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Finally got around to catching Beats Rhyme and Life and I agree with you 100%. Great documentary but I felt like we should have been given more. Also the Tip and Phife bickering was like two teenage girls. Phife being envious and jealous of Qtip and Qtip being a control whore.
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Batman: Year One
Directed by Sam Liu and Lauren Montgomery.
2011. Rated PG-13, 64 minutes.
Cast:
Bryan Cranston
Ben McKenzie
Eliza Dushku
Jon Polito
Alex Rocco
Katee Sackhoff
Jeff Bennett
Grey DeLisle
Robin Atkin Downes
Fred Tatasciore
For those living under a rock, Bruce Wayne’s (McKenzie) parents were murdered in front of him during a mugging gone wrong back when he was a wee lad. After years of training abroad, he returns to his hometown of Gotham City and fights crime under the guise of his alter-ego Batman. As you might imagine, taking on bad guys all by yourself lonesome while simultaneously avoiding the local police is not easy. Mistakes are bound to be made. Batman: Year One is largely about those mistakes.
The mini-series turned graphic novel of the same name doesn’t change the Batman story, but it injects it with a realism that was sorely missing when it was written in 1987, even before the Tim Burton directed Batman hit the big screen. At that time, DC Comics was modernizing their entire universe since many characters had been around for 40 or 50 years by that point. For Batman, this meant getting as far away as possible from the hero’s perception as a campy crimefighter in Technicolor world as created by the iconic 60s TV series starring Adam West. Frank Miller of Sin City fame took on the task.
Miller wisely kept intact the details of how Mr. Wayne became Batman. Much of his efforts concentrate on the rest of Caped Crusader’s world. Fitting of a town overflowing with supervillains, Gotham City is now a dark, foreboding landscape where corruption runs rampant. For that reason, it’s important that Year One is as much the story of soon-to-be police commissioner Jim Gordon (Cranston). He’s a straight and narrow type who doesn’t take too kindly to costumed vigilantes taking the law into their own hands.
The movie is pretty much a verbatim transfer from its source material. The graphic novel was groundbreaking. It did indeed help alter our collective idea of Batman. This film, unfortunately feels at least 7 or 8 years too late. Though neither is officially an adaptation, both Burton’s 1989 movie and 2005’s Batman Begins directed by Christopher Nolan incorporate elements of the book to greater effect if for no other reason than coming before Year One. Nolan’s movie appropriates Miller’s entire world and uses some of the same scenes, including the teaser ending. Those things make it hard to judge Year One on its own merits. It feels like an unnecessary origin movie for a character that already has two wildly popular such films, one of which isn’t very old. It offers nothing new, even though the exact same material was revolutionary when it was first published.
If you can judge it on its own, you’ll realize Year One is still an interesting entry into the Batman canon. Even more than the Nolan films, it fleshes out Jim Gordon to the point where he is actually the hero. Bryan Cranston is wonderful in the role, faring far better than the lethargic sounding McKenzie in the title role. The man in the cowl is much more of a disturbed guy with a death wish. He’s also a more vulnerable Batman and gets roughed up quite a bit. Roughed up includes getting shot. Yes, this is a decidedly mature representation of the character that earns its PG-13 rating. There is also a brief handling of the origin of Catwoman (Dushku). If you can’t judge it on its own, think of this as an alternate version of the second half of Batman Begins.
MY SCORE: 7/10Comment
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I think I remember you having reviews for other Batman cartoons, would you say the animation is pretty similar to Under the Red Hood?Comment
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Not really. When I said it's a verbatim transfer of the graphic novel, that includes the art as much as possible. The major difference being that the edges are smoothed out giving it a cleaner look.
And yeah, there are several Batman cartoons reviewed here. Check the OP for links.Comment
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Well that is good to hear. I don't know if you've heard but they are also adapting The Dark Knight Returns into two movies with Peter Weller voicing Batman, not sure about that.Comment
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Actually, I hadn't heard that. Thanks.Comment
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Re: Warrior.
For the most part I enjoyed the movie. However, as an MMA fan I couldn't help leaving with a bad taste in my mouth about how the fighting was portrayed. I know it's for the cameras, but too may times I was yelling at the ref (the always mediocre Josh Rosenthal) to stop the fight. I think with boxing, it was a much more main stream sport in the '80s so for Rocky to take it to cartoonish limits, that was fine and people realized it was for the sake of an enjoyable movie. With MMA, I think it's still new and would have a bunch of people seeing this movie and having it confirm all of their worst suspicions about who participates in MMA.
When I finished the movie, I was torn. I enjoyed the performances (Hardy, Nolte, the guy from Animal Kingdom), but the sheer silliness of the tourney kind of left me wanting something a bit differentComment
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Super 8
Directed by J. J. Abrams.
2011. Rated PG-13, 111 minutes.
Cast:
Joel Courtney
Elle Fanning
Riley Griffiths
Kyle Chandler
Ron Eldard
Zach Mills
Gabriel Basso
Amanda Michalka
Joel McKinnon Miller
Jessica Tuck
A group of middle-school friends are making their own zombie movie using a Super-8 camera. By the way, we’re in 1979 so they can’t use a digital camera or upload it to YouTube. They all sneak out of their houses late at night to film a pivotal scene at the local train station. While they’re shooting, a passing train is spectacularly derailed by a pickup truck purposely driven on the tracks directly at said train. It soon becomes clear that something very scary, very dangerous and very different has escaped from the wreckage and terrorizes the small town.
Super 8 is one of those movies where it’s biggest strength may also be its greatest weakness. Writer and director J. J. Abrams gets loads of mileage out of the friendships between the boys and in particular out of Joe’s (Courtney) budding romance with the group’s only girl, Alice, played by Dakota Fanning’s younger sister Elle. She is excellent. I’m not sure if it’s because of or in spite of the fact she is the only female in the crew, but her performance really stands out. Abrams also uses a certain old school trick to perfection. He doesn’t fully reveal his monster until late in the proceedings. It’s fitting that Steven Spielberg is this film’s producer. He used this sleight of hand better than anyone in the original Jaws. As it does there, in Super 8 it adds a layer of mystery and makes the creature scarier than he would otherwise be.
On the flipside, those things that make Super 8 work, hold it back a bit. The whole thing feels extremely derivative. It’s very reminiscent of lots of movies that were made within a few years of when this one is set: The Goonies, Monster Squad, Stand by Me, The Sandlot, etc. Of course, even that list would not be complete without including E. T. Nearly every element of S8 seems to come from one of those movies, including the totally rushed and botched ending. That portion of our feature is a truncated version of one of those others that doesn’t quite feel right. Just so you don’t go thinking it’s all about the oldies, there is a healthy dose of Cloverfield thrown in, too.
What rescues S8 is that Abrams does a masterful job telling his tale. We feel for the kids involved and identify with them even as they decide to do some incredibly foolish things in hopes of saving the day. Visually, it works magic in the opposite way of most movies. We’re far more tantalized by what we don’t see. It’s lack of originality likely won’t be apparent to young’uns or anyone else who hasn’t seen those other movies I’ve mentioned. To them, it will be a breath of fresh air. To me, it’s the answer to the question “what if Spielberg had directed Cloverfield back in the 80s?” It’s pretty much what it sounds like: E. T. without the Reese’s Pieces, glowing index finger or sunny disposition.
MY SCORE: 7/10Comment
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Good Deeds
Directed by Tyler Perry.
2012. Rated PG-13, 110 minutes.
Cast:
Tyler Perry
Thandie Newton
Gabrielle Union
Brian White
Phylicia Rashad
Eddie Cibrian
Jordenn Thompson
Beverly Johnson
Rebecca Romijn
Jamie Kennedy
Life is perfect for Wesley Deeds (Perry), or so it seems. He’s the CEO of a very successful company, drives a Porsche and is the apple of his mother’s eye. He’s also engaged to the beautiful Natalie (Union). The only hiccups are he works long hours and his brother Walter (White) is a jerk, feeling slighted by their deceased father who willed Wesley the company’s top spot. For Lindsey (Newton), things aren’t going quite so well. She’s the single mom of a six year old girl. Early on, they get evicted from their apartment. She can’t afford to pay rent because the IRS is garnishing her wages. With no other options, Lindsey and her daughter sleep in their car. That is, they sleep there after mom’s shift as a night janitor. Why yes, silly, she works for Wesley’s company. And yes, she finds herself cleaning his office while he’s there working late. If you don’t know where this is going you should crawl out from under your rock every once in a while.
In what’s become a pattern for writer, director and, in this case, leading man Tyler Perry, in between Madea movies he doesn’t go for laughs. It’s a welcome development, a much needed reprieve for those of us who’ve grown to despise the loud-mouthed, pistol-packin’ grandma. People who love her tend to also love anything Perry does so no problems on that front, either. Both sides might be pleasantly surprised that this is just a plain ol’ fashioned boy meets girl. As such, Good Deeds plays it totally straight. There are no extraneous buffoons hanging around nor a collection of outwardly evil men to get us all riled up. For the most part, this film is populated by “just” people.
As a romance, Good Deeds is a lukewarm affair. It plays things safe to the point of unrelenting predictability. The irony is that Wesley's fiancee spends much of the movie lamenting him for the same thing, being bland with all the spontaneity of clockwork. For both the movie and the character, our leading man is much the blame. One of Perry's great strengths is getting strong performances from his cast. However, the one actor he has the most trouble with is himself. As Madea, or anyone which requires him to physically disappear into them as much as possible, he's a bundle of hyperkinetic energy. With his own face in plain view he's exceedingly bland. His Wesley Deeds is no exception. Unfortunately, this means he doesn't generate any sparks with either Union or Newton. It doesn't help that the character is written as an impossibly good person. There is no edge to him whatsoever. His inevitable break-up is of the most cordial kind imaginable. Even his one "rebellious" fantasy is Mother Teresa-esque.
The movie is at its most passionate when it turns its eye toward the subplot of Walter being mad at the world, including his own mother played by a steely-eyed Phylicia Rashad. Too bad these are both completely one dimensional characters with a story that goes nowhere. However, they do provide us with plenty of melodramatic fireworks whenever they share a scene. White's is an angry, guttural performance of material that doesn't allow him to be anything more.
Whenever our focus is on Mr. Deeds (yes, I'm fully aware of what I did, there) and the triangle that forms around him, we simply barrel downhill until we reach the inevitable conclusion. It does so in a mostly unremarkable fashion that makes this hard to love, or hate. There are some touching scenes involving Wesley, Lindsey and her daughter Ariel (Thompson). There are some horrible scenes and transitions where things just happen too easily. However, the bulk of it is merely average.
MY SCORE: 5/10Comment
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Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
Directed by Russ Meyer.
1965. Not Rated, 83 minutes.
Cast:
Tura Satana
Haji
Lori Williams
Sue Bernard
Stuart Lancaster
Dennis Busch
Paul Trinka
Ray Barlow
The title Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! doesn’t inspire thoughts of artsy fartsy cinema. I didn’t pop this in expecting a thoughtful examination of the human condition. If the title weren’t enough of a hint, it is a Russ Meyer film, after all. Entertaining junk is what I wanted. Entertaining junk is what I got. By the way, when I say “pop this in” I mean into the VCR. Couldn’t even find the darned thing on DVD or on the internet.
For those unaware, Russ Meyer is pretty much the father of the sexploitation flick, directing over 20 such movies in his career. They’re cheap, campy and exploitive. However, there is a certain passion that bleeds through the craziness. He wrote, directed and produced all of his own movies which were made on shoestring budgets. Pretty clearly, every warped moment leapt from the confines of his brain and plastered themselves on film. Yes, they objectify women. However, it’s atypical of the what that implies. In Meyer’s work, that generally means portraying the female gender as dominant, supremely confident and comfortable in their own skin. These are big, bad broads.
Big is a term that can be used to describe Meyer’s artistic vision. That vision and its description absolutely includes breasts with the emphasis on big. He’s obsessed with them. FPKK is nothing, if not a barely restrained display of that obsession. It’s only restrained at all because of when it was made and what he was trying to do. In 1965, nudity was impermissible if you wanted to have your movie seen by a “respectable” audience. Indeed, Meyer wanted to expand beyond the nudie circuit of which he was a star auteur. Therefore, in place of all-out nakedness we get lower than low cut, tighter than tight tops hosting a jiggle-fest of epic porportions.
Handling a rather healthy chunk of the jiggling is Tura Satana as our most voluptuous villain Varla. If you ever have the chance read up a bit on Ms. Satana. As outlandish as her character is, her life seems to have been even more so. Allegedly, she survived a gang-rape at a very young age, learned martial arts and exacted revenge on her tormentors. She worked as a burlesque dancer at like 14, became involved with Elvis Presley at some point and turned down his marriage proposal. Trust me, I’m only skimming the surface. There’s lots more. One look at her outfit here informs us it must’ve taken an act of God for her not to have a massive flop-out every time she made a sudden move. By sudden I mean those unexpected things us humans do, like breathing. And I do mean massive in the most literal sense of the word.
The second most buxom babe is Rosie, played by the singularly named Haji. Finally, there’s Lori Williams as Billie. She doesn’t have nearly the bra size of her two co-stars but ably depicts another of Meyer’s fetishes. She has the kind of curves we normally only see on cartoon characters. By the way, she also had a relationship with Elvis. I guess it really is good to be the king.
Our three ladies are a trio of vicious vixens. By night, they’re go-go dancers. By day they drive fast, yell at each other and have the occasional catfight. In between all this, some square and his girlfriend invade their space. One thing leads to another and the square ends up in a fistfight with Varla. Bad move. She literally kills him with her bare breasts, um – I mean hands. The vivacious villains then kidnap the girlfriend since she’s the only witness and sorta go on the run. They wind up at the secluded house of a dirty old paraplegic after hearing from a gas station attendant that the man has a bunch of cash stashed on the property. The man lives with his two sons, one of whom is mentally challenged, to say the least. This little bit of info comes after one of the best exchanges in cinematic history. The attendant is leaning into Varla’s car window, telling her how he wants to get away and “see America” while staring intently at her cleavage. She snaps at him, “You won’t find it down there, Columbus!”
The story is only mildly interesting and unintentionally funny in spots. It’s the sexual innuendo filled dialogue and outrageousness of the situation that keeps us locked in for much of the runtime. That and the jiggling, of course. The conduit for both is the insanely and deliciously over the top performance by Satana. She snarls and screams nearly every one of her lines, barking orders and double entendres alike. All the while her boobs defy the laws of physics by bouncing around like basketballs but somehow not falling out of her barely there blouse. Alas, I’ve said too much. I’ll sum it up by saying it’s so bad, it’s awesome!
MY SCORE: -10/10
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AND SOLARIS !!
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The original or remake?Comment
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Thanks for the reminders.Comment
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