep me from becoming a fan as a kid. When we were children we played with childish things and then our short attention span moved on to the next thing and we were left only with fond remembrances of the previous films, books, toys that made up our child hood. Tron even before the glut of marketing that Disney pumped out lived near the surface of my generation’s subconscious. The people who make TV and films have weaved their fond memories of the best parts of Tron into their work. From Family Guy to the Matrix you can see full on parodies to inspired ideas that emerged from Tron. I was lucky enough to see the original a couple of days before the sequel and it helped drastically lower my expectations, which in turn helped me enjoy the new film all the more.

This new film centers on Sam Flynn, the son of Kevin Flynn who was the star of the first Tron. Sam is a wild child who steals from his own company and distributes to the masses. He goes in search of his father and ends up sucked into The Grid. A computer program that has been running for over twenty years, that has independently developed into a rich digital world. Sam must first compete in gladiatorial games to win, until he is saved by Quorra and taken to his father, Flynn who has been trapped since Sam was a boy inside the computer. Clu the computer program Flynn created in his likeness to make the computer world perfect. has perverted the Grid to his purposes and plans to take an army of programs into the real world to conqueror and its up to Sam, Kevin and Quorra to stop him.

The underlying story is solid, but the way the story is told could definitely use some work. The film has an episodic feel, where you travel from one set piece to another, and in between you rub up against interesting ideas that don’t get fully developed. It’s not a bad thing per se, a film forcing the viewer ask questions, but it makes the film feel unfocused. When you reach what should be major emotional turning points in the film I was left pretty cold.

While the story could be better it is solid and serves its purpose to deliver the eye candy I wanted. I have in subsequent days thought about re-seeing the film, but realize I don’t want to see this film again; instead what I want to see is a sequel or a tv show that is full of more action inside the computer world of The Grid. The effects are gorgeous and the design sumptuous. There is a real strong vision here and while it was clearly (like the first one) strongly influenced by Star Wars, it still leaves you wanting more. Technically speaking a flawless film. The 3D was all very good, but I would also say that part of the effectiveness was how reserved its usage was. Things rarely popped out at you instead it was used for increased depth.

In the end the film is respectable, but falls short not just of greatness, but of the greatness that was right in front of them. There are times when the film feels too safe, and too beholden to the original, and like in the original it begs the question of why the hell its called Tron. It’s a decent kids flick, that will launch a money making franchise, that will unfortunately probably deliver less with each outing when it really needs to deliver more.

The Corn:

Arclight delivers the good stuff and keeps my arteries thick and juicy.

The Fighter @ Sherman Oaks Arclight

2010-12-10T12:03:00.000-08:00

The Movie: 2 of 5 Kernels

This movie may have a powerhouse cast, but it packs no punch and drags its feet all the way through to its forgone conclusion.

The Pop: 5 of 5 Kernels

Buttered Popcorn, Hot Dog, Diet Coke, store bought M&M’s

The film

I had high hopes for this incredible brew of talent, David O. Russel is one of the few directors who knows how to make Mark Walberg performances come to life and his film making is generally inventive and thought provoking. Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Melissa Leo all deliver strong performances as well, but the film fails at a fundamental level to draw the viewer in and establish tension or sympathy.

The story revolves around Micky (Walberg) his brother Dicky (Bale) and their mother Alice (Leo). Dicky and Alice serve as Micky’s coach and manager and his career is tanking. When Dicky is thrown in jail, Micky’s new girlfriend Charlene (Adam’s) convinces Micky to ditch his family and his boxing career turns around, when Dicky gets out Micky has to find a way to save his family and his chances of being world champion.

Solid biopic fodder presented in a stylish verite format, and it does a great job of capturing a real slice of life for this lower class family, and Dicky’s drug problems all of which are weighing the seemingly noble soul of Micky down. The problem is that Micky while likeable enough, especially compared to his bumpkin family, is not really an interesting character. Bale’s Dicky is much more engaging and explosive, so Walbergs relatively low key and nuanced performance seems drab and the rest of the characters despicable, none of which makes for a pleasant two hour run time with these people.

Set in an insipid environment the film doesn’t take any monumental narrative leaps. The film fails in its final act to bring every thing tightly together or to even attempt to thematically glue the piece together, instead the tale is the classic plucky underdog who inevitably triumphs in the end. The story is not bad by any means, but it doesn’t do anything special to keep your interest.

Thus begins the failure of direction. While the world is flawless, the lower class neighborhoods Micky and Dicky run and play in are as authentic as could be, but the approach to depicting them is constantly removed and under played. The nuance serves no master, it’s impressive but not involving or entertaining. At the film’s core is a fight film, a boxing film and it makes the choice to mostly use television cameras and angles to show the sport. Now there is nothing inherently wrong with this, the ring has been thoroughly examined so the step back is bold in some ways, but ultimately fails to captivate. Why watch a boxing match that looks like it’s on TV? I was desperate for an angle that was unique and incisive.

The final disappointment is that the film missed an opportunity to hammer home its theme. It’s about a guy who’s a fighter who has to fight even with his own family for respect, but he never gives up, he stalwart and eventually his drive and his righteous win out, but the film just sort of lets this information roll over you, it doesn’t revel in it, just depicts it. I would have liked to see something that stretched, and this film simply was content to depict rather then inspire.

The Corn

I ordered in such a way that I was able to get the freshest popcorn possible on the top, and it was delicious even without butter. The popcorn was so warm that the M&M’s melted in a sublime way a great treat for a not so neat film.

Black Swan @ Arclight Hollywood

2010-12-07T16:07:00.001-08:00

The Movie 5 of 5 Kernels

The intense emotionally gripping behind the scenes tale of the ballet world will leave you reeling and gasping for breath.

The Pop 4 of 5 Kernels:

Buttered Popcorn, Diet Coke, store bought M&Ms.

The film

To say that my anticipation for Darren Aronofsky’s latest film was high is a tragic understatement. I’m a big fan of Aronofsky and even his less successful work is sparkling original, technically masterful, and vividly emotional. Combine all those assets with one of my favorite actresses, Natalie Portman, whom I would similarly compliment and I was ready for a great film and was delivered one even better then I expected.

The story revolves around Portman’s Nina Sayers, a driven ballerina who lives under her mother’s thumb. Nina is desperate for the part of the swan queen in the new ballet season and when she gets the part she is challenged by its dueling roles of the virginal white swan and the seductress black swan. Nina because of and in spite of Tomas, the brash choreographer, Lili the free spirited ballerina and her mother pushes herself to her own psychological breaking point to perfectly portray the swan queen. To say more would be telling and would fail to encapsulate the wonderful madness of the film.

It’s interesting to consider the film in the canon of Aronofsky films, especially as his follow up to The Wrestler. Both Nina and Ram-Rod push themselves further then they should and both films lift the curtain on the private world of its protagonist. The insidious, competitive world of ballet turns out to be far more cut throat then wrestling. You also can’t help but be reminded of Pi and Requiem for a Dream, this film echoes the first ones paranoia and the seconds ones emotional downward spiral.

The style of the film is quite gripping and masterful. It uses sparing horror tropes and visual effects to keep the viewer unsettled and to imply the duality at the heart of the film. The DP Matty Libatique stretches himself here with his amazing hand held camera work, that will make you think he took lessons with Marsye Albert after The Wrester. Clint Mansell, Aronofsky’s other long time collaborator delivers another powerful and emotional score that rivals but does match his Requiem score.

The film spends most of its time delving into the gritty back stage of ballet and New York, but the final ballet sequences are beautiful and make me eager for the first time to actually attend a ballet performance. The real special effect of this film though is its lead. Natalie Portman’s whole body is transformed for the role. She’s even skinnier and more graceful then ever and her physical transformation is matched by her role. Portman has made a career out of often playing dominant and wryly smart women. Here she spends most of the film a wilting door-mouse, even her voice is different, and it’s a both a joy and pain to see the other side of her character emerge.

The rest of the cast does a solid job as well. Vincent Kassel is great as always and really commands the screen. Perhaps American casting directors will take notice and start finding more prominent roles for him. Mila Kunis does mostly her typical Mila Kunis thing. Which I was a fan of That 70’s Show, but has typically been poison to any feature films she’s been in. Here though she is used as a great instrument and rather then bending her to fit a role, it feels like this role was made for her. Winonna Ryder’s tiny role is adequate, but serves more as a reminder that after Heathers I got pretty tired of her. The other actress who does a lot of heavy lifting is Barbara Hershey, her relationship with Portman as her daughter is real and we can feel the weight of the years and dreams those two have shared.

Only a desire to be brief will force me to conclude here. Simply imploring you to go see the film for yourself and daring you to not be moved or at least disturbed by its contents. It’s a harrowing, dizzying experience that will have you leaving the theatre in silent contemplation and wondering if more needs to be said, then “wow”.

The corn:

The popcorn was not quite as warm and fresh as usual, and I asked for layered butter but could’ve used a lil more. Besides that the diet coke and m&m’s were fine.

127 Hours @ the Daryl Zanuck Theatre

2010-11-22T12:33:00.000-08:00

The Movie 5 of 5 Kernels
This harrowing tale of survival is visceral and packs an emotional wallop that will leave you cringing and crying.

The Pop 4 of 5 Kernels
Fruit & Nut Medley, with mixed in M&M’s plus a cone of arrowhead water.

The film
A new Danny Boyle film is always worth celebrating.When Boyle tackles a genre he usually changes it forever, see Trainspotting and 28 Days Later for proof. I doubt that 127 hours will fuel a series of harrowing solo survival mutilation films, but that is due to the daunting task of having an isolated character enthrall the audience without constantly relying on flashbacks, which Boyle does admittedly use very well. The other great aspect of 127 Hours is the star of the film James Franco. Franco is an undervalued asset in films. He has been treading the celluloid in a series of low rent films that don’t live up to his talent or simply misused in films like Spiderman. Here Franco is given a chance to plumb the depths and show a character who goes through the range of human experience and draws the audience along with him for the trip.

The story revolves around Aaron Ralston, an independent minded mountaineer who gets in over his head when a boulder pins his arm in a crevice and Aaron’s attempts to survive both mentally and physically. Ralston ends up needing more then his life experience alone to survive and is propelled to survival and freedom after coming to understand himself better.

The story seems simple, but it’s deceptive in that a story about a guy being pinned by a boulder could easily be anemic in terms of screen time. It could also easily be a series of flashbacks and a dramatic cross cutting story of a rescue party vainly trying to reach him. What sets the film apart really is style. The tiny crevice Aaron is trapped in comes to life with his fear, delusions and memories. Franco occupies the screen alone for most of the time, and his odd combination of charm and intellect is on full display in the quirky Ralston.

I could effuse about Franco all day, his performance is captivating and deep, I’m sure other actors could’ve pulled off the role ,but I doubt many of them would’ve been able to do it as well. The same could easily be said of Boyle as director, the story in his hands becomes an exploration of storytelling and the medium of film itself. Ralston had a digital still and video camera with him and Boyle revels in the use of digital, but smartly keeps the majority of the film shot on film. It’s a gorgeous film, made more visceral and real by the occasional use of the digital camera and it’s inherent glitches.

Of course Boyle can’t take sole credit for the look of his film. His two cinematographers created something that was a great blend of the digital and film medium. Both strived to use the cameras for their inherent strengths. Combined with the excellent editing and the powerful score the film impacts like a hammer and when you reach the satisfying end, you’ll struggle to keep the tears out of your eyes.

I can’t recommend the film enough, even its potential downfalls are successes in my opinion and the film will leave even the frostiest viewer thinking about their own lives and the choices they make in them.

The Corn
Again I was lucky enough to see a screening on a lot, this time fox’s lot. The snacks I brought were of course mmmdelish and they provided arrowhead water in a water cooler, with those cone sleeves, which basically means you can’t put them down, kind of a dumb way to give ppl water, but the water itself was crisp and cool and much needed after watching Ralston’s own struggle to stay hydrated.

Hereafter @ the WB Theatre 12

2010-11-15T15:30:00.000-08:00

The Movie: 4 of 5 Kernels
This multi-character tale weaves together a poignant exploration of the afterlife and the importance of living life to its fullest.

The Pop: 5 of 5
Trail mix with M&M’s mixed in.

The Film

Hereafter feels like a film that was made to be critically received and lauded at award shows. Clint Eastwood is a journeyman of the Oscar, he makes films with great casts and emotional heft that often fall short in my estimation. Luckily Hereafter is one of his most coherent and affecting films in years. The film’s script is atypical fare to say the least, but handled by an excellent writer and a director and cast who embraced the challenge elevated the film to something special.

Hereafter tells three interweaving stories of Marie, a reporter who nearly dies in a Tsunami, Marcus who *SPOILER* loses his brother and George the reluctant psychic who has the gift to speak with the dead, but feels cursed to be alone amongst the living. These three skirt on the borders of each other’s lives, all of them tacking their own difficulties with the Hereafter, whether it’s uncovering the mystery, recovering a loved one or coming to terms with their own ability.

The film’s solidly shot, it never goes for anything to flashy, instead its focus is purely on storytelling and letting the performances play out. That said the two pieces that are incredibly well conceived in the film are the harrowing Tsunami, which both the editing and the effects came together for, and the vision of the Hereafter, which is simple but effective. The rest of the film’s only real flourish is in the jazzy soundtrack written by Eastwood as well.

The stars of the film are definitely the cast and the writer, the synthesis of these two elements is where the film shines, especially the young actors playing twin brothers who will leave many movie goers in tears. The story of Marie is the one that is most easy to identify with, but also the most contrived of all the stories, her arc feels very pat, but it satisfies. Matt Damon as George delivers another wonderful performance that is all about the unsaid, he just continues to deliver in any role he tackles.

There is a draw back to this film though, it’s hard to describe what it is about the script, but it just feels very slow and at times contrived. Their is a very purposeful manipulation at play, but it fits with the theme of the film and the scenes individually shine, but somehow it’s easy to drift off in the middle of the film, luckily it comes to a hell of a close and its missteps can be forgiven. This does make me wonder what this film would’ve looked like from another film maker. Eastwood is notorious for shooting first drafts, his quickness to get camera’s rolling is what keeps him making movies so often, but it would’ve been interesting in a Sam Mendes or even a Stephen Frears ,who did Morgan’s The Queen, handle the script. That being said its less likely such fare would’ve ever made it through rounds of studio or financier notes. The film is as original as it can be and still be a product of the studio system.

Next time someone tells you that every film in Hollywood is the same you can readily point to this film and they’ll likely rebutt: “Yeah, but how much money did that make?” and you can just shake your head.

The Corn:
I am lucky enough to have a wonderful girlfriend who is a guild member and takes me to see films for free, so I got to go to this screening for free at Warner Bros studio. Sadly they are nil on the refreshments, so other then what I snuck in, I was up shit creek.

The theatre itself is cozy and nice, but the chairs look more comfy then they are. I must give kudos to the projection and sound, especially the sound, it really hit home.

MegaMind @ The Grove

2010-11-11T14:54:00.001-08:00

The movie 3 of 5 Kernels:
This solidly funny tale is given a huge boost of comedy by its cast, but never quite reaches its full potential

The pop: 4 of 5 kernels
Messob Ethiopian (no I didn't take it in), got their sampler plate which was a little bit of everything.

The Film

Megamind is the 2nd large animated film that focuses on comedic bumbling ne'er-do-wellers. The earlier effort Despicable Me left little impression months later when it came time to see this film, and I fear in a few months time I will say the same about Megamind. The film isn't bad by any means, its full of cool stuff and funny jokes, all of which is draped around a decent story, but the film falls flat in keeping my interest.

The story *SPOILER ALERT* is about Megamind and his nemesis Metroman, both are orphans from alien worlds, one turned hero and in response the other turned villian. Megamind finally kills Metroman and rampages across the city, but soon finds he's bored and purposeless without his nemesis. He sets out to create another nemesis and to court Roxanne Richi, Metroman's former flame. Soon though Titan, Megamind's creation turns out to be evil and its up to Megamind to save the city.

A really solid concept for a film, filled with great visuals, a really fun voice cast highlighted by Will Ferrel, David Cross and Tina Fey. The action scenes are really well done actually. And I really enjoyed the inventiveness of Megamind and his creations. All together it's hard to nail down why the film didn't quite work for me.

The main feeling i felt during the film though was kind of boredom. I didn't really care who came out on top, mostly because it all seemed to easily pre-ordained, and the tension fell flat. That being said if you have kids, love animation, super heros or even Will Ferrel, you'll probably get a kick out of this film.

The Corn:
Messobs is delicious Ethiopian food and their sampler platter, gives you a medely of their best dishes, it's a series of marinated meats and vegetables that are quite tasty and served with a delicious sponge bread that will fill you up quickly.

Monsters @ The Downtown Independent

2010-11-10T12:56:00.000-08:00

The Film: 4 of 5 Kernels

Great low budget film about a couple on the run through an alien infested Mexico, like Walter Salles version of War of the Worlds.

The Pop: 5 of 5 Kernels

Sparkling water and a seasonal veggie plate from Pit Fire Grill

The Film:

It’s a dubious treat to see a film at a film festival. You don’t have the preparation of being bombarded by an ad campaign to sell the film. Sometimes you don’t know anything at all, or in this case you hear a few good things and have a friend (RYLAND SHOUT OUT!) who is eager to see it. You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into, or what to expect so you sit in the dark and you wait, hopefully for a treat and sometimes you’re blown away, satisfied or disappointed.

Monsters is a quiet film, filled with big ideas, solid performances, solid special effects and delivers a tense and enjoyable ride. The story takes place in a world where alien creatures came to earth on the back of a space probe, and migrate along the border between Mexico and America. The aliens are mysterious and dangerous. In the middle of this is Andrew a photographer looking for the shot of an alien that’ll make him rich and Samantha, a beautiful rich girl who’s daddy has hired Andrew to make sure she returns to America safely. Their road trip of course ends up taking them through the heart of danger, right into the middle of the alien’s main occupation site. The two become more then friends as they struggle to make it home.

It’s easy to write this film up simply as a great example of a one man band low budget filmmaking. Gareth Edwards wrote, directed, shot and did the visual effects for this film. A regular Robert Rodriguez, he succeeds so well in each of the respective positions that the film exceeds its scrappy roots. The setting is science fiction, but the story is a lyrical romance, the two actors chemistry (they’re a real life couple) really sparkles on the screen. The camera work has a verite feel, and takes great advantage of the natural landscapes they found to shoot. The special effects are used sparsely, smartly and executed very well. The film’s real success though is in its telling, the threat of the aliens is constant and palpable, simultaneously your desire for the two leads to get together is just as engrossing. The film’s balancing act is its triumph, it dances between genres expertly, delivering enough sci-fi, and enough romance to please a wide audience and not too much to alienate fans of either.

The film hits a few pockets of slowness, but its also really nice how the film takes its time and when you reach the end you are fully on board with these characters and their plight. The biggest downside to the film is sadly probably the lead actor, he’s not bad by any means and his chemistry with the actress is great, but there is a certain affect that he never quite escapes, he reminds you other actors, but he is hard to pin down.

All told I was very impressed and even more so after the film listening to Edwards talk about the process of making the film and the incredible amount of work he put in himself. Its truly his film, but its also a great collaboration with his actors and I can not wait for this film to get him more work, because this is the best debut of this kind since Shane Caruth’s Primer.

The Corn

This time I skipped the concession stand, because I had just had the quite delicious and healthy (ish) season vegetable plate at Pit-Fire Grill, now I am a bit of a meat addict, but this plate of veggies will fill you up and satisfy for sure.

Enter the Void @ The Downtown Independent

2010-11-01T12:36:00.001-07:00

The Movie: 4 of 5 Kernels

This bombastic psychadelic journey through the afterlife will leave you stunned by its technical execution and reeling from its emotional punch.

The Pop: 4 of 5 Kernels

Way over buttered pop corn with store bought M&M’s plus Diet coke.

The Film:

I thought I’d try to start this review by trying to recreate the experience of watching the film:

CRAZY CREDITS

BLARING MUIC

FAST CUTS

Suddenly a scene

Shot from the Protag’s Pov

Hot girl is judgmental then she leaves

Is she gone?

Time to do drugs

Smoking drugs leads to

CRAZY HALLUCINATIONS

KALAIDESCOPE OF COLORS

LIKE 2001’S ACID TRIP ON SPEED

Phone call wake up

Friend comes over

We walk and talk about

How he wants to fuck my sister

He helped me become a drug dealer

He’s looking out for me

Go to drug deal

OH SHIT COPS

DRUGS WON’T FLUSH

BOOM

They shot me !

Oh shit I’m dying!

On this dirty bathroom floor

MOMMY!

CAR CRASH

BOOBS!

DEAD PARENTS

SEX!

LITTLE GIRL CRIES

ABORTED FETUS!

CAR CRASH

FLYING OVER THE CITY

GOING INTO THE LIGHT

CLOSER AND CLOSER

COMING OUT INTO

The rest of this review:

I went into this film knowing very little besides its long running time, and hearing some positive buzz about it. This not your typical Hollywood fare, and certainly not your typical foreign/art house fare, instead it’s a masterpiece of modern cinema that few will see and that’s a shame. Gaspar Noe is a controversial French filmmaker who excels at using brutal violence and sexuality for emotional impact. His earlier film Irreversible, still haunts me and Enter the Void will definitely stick around my subconscious for a while.

The plot is not the newest one on the planet, but its also pretty secondary to the way the film is told. Suffice to say the plot is the story of Oliver a young drug dealer who is shot, we then are sent with him on a psychedelic ride through his own life, and the world of the living as they deal with the aftermath of his death.

The subject may be familiar, but the real coup here is in the camera work. The entirety of the film is shot from Oscar’s POV. So in the first ten minutes of the film you are treated to seeing his hands light up a pipe, and his psychedelic hallucinations that follow. There is an amazing shot of Oscar in a mirror, it is perfect, when Oscar’s head tilts the camera tilts, his hands wipe his eyes and the frame is covered. There is some real technical wizardry on display throughout the film.

Once Oscar shuffles off the moral coil, his perspective is that of a soul. A soul that has no boundaries seemingly beyond what he wants/ is compelled to see. He flies over Tokyo and through rooms with the greatest of ease. The perspective is almost fixed to look down, but then suddenly we will drop from the ceiling and the lens will shift.

I know its odd to geek out so much over the camera work, and it definitely does disservice not to recognize the efforts of the rest of the cast and crew. Paz De la Huerta is great as Linda the sister who is both saint and whore at the same time. Also a real discovery was Emily Alyn Lind as young Linda giving one of the most powerful and gut wrenching performances I’ve ever seen from a child actor.

The seamless editing, the techo trip hop sound track and the special effects team all deserve praise as well. Without them the amazing camera work and its omnipresent perspective would not have worked and the story would’ve died. The film is long and it feels its length, but the length also seems appropriate. The director is telling a story in a grand way, that is about more then technical wizardry its about people and perspective. He has made a difficult form of story telling very digestible, because he leads you to conclusions with out telling you what you should think.

Finally a warning and a recommendation: This is a great film, its very sexual showing more genitalia then you’d see in any skin-emax film, its at times very violent, but as titillating as these things are the film is able to eclipse titillation and mine the emotional core so that sex become an act of love and not just penetration. This is not a film for everyone, but if you suspect you might like it, I implore you to find it in theatres. I’m sure the film will still be good at home, but the impact of the film will be dampened, if you’re not locked into the ride.

The Corn:

The popcorn was dished up from a batch that had been popped god knows when. So worried about the flavor I COVERED the popcorn in way too much butter. They have an old school hand butter pump, which really delivers the greasy goodness.

The popcorn itself was okay, solid flavor, but I just went too crazy with the butter.

I gave the theatre an extra kernel though, b/c the first rows of stadium seating are couples chairs that are comfy, lean back and have their own little tables and cup holders.

Very schwanky.

A Somewhat Gentle Man @ Hawai`i International Film Festival; Dole Cannery Theaters

2010-10-25T15:45:00.000-07:00

by Guest blogger: Jeff Kent

The Film: 4 out of 5 Kernels
This Norwegian dark comedy about a gangster making his way as an
ex-con warmed my cold dark heart with its surprising comedic moments.

The Pop: 3 out of 5 Kernels I wasn’t feeling cinema snacks and
needed caffeine because I did a 30k run that morning. We went to the
nearby boutique chocolatier and got a coffee, a Tahitian vanilla
truffle, a cinnamon-pistachio chocolate, and shared a biscotti before
the show.

The Film

The film I wanted to see was sold out so I went to see this film
instead. One of the joys of film festivals is seeing random unplanned
pieces and this was a winner. I always distrust my enjoyment of
foreign films. The thin veneer of the other can make a basic movie
suddenly interesting, like a costume drama or a lady’s love for
foreign dudes while studying abroad. But I digress, it happens when
you have a really important degree in film studies and a J.D. It’s
impossible to contain my desire to pave the screen with prose.

Sadly, projection problems kept a seemingly vital piece of
introductory exposition from occurring. Ulrik, a gangster, has just
finished 12 years in prison and is piecing his life back together. As
he falls in with his old crowd, he balances the need for revenge
against the man that snitched on him with the struggle of working as a
mechanic living in a crappy apartment and a family that has written
him off.

The film touches upon themes of duty, loyalty, aging, and family. The
DP managed to really catch the cold and bleak nature of Norway and the
story through muted washed out colors, inky nights, cigarette smoke,
and rain that made you want to pull your thin sweater on that you only
wear when you go the movies in Hawai`i.

The movie had some comedic moments that had me gasping, wonderful
colorful characters, and a great leading actor that was a blend of
Bruce Willis and Mickey Rourke. I absolutely enjoyed this film and
would give it a 3 but it gets a bonus +1 foreign film modifier.

The Corn
Uhhh, why are we still talking about food? The chocolate was subtly
flavored but I wouldn’t get it again because it was pricey and maybe
go for another biscotti instead. Was pretty hungry after so we ate at
my favorite ramen place: Goma-Tei. Curry ramen is awesome.

http://hiff.org/program/index.php/films/detail/somewhat_gentle_man_a_2010

Jackass 3d @ Arclight Cinerama Dome

2010-10-21T12:25:00.000-07:00

The film: 4 of 5 Kernels

The Jackasses return with glorious slow motion and eye popping 3D to make you laugh, squirm and potentially vomit.

The Pop: 3 of 5 Kernels

Usual delicious pop corn with store bought diet coke and M&M’s leave no complaints, but the dome continues to be the most over rated theatre in LA.

The film

My generation falls into a plethora of labels, Gen Y, the web 2.0 generation, etc, but one I’ve never heard is Jackass Generation. The label is fitting though, from my high school days when tapes of CKY circulated amongst my friends and clips were slowly downloaded over the internet til today when they embrace the latest film making technology the Jackasses have reigned supreme and become a cultural icon. The extreme idiots have covered every medium possible, their tv show, the movies, even the web with Jackass world, the now shuttered website. As I have aged, they have aged, they have been forced to top themselves, and struggle with their own aging bodies just as I have. That is a large part of what makes this potentially (hopefully?) final chapter so special.

The film is of course a series of stunts, pranks, and gags at the expense and for the amusement of the Jackasses. Its difficult to single one out as a favorite, and equally hard to even remember all of the bits. Pieces of the film will leave an indelible impression, but the joy of the film is in watching and re-watching, not as much in remembering. Suffice to say some of the highlights include, Lamborgini Tooth Pull, Bumble Bee Tetherball, Pin the Tail on the Donkey, Grand Father Making out with Grand Daughter, Super Glue, and the two major stomach turners Sweat Suit Cocktail and Mega Porta Potty.

The film proudly advertises its 3D spectacle and it must be said that they have set a high bar for 3D especially in a documentary. This may be the best 3D work I’ve seen since Avatar. It’s clean and not gimmicky, instead it’s smartly used and is never the thing making you want to close your eyes. The real star of the show though is the slow motion. Phantom cameras have become the leader in slow motion photography and the work done in Jackass is incredible. The film is suffused with amazing slow motion so you can see things that would otherwise fly by unintelligently and experience every cringe worthy blow. They even have a great example of the speed difference when during the credits they show a piece from the opening in normal motion and you realize how quickly things are happening and how much you miss.

The other great thing about the slow motion is just seeing the way the human body contorts and skin quivers. Preston Lacy’s giant stomach ripples as it takes a cannon ball and looks incredible. The slow motion takes advantage of the aging crew who except for Knoxville are starting to sag and wrinkle, and we get to see every flap of skin moving as they are catapulted, shot, punched, slapped, covered in paint in glorious slow motion.

The aging Jackasses are also not the same men/boys who went in front of the cameras in the past. Apparently for this film they were all sober out of respect for Steve-o’s own alcoholic recovery, so they are not the drunken gung-ho idiots they once were. There is a repeated lament of having to do another stunt, to take another blow, not just because it hurts, but probably because as they’ve aged their ability to recover has faded. It both adds and detracts from the film, it adds a sense of reality to the craziness they are doing, but it also detracts from some of the pure fun and sadistic pleasure that their pain once delivered.

To wrap up, I think its clear I enjoyed the film, let me say this about my rating system though. Its designed around bias, if you think Jackass 3D is a film you might like, they 4 out of 5 Kernels means go see it in theatres, and this Jackass is definitely worth seeing on the big screen.

The Corn

Arclight as usual delivers up the good stuff, but I’d like to take this time to gripe about the dome. I get that years ago an amazing wide screen format came out and they needed the curved screen for it. It was a really neat gimmick like 3D. I am glad they have preserved this piece of film history and found a way to make it profitable, but of all the Arclight theatres its probably the worst. The curved screen distorts things, the seats are not as comfy as the others and the seating is awkward. In conclusion if you have the option skip the dome.

Easy A @ Burbank 16

2010-10-13T12:06:00.000-07:00

The Movie: 3 of 5 Kernels

This cliché twisting high school coming of age story sails most of its jokes over the plate, but delivers a solid piece of entertainment, that is made watchable by its cast.

The Pop: 4 of 5

Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream!

The Film

High school stories reached their peak in the 80’s when John Hughes career thrived. Since then most attempts to recapture the social anxiety and esprit de corps found in those films have been lacking or misguided. Easy A does not reach the same heights either, but it definitely tries.

The story revolves around Olive Pendergrast (Emma Stone) a bookish, socially ignored high schooler until she tells one little lie about losing her virginity. Soon her one lie explodes across campus and she is labeled as the campus hussy. A male friend of hers wishing to escape the stigma of being gay enlists her to pretend to have sex with him and rumor spreads that she is willing to provide similar services to others for pay. Soon her reputation ruins her real life and she has to find a way to put a stop to the rumors before they hurt anyone else.

The film’s greatest strength is Emma Stone. I’ve been a big fan since Superbad. She’s got some real comedy chops, she’s cute and she proven here she can lead a film. She definitely elevates the material and helps make it relatable.

The film’s plot is a fun premise, it takes some interesting turns, but it didn’t quite mine the concept to its fullest extent. The depiction of high school was one of the better versions I’ve seen in a comedy. The cast was young and fun, but the real memorable performances and scenes come from Olive’s parents played by Stanley Tucci and Particia Clarkson.

In the end it’s a maybe see kind of film, if you like the genre or Emma Stone. I’m sure it will provide a fun night on DVD some time.

The Corn

Sadly the AMC has not begun serving Ben N Jerry’s, but that was the treat I indulged in post film. It’s theatre adjacent and oh so delicious. In general I would highlight the theatre as a place surrounded by shopping and restaurants galore.

Catfish @ Burbank 16

2010-09-29T11:48:00.000-07:00

The Movie: 5 of 5 Kernels

A mind bender about the nature of relationships in our modern age is both emotional and cerebral. A film that truly gets and relates to the “web 2.0” culture.

The Pop: 4 of 5 Kernels

An incredibly large small diet coke, plus red vines

The film

Since the advent of the computer we have been treated to scene after scene of people sitting at keyboards and tensely typing. Never before have I seen a film that is able to actually milk that tension of computer interaction like Catfish. The film takes the viewer on a very touching journey that will have most viewers paralleling the protagonists own journey.

Before I delve further into this film let me simply extol its virtues and implore you to see the film. If you’ve ever used the Internet to meet or contact someone you’ve never met in real life, be it through facebook, craigslist, online dating or whatever else then this film will be worth your time. If you need more convincing read on, but be warned SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD:

The plot of Catfish revolves around Nev, a very likeable handsome guy, with a big heart and a wry sense of humor. 8 year old Abby sends him a painting she did of one of his photos. Nev is impressed and begins a correspondence with Abby, soon he is facebook friends with her and her family. He talks to her mom and eventually gets interested in Abby’s older sister, Megan. The two start talking on the phone, and their relationship heats up via text and instant messenger. Doubt creeps in though when Nev discovers that some of the songs Megan has sent him claiming they’re her own, are in fact not. Suddenly Nev must figure out how to deal with his newfound love’s lies, and wonder what else she’s not telling the truth about.

The film real or not ( a debate I’ll touch on later) is masterful. It builds incredibly well, the filmmakers closeness to their subject, their acknowledgement of the meta aspects of the film make the whole thing feel more intimate. They use things like google maps, and facebook to help tell their story creating a sense of reality and empathy. The story never seems that far off from something you and your friends might do, or an anecdote you’d hear at a party.

The film’s love story is simple and solid. You want Nev to meet Megan, you look forward to that moment as much as he does. When questions arise the strength of that potential bond feeds into the tension for the possibility that it’s not real. You are looking so forward to the moment that the ruse is revealed to be either real or fake, because the stakes are so high.

TOTAL SPOILER AHEAD:

When Nev finally goes to Michigan and meets Abby and her mom, the truth is so much stranger then the lies that you keep hoping that the lies will reassert as reality. The truth about Angela and her relationship with Nev, the fantasy world she created to be loved for who she is, will break your heart. The film navigates its murky waters with a very likable and identifiable subject in Nev who makes the whole thing bearable. He’s not mad, he just wants the truth at the end, he realizes that though Megan is fake, that Angela is the woman he fell in love with and reconciling that is not easy for him. The film really got me with its last image of Nev. He no longer sports his boyish smile, his charm seems to have turned hard, he looks like he no longer invites the world in the way he once did. It’s a perfect albeit sad ending. That’s what makes me question the realness of the film.

The film couches itself as a documentary, either way its very good, real or not. If it’s a documentary then the stars aligned for the three filmmakers in a way that is impossible to quantify. The magic of film making can definitely fill a lot of gaps, create emotional resonance and impose 3 act structure, but it’s hard to believe something so sublimely cinematic could be real. There is little that points to fakery, hints of it at best, and not enough for me to be definitive. I want this film to be real, I want the world to be this interesting but I doubt it is. I would LOVE for readers to comment, with their thoughts about it, because the other amazing thing the film does is forces you on Nev’s journey.

Just as Nev is forced to question his reality, we as an audience have to question Nev’s reality too. Is this a real person, did these things really happen? That’s why like with another of my favorite films this year Inception, the answer doesn’t matter, what matters is the need to ask the question. A sign of a good film in my book for sure.

The Corn:

Red Vines with their High Fructose Corn syrup totally count, but also they are an old favorite and a good alternative to popcorn. The AMC beverages are ridiculous. They make you pay a lot, but they also give you more then any human bladder should reasonably hold, which if not careful means you have to leave the theatre mid film.

The Town @ The Vista

2010-09-21T13:32:00.000-07:00

The Movie: 4 of 5 Kernels

A tense and visceral crime thriller with a solid emotional underpinning populated with some great characters and some great action.

The Corn: 4 of 5 Kernels

Frozen Milk duds, M&M’s Plus Vista usual goodness, with butter

The Film

I have been a Ben Affleck fan ever since Mallrats. Like so many actors who achieve fame though, the money becomes more important then the work. Affleck eventually burned out his welcome in that place we keep in our hearts for stars. One of the smartest decisions he made was to pull back, he could’ve easily kept cashing checks and sleep walking through films. Instead I have much respect he decided to take on a new challenge. He stepped behind the camera and made Gone Baby Gone, a great crime thriller, starring his talented brother and filled with Bostonian accents. I never completely lost faith in Affleck, much of that due to the real guy stories Kevin Smith would proudly spew out about the man, and luckily that faith is paying off.

His latest film The Town is about a team of Bank Robbers, the women they love, and how their crimes legal, moral or personal make it impossible to win. Its difficult not to compare the film to Heat, both are about well trained and thoughtful bank robbers, with a stalwart leader who tries to be emotionally detached, while being pursued by the law, and are filled with great action scenes that are realistic and tense. The Town though is much less sprawling, it contains itself well, giving you little time to be bored.

The story revolves around Doug MacRay and his best friend and fellow bank robber James Coughlin played wonderfully by Jeremy Renner. Coughlin has two strikes against him already, and he has a secret over MacRay’s head, he’s not going back to jail and he’s gonna make sure MacRay helps him on the robberies. When they’re cornered in a bank, Coughin decides to take Claire Keesy, played by the always wonderful Rebecca Hall, hostage, they release her. MacRay stalks her to make sure Claire isn’t gonna turn rat on them and he ends up meeting and falling in love with her. Throw in a dogged FBI Agent, played with wonderful malice by John Hamm and you’ve got a great powder keg to worry about it when and how exactly it will explode. The film definitely pays off and delivers what you hope for, and twists the knife in your belly quite well.

Oddly, while this is a well-written script, with a cast of great actors directed by an actor, the dramatic scenes feel somewhat stilted. They are full of monologues and some of them start to feel long, its possible that simply in contrast to the pulse pounding action scenes they are a let down, or it could be that the audience is in such anticipation for that shock of violence that Renner always seems to be on the verge of releasing. The direction over all though is quite good, its not flashy, it just tells the story well and lets the actors do their best.

I would definitely recommend people to see this movie, especially older film viewers who have been waiting for a film that doesn’t pander to the young. This film is cut from a different ethos and while it delivers on the adrenaline, it also prizes story and emotions above all and that sadly has become a rare quality in films today.

The Corn: Vista’s popcorn was on par with its usual quality, my diet coke was lacking, but that was my fault, milk duds, while a fun tooth ache addition, once frozen become debilitating to my jaw, it’s literally still sore from all the chewing, so next time I would either not freeze them or wait until they had thawed more for that taste sensation.

The Expendables @ Burbank 16

2010-09-15T12:49:00.000-07:00

The Pop: 4 of 5 of Kernels

Super Buttered popcorn, M&M’s and diet coke

The Film: 4 of 5 Kernels

A macho thrill ride that plays like the eighties movie its stars used to be in, delivers enough fun for the fans to cheer on.

The film:

I was raised on a steady diet of testosterone filled action films, where a solitary hero’s bulging muscles would confront all manners of ridiculous bad guys often with an ethnic bent to them. The genre was pretty much killed by the first Batman film, when Michael Keaton put on his plastic abs and took over the box office. The flex of muscles waned and the stars mostly found other work, Bruce Willis went on to prove his dramatic chops, Dolph Lungren and JCVD’s films couldn’t get released in the states, and Arnold went and became governor. Stallone though didn’t forget, sure he made the odd comedy here and there (key word: odd), but he returned to the well with reboots of the franchises that made him a star, and now he’s decided to return that old school machismo to the big screen.

The Expendable cast, a collection of B move greats led by Stallone ,the man who launched the genre. In this The film’s straight forward plot, The Expendables a team of bad ass mecanaries, led by Stallone ,the man who launched the genre are hired to kill a general by the CIA, they scout the country and see that its in need of their help, they leave, but not before blowing some shit up. Then they come back with their whole team to try and make things right.

The plot is super simple, but also kind of convoluted, nonetheless it works well enough to get you through the film. The real delight in the film is the old school action scenes. There’s almost no CGI, there is some simple cool over the top explosions, big muscled fights and solid rapport between the team. The film is pretty nonsense-ical but it does its job, delivering you a fun, chuckle filled romp.

The Corn:

I went a little crazy buttering my popcorn, and got the artery clogging mess that I wanted. My hands were greasy but my smile was huge.

The Other Guys @ Arclight Hollywood

2010-08-09T12:22:00.000-07:00

The Movie: 5 of 5 Kernels

The comedy of the year so far takes the ridiculousness of Will Ferrell into a clichéd cop film and turns the whole thing on its head for some gut busting laughs.

The Pop: 4 of 5 Kernels

Aroma Coffee with Peanut Butter and Chocolate Bugles.

The Film

Will Ferrell’s sports films have ranged from incredibly funny, Blades of Glory to misfires like Semi-Pro. The Other Guys though is a return to his anchorman director and their lunatic brand of aside filled comedy with stubbornly wrong characters hits the mark and reminds us why we love Will Ferrell.

The film keeps its story simple, in the wake of the tragic death of the city’s two super cops, its up to another pair of detectives to step up and fill their car chasing, gun shooting, bad guy catching places. Walberg’s Terry Hoitz is a bad ass in his own right, but a past mistake has him stuck partnered up with desk jockey Allen Gamble (Ferrell) who doesn’t want to go out into the field. Once Hoitz drags him out of the office, Ferrell follows up on one of his cases that get them way over their heads. Hilarity ensues.

The plot is super simple, and hits all of its beats exactly like you want it too. The humor comes from these ridiculous characters. The police station is filled with hilariously macho cops who ridicule Gamble and Hoitz. Walberg spends most of the film yelling and exclaiming, but he doesn’t need to do more with Ferrell there to slam-dunk the jokes home. The cast is really on fire and is the definite high light of the film.

To be fair though Adam Mckay should be singled out for praise, he delivers some really solid action scenes delivered with some great editing, and simple execution that will make you laugh and cheer as cars crash and bullets fly. He’s also brought together a great cast and let them run wild, especially Michael Keaton who is tragically rarely seen in films these days. Every one of his scenes was filled with laughs. Rob Riggle and Damon Wayans Jr. put in a great turn as the idiotic antagonists cops. Eva Mendes is both hilarious and hot as she plays her role without cracking up. The one person who is not disappointing per se, but does not get a chance to show of his comedic chops is Steve Coogan, who does fine, but his role just doesn’t give him the opportunity for his brand of humor.

The only slight downside is that while the film is filled with laughs, and does a very good job of getting you on board with the characters, it feels long. Partly maybe just because the film is so filled with chuckle full scenes and action beats, that the moments where they stop to tell you story you can’t help but fidget.

All that being said if you think you’d enjoy this film I definitely think it’s worth seeing on the big screen with an audience. I really have not seen a funnier film this year.

The Pop: Change of pace this time, but damn those bugles were good, I’d recommend you pick them up next time you have a salty sweet tooth craving.

Cyrus @ Vista (Vintage Theatres)

2010-08-03T10:40:00.001-07:00

The film 4 of 5 Kernels

This comedy of awkwardness avoids the slapstick tropes of its genre by wearing its heart on it sleeve and excellent casting.

The Pop: 5 of 5 Kernels: Usual buttery goodness, with store bought diet coke plus M&M’s & a few Reeses Pieces.

The Film

Cyrus is the first studio venture by the Duplass brothers who are credited with the rise of the “mumblecore” genre. I know they kind of hate that term, and I think that it misses out on the charm of the Duplass brothers film by pigeonholing it with the term. Their films if anything should be grouped together under “awkwardcore” or “fidget-nema”. They love to milk comedy from (mostly) bad choices in intimate relationships filmed with a hand held voyeuristic camera that leaves the audience feeling like an awkward intruder.

In Cyrus the set up is simple and brilliant, you’re surprised you haven’t seen it before. The film focuses on John (John C. Reilly), who years after his divorce, is still a mess. His ex, played by the brilliant Catherine Keener, forces him to go to a party, where he repeatedly strikes out with women. Until Molly (Marisa Tormei) surprises him mid-urination, she is too cool and seems to really like John. There is a great moment where he runs of excited for an 80’s song playing on the stereo, he tries to get the whole crowd to sing and fails miserably until Molly joins him on the duet and soon everyone is dancing along. This was seriously one of the most fun, and identifiable scenes I’ve ever seen put on film (well digital film, you know what I mean). John is wowed by Molly, they rush to bed and he is wowed all over again, then she runs off, and John wonders if he’s a cuckold, so he does the reasonable thing. He stalks her and discovers that she has a grown son and that their relationship may not have room for all three of them.

The film takes off from there, and there are turns you just don’t expect, because they are so real and they are so reasonable. The film never delves into that all out brawl or gross out moment you’d expect from the situation or really these two actors, both of whom have found a lot of success under Judd Apatow’s hijinx laden comedies. Here though, the characters really dictate the story and the characters have a real life to them, one that exceeds the simple two-dimensional pandering we so often are delivered. Now of course the lack of gags and the reliance on tension requires some great acting.

The film only has five real speaking parts and is populated by great actors who are playing at the top of their game. John C Reilly, is incredibly funny, but he’s proven over the years that he can also out sad anyone, even Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Jonah Hill is here in a real different performance that doesn’t rely on him simply being the fat kid who says ridiculous things (not that that’s not there as well), but the pathos behind the anger he usually brings is there for a slow burn on screen. The real heart of the film is definitely Marisa Tomei, who I think just continues to impress and surprise. Many were flummoxed by her early Oscar win, but I feel she has spent her subsequent career earning that lil gold man. Every role she brings something fresh, original and charming. She does not rest on her laurels; she finds great parts and great films. On top of all that she is still gorgeous and seems to have no qualms about showing her well toned body. In this film she is less salacious, but her sweetness and her soul really ground this movie and make the stakes of a simple love story hit home.

Sometimes its easy to forget that films at their core are just actors in rooms talking. The Duplass brothers don’t seem to know how to do anything else, luckily they’ve learned to do it very well. They attack the emotional centers of their films vehemently and force the viewer to squirm and smile. Who could ask for anything more?

The Corn: Vista’s usual goodness, I ended up trying two things I don’t usually on this trip. I sat further back in one of Vista’s super legroom rows. Some of the rows are so far apart you can’t even touch the row in front with your legs when you’re sitting, its neat, yet oddly instills a sense of agoraphobia while inside. And I tried reeses pieces, which I’m not a huge fan of, or wasn’t, now I find them more tolerable and an intresing popcorn combo. I think an experiment where your reeses get into my popcorn will happen soon.

Inception @ Arclight Hollywood

2010-07-23T15:01:00.001-07:00

The Movie: 5 of 5 Kernels

Incredibly well executed journey through the labyrinth of dreams delivers on all fronts and will leave you excitedly talking about the questions it raises when you leave.

The Pop: 4 of 5 Kernels

(2^nd movie I’d seen that day so I got…) dove dark chocolate ice cream bar and diet coke.

The film

I readily count Christopher Nolan as one of the best living filmmakers. He has that rare combination of making an indelible mark and making films frequently and of the highest calibre. Even Nolan’s worst film (Insomnia) while it doesn’t hold up to the original is a masterpiece. So to say that my anticipation of this film was high is an understatement. I went in having seen only the teaser trailer, having gone out of my way to squeeze my eyes shut as soon as I realized that more of this film would be spoiled for me if I kept them open.

The film is about a man haunted by his past, Cobb, whose profession is to break into people’s dreams and steal their secrets. The apparatus that allows him and his team to do this is unclear and unimportant, once in the dreamscape, the rules change, you are at the mercy of the rules of the dreamer and the sub-conscious of those dragged into the dream. The film finds Cobb desperate, but unable to return home to his children, and he takes on a risky job, that involves planting and idea rather then stealing one. Cobb has to assemble his team and delve deeper into the dreamscape then he ever has before, at the same time he has to struggle with his own inner demons, which manifest themselves inside the dreams. He has to be the team leader, but he can’t know too much or his own sub-conscious will ruin the plan.

I will readily acknowledge that this is a film that is easy to pick and pull at. You can find flaws and deficiencies, things that seem to be logic gaps, and I for one am dubious about how entertaining a second visit to this film would be. All that being said, this is in fact a great film. It starts out with a crazy idea, a great set of rules for the idea, then adds a really solid script, a great cast, and a director who understands how important telling a good story is versus just having a lot of flair to dazzle the eyes. All of this comes together for a cinematic experience I would implore you to catch on the big screen, especially with good sound.

The film thematically covers familiar ground, between the Matrix, Oceans 11 & Shutter Island you might feel like you’ve seen this film before, but in some ways that’s the genius of the film. It never feels redundant, or rehashed. It innovates enough to separate itself, but the film also places important limitations on itself. Doubtlessly you’ve seen images of cities folding up on themselves in the trailer or poster, one of the things I really wanted to see in the Matrix was once Neo was able to manipulate the code of the Matrix was for him to move buildings or re-shape the world instead he was just really good at kung-fu, which hey is cool and all, but if you can do anything why not DO ANYTHING. In this film though the dreams are designed by a dreamer but are populated by the sub-conscious off all that are in the dream. So if the dreamer manipulates the dream too much, then the sub-conscious freaks out and destroys the dreamer, which ends the dream, therefore there are limitations to how much the dream can be manipulated. It’s brilliantly simple and it’s incredibly well set up in the first heist of the film.

The film is at its heart a really good heist film, but instead of like Ocean’s 11 breaking into a casino, these guys are breaking into dreams. The set-up is simple the execution is complicated and that is where the film both succeeds and fails. The film doesn’t really develop any of the characters except Cobb, for reasons that I think make a lot of sense but don’t want to spoil if you haven’t seen the film yet. It really is Cobb’s story, it’s about his desire to get home, and its about his struggle with his past, all while leading the heist. Now this focus, might make some of the other character seem 2 dimensional, luckily they have such a great cast that the actors bring so much to their parts to fill out that third dimension. The problem though is that while there is a strong emotional story, its in the middle of all this other brain teasing craziness, that you’re busy deciphering the story, so that the emotions do work, but they don’t hit the way they should. It’s not bad, just not as strong as it could be, because there is just too much going on in the film. In Prestige this line between head scratching and emotions was walked better.

Besides that though the film really is a powerhouse, there is a section in the middle of the film that’s set up like a James Bond-esque action scene in the snow. It’s a cool scene, but considering the amount of screen time it gets, it seems more rote then truly imaginative. This film and Dark Knight definitely confirm that Nolan would be a natural to direct a world hopping James Bond film though. Finally, as good as the visuals are and they are amazing, especially their slow motion work, the audio and the score are a real treat. Hans Zimmer (who I’m not the biggest fan of) acoustically bombards you with teeth rattling bass notes. It’s one more reason to catch this on the big screen, with some big sound.

Finally the film does delve into questions about reality, dreaming, sub-conscious, and free will that are all worth examining and worth discussing. I’d love if people wanted to get a good discussion in the comments here. If you haven’t seen the movie, I’d highly recommend it, because rightfully so this is a big screen phenomenon worth participating in.

The Corn:

The downside of seeing multiple movies in a day is that it can be popcorn overload so I got a Dark Chocolate Dove Ice cream bar, which paired well with diet coke. It’s hard though to slowly enjoy ice cream in a movie as it all starts to melt quickly, but a good treat for sweet lovers.

INCEPTION @ ARCLIGHT HOLLYWOOD: INITIAL REACTION

2010-07-16T04:03:00.001-07:00

The time is nearly 4 am, just escaping the parking garage was a gargantuan task. A film that brings them in droves at midnight causes a traffic jam of epic proportions in a parking garage.

The big question? Does the film satisfy? Is it as good as they say? Is it as good as you wanted? Was it what you wanted?

Yes, I think so, maybe better, but at least on par, I’m not sure it is but that’s okay.

Inception takes you on a ride that is both emotionally rife and though provoking. It tackles the fundamental issues of questioning reality, questioning sanity and what its like to delve into the borderlands of dreams and waking.

The film moves, and unwinds, it’s layer peels away like an onion, it’s filled with foreshadowing, you can see through the layers, and guess at what will be revealed next with clarity, but still be surprised at the way its delivered to you.

The cast is an amazing assemblage. Leo brings the pathos with Cottilard, Page the spunk, JGL and Tom Hardy lighten things up bit. Technically the film is mostly a master piece, Nolan’s effects are never over the top, but instead derive logically from the story, so there were some moments I hoped he’d go more over the top which was so dream based, but the execution of what he chooses to do is top notch. The score is a bombast that quakes the viewer into submission.

I can and prob will write more, but to avoid spoilers or overthought I’ll leave on this final potential negative to consider. ***the closest thing to a spoiler in this review*** Nolan’s become notorious for his elaborate twists and turns, not unlike another director who’s earlier successes have spoiled one M. Night. Nolan is such a powerhouse director, but its becoming easier to get ahead of his scripts twists, how long can he play out that chain I wonder? We will see ***not really spoiler end***

Will write more, hopefully that discusses rather then tantalizes about the film.

Predators @ Glendale Pacific 18

2010-07-14T16:35:00.001-07:00

The Movie: 4 of 5 Kernels

This action romp rises above its B-movie aspirations with a great cast, some terrific pacing and some well-executed genre moves.

The Pop: 5 of 5 Kernels

Popcorn, buttered (and some un) with a lil parmesan & garlic salt, plus store bought diet coke, m&m’s and skittles core candies.

The film

Despite being too young to understand the subtext of the eighties action film they have definitely formed the backbone of my love of macho adrenalized violence that takes little time to ponder the consequences. No one did these films in the eighties better then Schwarzenegger. Commando, Running Man, Terminator, Conan, and of course the original Predator. Now Robert Rodriguez and Nimrod Antal have made a great homage to John McTiernan’s classic monster film, one that celebrates and attempts to exceed the original and arguably succeeds.

The film’s plot is simple, even if it’s expositions is clunky at times. A group of the deadliest killers on planet earth are dropped onto an alien planet to be the prey for a deadly alien species. The rag tag group of killers from around the world must band together if they have any hope of surviving or getting home. That’s basically it, yeah there’s a ton of character stories, Adrien Brody’s gruff loner mercenary, Topher Grace’s simpering geek, Walter Goggins hilarious sociopath and a great cameo by Laurence Fishburne as a whacked out survivor/final piece of exposition, but the film is smart to keep the plot lean, the characters interesting and the action moving.

The film does a very good job of keeping its budget reasonable while still keeping the audience interested. Most of the film is set in the jungle where you feel like threats could pop up at any time. And pop up they do, the action is taut and thrilling, doing a great job of placing characters in peril, and making us care about them and establishing the sheer might and terror of the predators themselves. The film does a good job of taking us from comedy beats to action beats relying on its cast of characters to smooth out the rough spots.

The rough spots: its always difficult it any creature feature to reveal the monster. Inherently shadows are a filmmaker’s friends, that’s why Jaws was underwater for so long, that’s why alien’s final scene where you see the awkward xenomorph does not come til the end. Yes, the predators look the same, yes the mandible creatures are foreboding, but as soon as you show us the creatures some of the scare goes away. They do their best to make up for this by showing us the sheer power of the predators, such as in the very cool samurai sword fight, and even letting us see two predators fight each other. The other slight downsides for the film are the handy dialogue exchanges, which are pure exposition, and just the dialogue itself feels well, not cool. The actors do a great job with it, but the dialogue lacks the witty flare, the macho coolness that the earlier film reveled in.

That being said the film is filled with some great homage’s and direct references to the first predator film. The winks and nudges are fun for a fan like me and clearly the filmmakers are fans too. Their excellent casting really makes this film what it is, the action scenes are solid and involving, but the charm and verve of the cast make the film float above the past failures to bring this franchise to life. I hope they get a chance at another outing with the Predators, maybe we’ll finally get the Alien versus Predator film we’ve been hoping for who knows.

The Corn:

Glendale 18 was in rare form today, the popcorn even before I over buttered and season salted it was rich and flavorful, not as crunchy as it could be, but still quite good. The skittles core candy was a fun addition to my usual fare, but prob not one I would be eager to repeat.

The lieutenant of inishmore @ mark taper forum

2010-07-06T11:31:00.000-07:00

The show: 3 of 5 kernels
This acerbic play is well staged, but the performances don't breathe enough life.
The pop: 3 of 5 kernels
Overpriced sparkling water & yogurt pretzels

The play:
I've had limited exposure to Neil McDonough. Seeing In Bruges made me an instant fan & reading Pillowman cemented that. Lt is definitely reminiscent of these works, bloody & brutal with a helping of lunacy. The words on the page seem solid, but the play itself is lacking.

The play takes place in Ireland amidst the turmoil of the IRA & other Irish groups fighting for liberty. The play begins with two men staring at a dead cat, it turns out the cat is beloved of a vicious and deadly Irish freedom fighter, who upon discovering the cat is poorly rushes home, into a trap.

The underlying absurdist bent of the play is brilliant, all the brutality incited by the death of a cat. It's really quite clever, & the dialogue is rich, the scenes are tautly constructed & charming too. Something though was missing in this performance.

Chris Pine, really does deserve praise for his eponymous turn, he's charming & lethal. The rest of the cast ranges from adequate to poor. The actor playing Jimmy, the whiny hippie, who has the most stage time really detracted from the over all play. He seemed to announce his every line, rather then act it. The direction in general was odd; there were prolonged pauses that went past awkwardly funny, to just awkward. That’s live theatre though always a risk something doesn’t come together on the night you see it.
Overall I’d say the play is worth a gander. The theatre is cool and I think there is a good chance that since the show is still in previews some of the rough spots will even out. As it is there’s a good script, some very solid performers and also a very cool stage, with some very fun and bloody staging.
The Corn:
My yogurt covered pretzels and sparkling water, both hit the spot keeping me sated. The Mark Taper is definitely a nice venue, it’s intimate, but seats a lot, and even in the cheap seats we felt close to the show.

The A-Team @ Burbank 16

2010-07-06T11:28:00.000-07:00

The Movie 4 of 5 Kernels

This humor filled action spectacle, really succeeds with great actors bringing some genuinely interesting characters to life while blowing up everything in sight.

The Pop: 3 of 5 Kernels

AMC’s kid meal, with diet coke, and fruit snacks.

The Film

I remember being a fan of the A-team, but I can not remember any single A-team episode, beyond Mr. T’s gruff pitying of the fool. My excitement for this film came mainly from director Joe Carnahan. Carnahan has proven that he knows how use a budget well to entertain. Many people derided his over the top Smoking Aces, but I can think of few multi character story’s that do such a great job of keeping you laughing and worrying while blowing up everything in site. A-Team is pretty much more of the same.

A-Team starts right in the middle of a dire situation, Face, the charismatic wild-card, (Bradley Cooper) is in trouble. Hannibal, the ever competent leader (Liam Neeson), finds an on the run B.A. Baracus (Rampage Jackson) who helps rescue Face, because they have the bond of having served as Rangers. They escape with the help from Murdock, (show stealer Sharlto Copley), an insane pilot. The four make a good team and Hannibal brings them to Iraq, and they become the elite team in Iraq. Everything goes fine, til they get a mission that Hannibal can’t stay away from, counterfeit US Dollars and the plates they were made from in Baghdad. They are enlisted by a CIA operative to help get the plates, they do the job, but before the mission can be celebrate, their commanding officer is killed and the plates are stolen by Blackwater stand-ins. They are blamed and court marshaled. Now the four of them have to figure a way out of prison and to clear their names, along the way they grown and learn about themselves, oh and they blow shit up.

The film’s story is solid, but by the time you reach the third act the energy starts to wain. The film still has a strong ending, but the impact is dulled by the complexity of the plotting. The BA storyline is an odd one as well, he finds peace in prison, and becomes non-violent. So the rest of the film his story arc is trying to get him to be violent, but in a noble way. It’s a very difficult idea for a main-stream film to tackle, and they do an adequate but not great job of it here. The rest of the story lines are all solid enough and the rapport between the main four really does make the film a lot like entourage with explosions, which was perfect for me.

I have to say the biggest shock of this film for me was the inclusion of Jessica Biel and her and the film not sucking as consequence of that. Biel is incredibly attractive, but usually her bland acting is one more detriment to an already bad film. Here she is finally used well, she plays the straight man and the love interest well. Less of a surprise is the greatness of Sharlto Copley, here he confirms his greatness as an actor and a comedian very well. He does not ever scrath the depths that he did as Wikus in District nine, but he steal every scene he is in and makes the film eminently watchable in scenes that minus his deft comic touch could’ve fallen flat.

The film delivers on its promise. It does not re-invent the wheel, but its actions scenes are great. They all fit very well into the story, even if admittedly the story is really at service to the incredible set pieces. None the less solid characters, with great rapport make the action scenes strike emotionally as well as visually. I’m eager for Carnahan’s next film, even (and maybe especially) if it’s a sequel to this one, where he can explore these characters more and freed from the need to tell their origin.

The Corn:

AMC’s kid pack is a good side, but it would def be nice to get a little more popcorn, and the fruit snacks kind of suck as a pop corn accompaniment.

Toy Story 3D @ Arclight Sherman Oaks

2010-06-25T18:45:00.000-07:00

The Movie 5 of 5: This wrap up to the toy stories series, echoes its predecessors, and crafts a tale that is sublime.

The Pop: 5 of 5: Arclight’s just right kids meal, complete with diet coke and m&m’s.

The film:

Oh how I could gush about Pixar and its flagship film series Toy Story. I am not by nature a crier in films, it happens, and usually it’s at kids films, especially Pixar films. Toy Story 3, is no exception. The Toy Story series definitely holds a special place in my heart. The first two are amazing and third one is nearly their equal. Its detractions are minor and niggling compared to the majesty and charm the film exudes.

The third chapter of Toy Story finds the toys desperate for some play time before their owner Andy goes to college, likely leaving them behind possibly dormant in the attic or to be chucked atop the scrap heap. Andy’s ill fated decision to store the toys in a trash bag for the attic leads to Woody watching Andy’s mom dump the toys on the curb. Woody through some quick thinking manages to get the toys in a box meant for donation to a day care center. The toys arrive and are greeted by the new character Lots-o-Hugging Bear and his gang of mis-fit toys. It turns out the plush toy’s gentle demeanor hides, a cruel warden and the majority of the film revolves around a classic prison break style film filled with hi-jinks galore. The films tragic third act set at the scrap heap will (as it has most of the people I talked to) leave you in tears, despite knowing a happy ending is inevitable.

Toy Story 3 reminds you of how a film can really transport you into a whole other world, but that the real ride is the emotional roller coaster of watching characters you care about and are charmed by be placed in peril. The main theme of the film and one that is repeatedly talked about is the fate of these toys. Andy’s grown up, he hasn’t played with them in years, and the first two films have established that getting back to Andy is all that matters. Now the toys have to figure out what they’ll do without him, whether they’ll simply be consigned to the waste bin or find someone else to fulfill their life’s mission and play with them. It’s really poignant and makes you think about all the toys you once had, and the imagination that was once so fertile it could not be contained in your head. ** spoiler/ something to contemplate begins** Ultimately the toys do find a place and we get the happy ending we crave. The film though avoids facing the grim realities it discusses, the happy ending is built into the film, but for toys outside those that made it to this third outing, their fate is not so cheery. Also, because of the underlying fact that these are toys that will never age, their plastic bodies will not break down, unless torn asunder, will inevitably face the same challenge again, when their new owner grows out of their phase of playing with toys. Something not for years to come and which we probably won’t see put on film. **spoiler end**

It’s hard to know where to begin and end with the plaudits on a film like this. The voice cast and the animators bring these characters to life so that you never doubt that they are real and worth empathizing with. The writers and director do an amazing job of crafting a story heavy on gags, character and even genuine pathos. The technical team has crafted a feast for the senses including your depth perception with their exemplar 3D work, which in the usual Pixar vein is restrained, but well done.

There are times where the film gets a little more talky then needs be, but the film’s pacing handles it well. The antagonists and their back story are solidly done as is their come uppance, but it definitely feels like a re-hash from the last two films, sure there is a twist on it and no you didn’t really need more, but it would’ve been nice in a series this original for something equally as fresh. The echoes to past toy stories, including a grown up Sid working as a garbage man were quite funny, (although I would’ve loved to have seen Sid return as a full fledged character, since he’s the only person in this world who knows the toys can come to life, he could’ve been a great antagonist or protagonist). The film also strays into some pretty dark territory, especially when aping the prison escape genre, that might get too dark or too slow for some younger kids, but nothing they should’ve be able to handle without a parent near by.

Ultimately the film delivers a great wrap up to a great series, really making sure to hit as many points as possible to address the concerns of its fans. In this age of sequels that feel more like money grabs then inspired pieces of art, its no surprise that Pixar is able to make a stand out like this. A third in the chapter that is almost as good as its predecessors and does a great job of bringing the whole thing to a close is delivered. I’ll miss Woody, Buzz and the rest, but with a final film like this they go out on a high note, and they can rest in the toy bin knowing they put a smile on my face.

The Corn:

Arclight’s kid pack, okay so the M&M packet is pretty small, but for those who are watching their waste line expand, its definitely a great alternative giving a little taste of all the things I like and making me not feel guilty for asking for layered butter.

PS: The short before the film Night and Day is also amazing.

It’s the story of a 2, 2-D drawn characters, they exists in a blank volume of space, but inside their 2-D lines are a 3-d world. One is Day, his body contains the sunrise and he wakes up and we see through him a small waterfall to show his morning pee-break. The film goes on from there to show us a great imaginative way to tell a story about acceptance. Its great.

Get Him To The Greek @ The Vista

2010-06-06T13:36:00.001-07:00

The Movie: 4 of 5 Kernels

A thoroughly enjoyable hijinx filled romp through the world of excess that surrounds a rock star.

The Pop: 5 of 5 Kernels

Popcorn with layered butter! Peanut Butter M&M’s, 7-11 churros and Diet Coke

The Movie

Get Him To The Greek is the latest production from Judd Apatow, the main who raised the bar for raunchy comedies and then let it drop again. His films have really ranged the gauntlet of quality, but for the most part you can always find a great cast and a series of pretty funny jokes and some really random hilarity. GHTTG is no exception.

The film centers around Russel Brand, reprising his role in Forgetting Sarah Marshall as Aldous Snow the over the top Rock Star who is both fundamentally cool and childish; and Jonah Hill’s Aaron a fan boy record executive. Aaron has to get Aldous to the Greek theatre for a chance to save both their careers, but he has to navigate the rock star’s capricious nature and his baggage from the past all the while deciding if he can handle the lifestyle of the music business.

All this plot is pretty simple stuff, that gives you a great set of explicit goals for which the protagonists to battle towards and from which to hang tons of jokes off of and that’s where the film really does shine. Letting the characters loose, Russel Brand may not be able to play anyone BUT Aldous Snow, but he does it brilliantly, even managing to bring a touch of pathos. Jonah Hill is genuinely funny and has a lot of great aside jokes, being the straight man reacting to the rock world excess, but its hard for me to watch him as a real lead, because this is no Super Bad, and Aaron is almost too normal. The real scene stealer has to be Sean Combs (p.diddy? puff daddy?) he is HILARIOUS, and just nails his twist on the music mogul he in fact is, with lines about mind fucking and Jefferies. Also the two female leads are great Elizabeth Moss and Rose Byrne both nail their parts.

Overall the film is just a really solid entry in the Apatow catalogue, its not his best, but its far from his worst. Nicolas Stoeller the director, really keeps the film moving until the third act when the film pumps the brakes several times veering into uncomfortable, but pretty funny territory. Its shot well, got some decent songs, and is definitely well edited. A film worth watching if you’re looking for a reason to hit the theatre.

The Corn: Vista was is rare form, the corn was DELICIOUS, well buttered, peanut butter M&M’s were a so-so pairing, and the churros I wouldn’t get again.