Red (2010)

Retired Extremely Dangerous - that would be the expanded full title. When I first heard about the movie I thought that finally I'll have the opportunity to see an action movie with Bruce Willis in something more substantial than the figurative role in "The Expendables", the so-to-speak comedy "Cop Out" or the lamest "Die Hard" in the series = the last one. When I've seen the trailer my expectations did fall a long way down however, and I became fully convinced that "Surrogates" will probably still remain the best film starring the aforementioned in the last three years (which considering that it's SF as a genre, best means about a fifth of what was "The Fifth Element" once ...). Even more ... when I heard that "Red" is based on comics ... (as it was "Surrogates" by the way) I said it's clear how it's gonna be, and I "transferred" it from the "to see" movie list to the "to see when I'll have more time" movie list (which is like about two years after the premiere ...). And so I left apart "Red" until I found out what movies have been nominated for a Golden Globe next year. I do not put much price on the Golden Globes in general (the jury which gives the awards is quite small in number compared to Oscar, BAFTA, etc) but anyway, when I've seen that "Red" is on the list of Best Picture Nominees - even if it is the comedy/musicals section - it managed to wake up my interest again ... and it wasn't for nothing :) ...

So, in the story we have him - Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) - retired CIA agent who spends his days flirting (or at least trying to ...) with her - Sarah Ross (Mary Louise Parker) - telephone operator at an administrative department in charge of his pension. Well, this romantic comedy beginning takes a turn to something closer to "Die Hard" when during a quiet night the retired agent's house and implicitly also he, is visited by a detachment of assault troops. After transforming the residence into swiss cheese and neutralizing the commando with efficiency worthy of a young John McClane, our agent decides to step out temporarily from retirement, go to Kansas where literally grabs his potential girlfriend (based on the idea that along him life is more secure, or at least it feels like living between bullet showers), and starts an investigation that would reveal who and why is hunting him. And at this point we come to the interesting part of the film. I can say that the former CIA agent is pursued by also the CIA, I can say that he starts to gather a small group of other retired agents to help him, I can say that everybody in the small group seems to be on a "erase" blacklist, and I think I can say even more without giving too much of the story, but I will stop at that. The idea is that it's been a while since I actually have seen a so consistent story in an action movie. Especially given the fact it's an action movie that doesn't want to be thriller, drama, or anything else more sophisticated, but just a plain action movie with a clear tone of self-irony/comedy/satire vis-à-vis the entire secret agent "concept". To be more specific we have a gradually revealed plot with a final twist close to a Bourne movie, filled with moments along the way which look so "sci-fi", that actually seem to be taken from a "Space Rambo" or smth like that (but these are intended to look like this and are not accidentally exaggerated as the action sequences in the "Transporter" series for example).

I won't get into more technical details because the film's strength probably lies in the cast filled with known names - besides those already mentioned: Bruce Willis (who saved many films such as those mentioned in the beginning, but fortunately here at last has a decent script) and Mary Louise Parker ( who hasn't impressed me ever up to this movie ... don't know exactly why it happens here .. probably reminds me of somebody .. :) ), we have the group of former agents, spies, etc. who are Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich (in an amazing role as a paranoid guy), Helen Mirren, Brian Cox, Richard Dreyfuss, Ernest Borgnine.

Conclusion: The film is refreshing, it's funny and it's complex enough to exceed your expectations if you have only seen the trailer :) That being said, I hope next year I'll have time to write enough, hopefully not so often in a hurry, and most important better and less boring posts :) For the moment: Happy New Year!

Rating: 4 out of 5

Shrek Forefer After (2010)

I know that I'm a bit late with a posting that was meant for before Christmas and it's also quite far from the movie premiere (which was in the spring - summer). Anyway, usually I'm not even writing in this time of year = I take a vacation for 3 weeks ... but I said to skip that "custom" this year considering things have changed a bit for me = I don't really have the latest movies on my blog given the fact that where I've moved with my work the films are mostly dubbed in French at the cinema + anyway I don't have much time at my disposal to see anything (although I'll catch up a bit these days when I'm back home for Christmas...). For now however, I didn't see yet anything really new except the last part of Narnia ... (despite the fact that I said that I won't spend any money to see that movie). Although there are some improvements over previous ones, I still don't believe it's worth wasting the time and the space on this blog, and in order not to turn to the horror genre again on the second day of Christmas :D I'll stop at the last Shrek instead.

As it's probably already obvious, my final rating (which is the least important piece of my writing) usually tends to be relatively close to the IMDb one (and that's why I probably consider IMDb - with some exceptions - to be the most valid reference for how much or less better is a movie). However there are cases when me and IMDb have different opinions - and the fourth Shrek is one of them.

Firstly I didn't expect too much when I was about to watch it. Even though I'm a declared DreamWorks fan, I always thought that the title that basically made them known and which probably brought also the most money = Shrek, is a little overrated. If you ask me like.. what happened in Shrek 1, 2 and 3, I have no idea to tell you anything beyond the fact that in the first the green ogre has saved the princess ... who also became green in the final. Otherwise ... in the second and third I can't remember who was "the evil one", which was the conflict - the story, what was Shrek supposed to save ... etc.. The conclusion is that if this stuff happened, all of it was quite thin in terms of script. Maybe I'm a bit old-fashioned, but I really feel some need of good vs. evil story in an animation which is supposed to pass as a fantasy eventually. Even in the first Shrek, you can not say much about some conflict in the story. I really doubt that you can place the dragon in the category of evil character, but rather more to a natural disasters one. Here, in the final Shrek, at least we have a story in which "the evil one" might not be really at the same level with Sauron from Lord of the Rings, but it's still something more than in the previous two in terms of character development ( = this time I'll remember this part ).

What's the idea, to be more specific. Well ... in what is said to be the last episode of Shrek, the green ogre goes through an existential crisis, being sick of all and everything - festive parties, home, family, fans - and falls into a trap planed by the "evil one" mentioned above - Rumpelstiltskin - a wizard who offers a deal - one day in Shrek's childhood for 24 hours of specific ogreish solitary life. And obviously, the contract has a catch ... Which is not hard to guess:) but I prefer to let the rest of the plot to be discovered instead of saying everything now. Especially given the fact ... :) that again I'm writing on the run, and I am forced to end the topic a bit abruptly. To say one more thing, even if you don't have here the greatest DreamWorks production (not even up to a quarter of "How to Train Your Dragon" script), my point is that it might be at the same level with the first Shrek, and the a story is actually maybe a bit more coherent and complex from the narrative point of view. Besides this, it has that extra something that Pixar movies lack, and still is DreamWorks specific = it manages to be both funny and touching simultaneously without falling into attempts to generate excessive teardrop lakes.

Rating: 4 out of 5

( PS: light spoiler - after all who knows ... maybe I was so positive about the movie 'cause of my appetite for time travel / related life changes / stuff like that :) anyway speaking of time .. with the obvious delay I'm saying what I forgot to say last time: Happy Holidays! ;) )

Case 39 (2009)

I've never had before a horror as a blog entry before Christmas and I don't know if that's really the best option in keeping with the holidays spirit :) but this is pretty much all I have on hand as a subject. "Case 39" is a film based on the same idea as in the classic "The Omen", or in the newest (although I didn't see it yet) "Orphan". For who didn't watch those movies, as a basic info, the action here starts with a girl from a family with some "issues" (see below) who is taken in care by a social assistance worker. So ... for anyone who has seen the mentioned films, this would be already a huge spoiler related to where the movie "goes", therefore I won't say more about the subject :).

One thing to be mentioned is that the movie is probably an example to be followed in terms of the graphic violence quantity for a horror (at least for my taste). Honestly, thinking on current period examples categorized as "horror" like "Saw" or "The Descent" to mention two of them, I am actually surprised that "Case 39" got the same genre listing on IMDb (I can remember that "Frailty" is not placed in this "area", and even if it is mainly a thriller you can not say that it doesn't at least try to give you the chills if not more). To synthesize the idea, you won't see much more violent scenes than the ones in the trailer - neither regarding the intensity nor quantitatively speaking.

And yet, even without the tons of spilled red paint ... it is a horror :) ... Because you have that feeling / atmosphere that is not so easy to grasp lightly when watching it. Unfortunately this is not true for the whole movie length, being fragmented with scenes that for me at least were pretty hilarious - something that eventually may not be that bad ( especially if you see the movie alone and late at night :) ). It really depends on how seriously you take into consideration what you see. Or maybe even on your mood when you watch it - an example ( without many details :) ) - there's a scene at some point related with those "family problems" I mentioned in the beginning - namely the girl's mother and father decide to show their parental warmth by literally placing the child in the oven (don't worry the scene is much more lighter than it sounds). Well anyway ... :) ... if you're worried, sick, tired, or I do not know what non-positive state of mind you might have, the scene - or at least the background idea - might not come very easy, but if you're relaxed and took a detached cool stance on watching the movie, what I described might actually seem funny in the context :) (well, some dark sense of humor required here)

The worst part of the film and that will be reflected in the final rating, although I am strongly subjective on this ( I can not help it :) ) is .. Renee Zellweger. I don't like her and that's it ... I don't know. As I said, is a subjective view ... but I really think that they could have found somebody else to make a better role. On the other hand, the actress who plays the child part - Jodelle Ferland is on the opposite side = I think I might associate her with that type of character every time I'm gonna see her again. Another thing to be mentioned would be the directing part. Even if the scenario might be a little flawed on some places, like not really believable or seeming somehow forcefully shortened, in fact leaving the impression of some holes in the subject ... the direction saves the script quite often. And for that part I think I can say from now on that I'm a fan of Christian Alvart - the same one who was also behind "Pandorum" (which is definitely better quality, but you can feel the director's touch here also).

I don't know if there is something else I can say ... It surely isn't the greatest horror I ever watched but anyway it was more than I expected and besides that, you can see it without having to reduce red hue from the screen color parameters :).

Rating: 3 out of 5

Balibo (2009)

I didn't start the english version of my blog since long but from what I had up till now around here, and most certain also from the next entries of this year, this is probably the hardest film to be watched. The main reason, as the poster says, is more that it's based on real facts and less the blood & gore scenes (which aren't many). As a comparison, if you've seen "Hotel Rwanda" and you thought it was hard to grasp, it might be best to avoid "Balibo". Don't get me wrong - as a movie (historical drama) probably it deserves all the attention. Like I numerously stated on my Ro blog version I'm not usually pro real life depicting dramas (especially sick of Romanian cinema focusing on life in Ro before/after '89) and I usually want a movie to try to pull me out from the every day reality. History stuff (especially old history stuff) however it's the exception from the rule - because I usually see it as a story (without the "hi" :) prefix). In this case however it's the kind of movie that leaves you with an acute desire to make an online petition to Bill Gates in order for him to start buying weapon factories and refocus them on can production (idea for a new Microsoft branch :-p).

What's the story anyway? The film shows a glimpse of history from a little country named East Timor, which somewhere in 1975 declared its independence from the former Portuguese colony status and almost immediately came under the occupation of its neighbor - Indonesia. Obviously, like the poster suggests, the whole story was not exactly peaceful (and as it seems also the years that followed), going on under the tacit acceptance of other neighboring countries, and especially of the Australian Government. I'm not going to discuss anymore the subject from the political point of view because I just don't do that and this is a movie blog. The action is centered on six Australian journalists caught up in events. More specifically it follows the steps of the last of them who came to East Timor to learn something about the fate of the first five. What fate ... see the movie ...

The film advances simultaneously on two plans - one plan is the route of the sixth journalist in search of others before him, following the path through the same specific places, points where the other plan comes up with flashbacks of the first group. The film is excellent work from that point of view. It's hard to describe the feeling created ... but the idea is that it's probably as successful as it intends to be. It doesn't serve you the ending immediately on a platter. Instead, as I said, it goes step by step along with the investigation thread, which you can't actually say that it gets explicitly worse as long as it's advancing regarding the fate of those involved. But somehow, after a while (not too long), even if you know nothing about the real facts, you will get the feeling that something is going to get really ugly in the end. And this feeling grows until it reaches its maximum in the final point (or rather points because we have two) - climax that ultimately leads to a kind of repulsion, connected with the "can factory" idea mentioned at the beginning ... :) ...

I don't think I should say anything more about the directing part - that's behind everything I've tried to explain above. It's not a movie intended to make you feel good and it succeeds. Technically, the editing contributes greatly to that, namely through the tension created (you can only think as an example to the flashbacks about the first journalist group, and the way these are integrated, having relatively long durations compared to the usual technique for this stuff). Even the cinematography gets some points for the feeling created by the movie - it's one of the cases where shaky cam (or kinetic to name it "scientifically correct") is used without exaggerating and at the moments it should be. On the soundtrack we have Lisa Gerrard ("Gladiator," "Man on Fire", etc.) who I thought up till now only providing the voice part in movies, but it seems that she also works as a composer (and it doesn't sound bad). All these being said, I can mention also a weakness, namely a few cliche/cheesy lines in the script accompanied by some overacting, but this doesn't happen very often and gets lost among the rest.

Conclusion - better than my general opinion vis-à-vis the Australian cinema, despite a budget that doesn't seem very high ; recommended to see if you don't dislike historical dramas or you're just in the mood to add something to enrich your general knowledge about that part of the world ; clearly to be avoided if you want a comedy for dinner ... :)

Rating: 4 out of 5

Part 2 Winter-Spring 2010-2011 Movie Preview

So.. as I said last week, I continue today with what will get released in the spring (at least according to what is announced at this moment). I will start where I left, with the month of March ...

I'll begin with the movie that, at least so far, is the first one on my "to watch" list for 2011. Obviously I'm probably subjective given that it's based on a P.K. Dick writing (who is my favourite SciFi author). I'll just hope it won't turn out badly, because until now, and this time I am as objective as I can be, I think the worst films adapted after P.K. Dick were "The Impostor" and "Next". But even these weren't bad, just average. Anyway ... too much talk. I'll leave the trailer to say more ...

The second title for March - "Sucker Punch" - is a mixture of sf / fantasy / action. I do not really know what to say. The plot seems to go around a girl stuck in an asylum by her evil stepfather, a place where she creates her own imaginary world. The idea sounds something less superficial than what the trailer shows (though the effects are nice ...). The director is Zack Snyder - "Dawn of the Dead" remake, "Watchmen" and "300" - which frankly I thought at that time it was pretty overrated, but the first two I think I would gladly rewatch sometimes. Let's hope that the next one will get into the same category ...

For the next title I don't have any high expectations, one reason being the director who has some weak horrors in his CV ("Darkness Falls" - the demonic Tooth Fairy, rings a bell?). In addition to that, the movie itself "Battle Los Angeles" has a quite overused topic = alien invasion and appears to be a bit more serious "Independence Day" = no Will Smith to save the planet. However, considering that the genre it's my favorite = SF, I said myself to give it a chance ...

The first title I'll mention for April, is probably on the 2nd place of the top 2 :) on my list of expected movies for 2011 = something I really want to see ... "Scream 4". One fact is that it stars my favorite actress - Neve Campbell - returning as Sidney (and for me this is already more than enough :-p) but ... I should probably say something of more general interest about the movie. Well, besides Neve, actually much of the team from the first three "Scream" returns = quite a lot of the rest of the cast, Wes Craven as director and Kevin Williamson as screenwriter (from who I could mention - "I Know What You Did Last Summer", "The Faculty" and even "Cursed", which I liked despite the rating on IMDb). Conclusion: If you miss the combination of teen movie / light slasher horror that made history in the '90s, or at least you are nostalgic about that times, it's probably enough reason to give it a try ...

"Source Code" is my next title on the list of April. I'll try to forget that I'm working in IT and consequently to restrain myself from ideas that would place the film in the comedy genre - that obviously not being listed on IMDb. So if I manage that, I could say that the idea seems interesting - a guy who relives the last eight minutes of somebody else's life, in a continuous loop, that looks like it's scheduled to end when he discovers the cause for which the train he's in will blow up (... definitely advanced software engineering around there ... sorry I couldn't resist :D).

I'll continue with a real comedy, as the final title for April - "Your Highness". It may seem a bit silly, but I had no other option to end the month. In addition, we can see something a bit different than what you can usually find in this area. Yes, there were still other titles that have tried to combine comedy and fantasy and didn't come out too well. Maybe it will be different this time ...

I'll finish with a single title entry for May, because I don't have too many other options. I did skip the animation genre so far, so I said just not to jump over it completely, although the teaser doesn't say much about what we will see in "Kung Fu Panda 2". I sincerely doubt it will be on par with the first, but we'll see... I personally always had nice surprises from DreamWorks.

Ok, that's about it with the movie preview for the next six months, pretty limited in the last part due to the number of trailers released so far ... Going back to normal reviews next week = gotta find time to see a movie :) ...