Snowpiercer

Snowpiercer

This is one of the strangest scfi movie I have seen in a while. This is a South Korean scifi action film based on a French graphic novel, well that explains part of it. It is an apocalyptic film where in an attempt to reduce global warming the clouds are seeded with a chemical that catastrophically causes the earth to freeze killing everything, except the inhabitants on the train, the Snowpiercer. The train is the ark for those lucky and wretched few who survived. There is a strict caste system on the train which frames story.

This movie has its own unique climate. It takes place almost entirely in the train. It is gritty, violent with non-stop action. Tension is constant between the good guys and the bad guys. The film in part feels like Terry Giliam’s movie “Brazil” because of its bizarre nature. It does not have the ultra-violence “Of a Clock Work Orange”, but there are similarities in the brutal gang battles and cult alliances.

It has a rich cast. Chis Evans is the protagonist. He is venturing out of his comfort zone as a super hero. However, with the bread, grime and knitted cap he was hardly recognizable. His acting arch ranged between a scowl and a grimace. This is not a break out role for him but it is a few steps away from tights.

John Hurt is the senior leader of the great unwashed. Hurt delivers one of his stock character roles of a feeble sage. His acting is beyond reproach and his wrinkles continue to multiply. Ed Harris is Wilford, the inventor and keeper of the train. His performance is cold, detached and disturbing.  

Tilda Swinton is totally unrecognizable in the film, which may not be a bad thing. As a hint she has a fierce overbite and she is playing a woman, sort of. Rounding out the American crew is Octavia Spencer, she is one of the great unwashed. She gives a wonderful  Oprah impersonation from “The Color Purple” complete with girth and blown out hair.

The international crew includes Song Kang-Ho and Go Ah-sung. Song is the drug addicted electronic technician who plays a key role in the movie and Go is his mischievous out of touch daughter. The film is directed by Bong Joon-ho who is Korean. He has his own approach to fantasy and scifi. The movie gives a welcomed a new vision to an old story line.

Edge of Tomorrow

This movie is a combination of “Ground Hog Day” and “The Expendables”. It is a fun summer movie. Tom Curse and Emily Blunt are futuristic soldiers battling an invading alien force. The kicker is that Tom Curse keeps repeating the same day. How he restarts the same day is cruel but funny. The karma shtick works well from being to end and gives the film a holistic feel.

Acting is not a big concern for this film, this is an action flick. In contrast to his bravo performance in “Cocktail”, Curse is once again “Tom Terrific”. Curse is more light hearted here than the grim Ethan Hunt persona in “Mission Impossible”. Returning to yesterday is fraught with problems least of all convincing people you were already there.

Emily Blunt is a Special Forces bad ass (Ha Ha Ha!!). I like Emily Blunt, she is a good actress, but she is more suited to afternoon tea than storming the beach in full Lululemon black body armor. She and Tom are a team, unequal in the beginning but they catch up. Rather than a sex object Blunt is a highly trained killing machine. Tom starts out as a slacker and Emily whips him into shape (whipping is the least of his problems). This dynamic makes for good chemistry between the actors.

The aliens were quite different. They looked like chrome covered Ramen noodles with a bad over bite. It is not clear why they are invading the Earth, the problem is how do you get rid of them?

Two other likable character actors are Bill Paxton and Brendon Gleeson (“The Guard” and “In Bruges”). Paxton is the hard charging Master Sargent who is mustering his troops for battle. This is a departure from his more sedate roles, but he pulls it off with mustached gusto. Gleeson plays a general and he has really put on the pounds. Mercifully the only action he sees in the movie is diving for a box of cookies.

This is a safe movie for the whole family. No sex, no mindless gore, no cursing…and no kids.

Godzilla 2014

I saw my first Godzilla movie in 1959 on our black and white Zenith TV set. It wasn’t scary. How scary can a man in a rubber Godzilla suit stomping toy buildings be? What made those shows entertaining was the whole package. Japanese cities being destroyed, awful acting (both Japanese and Gaijin), misaligned soundtracks complemented by subtitles hard to read. Of course it was always about the fight. If not always the bad guy, Godzilla was always the bad ass.

Godzilla 2014 in many ways is a retro movie; more faithful than other recent Godzilla movies.  The movie starts out in its roots, Japan. The twist here is that the Americans speak Japanese. Unfortunately no subtitles and the sound track is in sync. Godzilla is a product of 1950’s nuclear testing and nuclear radiation threat is pervasive in this movie. This Godzilla ,as opposed to the 1998 Godzilla with Matthew Broderick, looks like the original along with his ear shattering shriek and nuclear halitosis (no death rays from the eyes, though) . 

   

The advisements for this movie are a bit misleading.  Godzilla’s air time is not extensive, just like a primadonna he shows up about an hour late. When he is on the set Godzilla fights the evil MUTOs (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism). The MUTO’s look like a pair of pliers with wings. These titanic battles are reminiscent of Godzilla’s fights with Mothra or Rodan. Aside from the trite admonishments concerning the perils of nuclear power, Godzilla movies are a giant donnybrook.

Bryan Cranston literally lends his name to this movie. His performance is fine but brief and not memorable. His presence gives the movie a certain cachet which the talk shows exploited. Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays Lieutenant Ford, is Bryan Cranston’s son, is a bomb (nukes also) specialist. He played the guy in “Bad Ass”; he really bulked up for this role. Aside from the MUTOs, he has the most screen time. His role is perfunctory as is his acting. Elizabeth Olson plays Lt. Ford’s wife. She is one of the Olson sisters, the one with the personality (sort of). She plays a nurse. Poor Ken Watanabe is the token Japanese guy who always looks distressed. Ken is representing but what a peanut role for a great actor.

The later part of the movie is dominated by the monster battles. Buildings and a certain bridge are destroyed. The movie is sanitized since there are no gory scenes of dead bodies. I will not reveal who wins.

 Godzilla could be considered a super hero if he could just fit into a pair of spandex. This is not a date movie. It’s an old fashioned retro movie, and quite a good one. Don’t forget to ask for the senior citizen discount.

X Men-Days of Future Past

I do not understand what “Days of Future Past” means; I barely understand what “Back to the Future” means. This film stretches the mind. There are elements of H.G. Wells, Fatalisms, Determinism and I am certain some of Einstein’s theories were violated but I have no clue which ones. As dense as all this sounds the plot is not difficult to follow and holds the film together. Someone from the future goes to the past to change the future. Please hold off your spoiler e-mails, there is much more to the plot than this one line.

The film takes place during the Nixon administration in the 70’s. The clothing and absence of modern day gadgets frames the movie’s tone. The 70’s alone would be a good excuse enough to escape to the future.

There are some new mutants and some old ones. The main protagonists in this film are: James McAvoy (as the young Charles Xavier), Michael Fassbender (as a young Magnito), Jennifer Lawrence as Mystic, Nicolaus Hoult as Beast and Hugh Jackman as the ageless Wolverine. These characters are still fresh. The action is not recycled and holds your attention with good pacing. The film is not heavy on “buddyism”, there are a few grudges to settle, even if with one’s self. There are some well-placed jokes you should look out for. The Nixon actor would have been funny if he was not so close to the mark with his tubular nose and shifty eyes.

Jennifer Lawrence has a big role in this sequel. Her dialogue is minimal but her body language speaks volumes. I really hope she does her own killer yoga moves. Michael Fassbender plays Magnito with dispassionate purpose destroying anything and anyone threatening his vision. His Germanic warmth is pervasive. I cannot talk about McAvoy since his condition would give away too much of the plot. As for Beast he is now in command of his blue fur and with better temperament (although he was funnier in earlier films). Jackman wears his patented scowl and takes copious rounds of bullets.  The ensemble of actors’ works well. The main characters give enough room to each other so no one is pushed out by the other one.

The arch villain is played by Peter Dinklage as Bolivar Trask.  This is the little guy from “Game of Thorns”. If they wanted someone evil they picked the right guy. He is a combination of a mad scientist with a touch of Joseph Menegle.

CG was good, but was it $200m good? The old standbys of building levitation and twisted steel were expected. Some of the newer creations were just a bit cheesy. Too many mega block buster films have made us jaded.

My favorite X Men movie is” X Men First Class”. This movie is right behind it. With a production budget of $200m (double that for marketing), this movie better do well and I think it will; I recommend it. There will probably be a sequel. Whatever conundrums make up the next title, my good friend Felix will explain them to me.

Chef

If there ever was a movie with a star line up the cast Chef would be one of them. This is the lineup:

·        Jon Favreau

·        Sofía Vergara

·        John Leguizamo

·        Scarlett Johansson

·        Oliver Platt 

·        Bobby Cannavale

·        Dustin Hoffman

·        Robert Downey, Jr.

I had high expectations for this film but they were not met. This movie was not funny nor was it a compelling drama. The two worst adjectives you can use for a movie is predictable and boring. The acting was uninspiring akin to overcooked linguine. The worst thing in the world is to see an unfunny Jon Leguizamo. Sofia Vergara is funny even without saying anything but here she falls flat. The only one who plays to type is Robert Downey Jr., as the flake, but his stay is too short.

This movie starts out as a redemption movie then becomes a father and son road trip movie; neither part satisfying. This is one of those boutique movies which is someone’s pet project and the director or writer calls in favors from his acting friends. This movie, like a failed dish, lacks soul.

The Amazing Spiderman 2 (2014)

Often sequels do not deliver, this one does but not all the way. Spiderman still swings from building to building and is dishing out a continuous banter of wise cracks and anemic jokes. He still lives in Astoria Queens with Aunt May, who is still a darling but with a few more wrinkles but boundless charm. Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy has those sparkling eyes and brings a lightness to the film.

Luckily we have a new villain in the person of Electro played by Jamie Foxx. Guess what his super power is? Jamie’s portrayal is part Jerry Lewis and part Von Doom. Before his transformation he has this nutty professor look with a bad comb over and a sad loner manic depressive personality. After his transformation he is wearing a hoody and so much make up that anyone could play him even Kevin Hart (scratch that, Hart is too short). The ultimate battle scene seems to short, it’s like a first date that goes nowhere.

Then there is Harry Osborn, again. The same cycle is resurrected; friend then enemy. You would think Peter Parker would catch on. Harry menacingly comes towards the end of movie and battles Spiderman on the Goblin sledge. Instead of resurrecting Harry in every film they should have a fight to the death and get over with it.

What was enjoyable in the film was the non-Spiderman scenes with Peter and Gwen. The sub story works here. Maybe this worked well because they are a couple in real life. Many of the super hero movies have a love interests but this should be secondary to the action (see Man of Steel).

This movie is for the Spiderman fanboys, for the rest, you may want to wait for Time Warner on demand.

Madama Butterfly

Thanks to our good friend Lorenzo, Lilia had an extra ticket for Madama Butterfly. I volunteered to go (not the whole truth). You may not believe this but this is not my first opera but neither will it be my third.

This review is a bit of a departure from my usual cinematic critiques. I will be talking about the plot so I do not want to hear the usual wimpy compliant “Oh, he’s giving away the plot”. Opera plots tend to be a bit simple: someone falls in love, lots of happy singing; someone falls out of love, lots of sad singing; someone dies, usually the chick. To put some meat on the bone, Madama B was an ex Geisha who was married to Lieutenant Pinkerton, an American. They have a child. For Pinkerton this is a marriage of his convenience. When he sails away Madama B is filled with anxiety, and with good reason. When Pinkerton returns after three years he comes with a blond American wife intending to take away his child. Consumed with sadness and shame Madama B commits seppuku.

I feel woefully inadequate to comment on the singing, but what the hell. I did not think the tenor who played Pinkerton had a strong voice. He was no Domingo and the role of Pinkerton may have been too demanding for him (he is from New Jersey, that bastion of operatic excellence). As for the soprano, Kristine Opolias, she was great. Her arias were well suited for the role.  Her arias were not the thunder clap of Brunnhilde, rather they were proportionate to the role. Some guy screaming BRAVA behind me, gave her a resounding endorsement. So much for decorum. From a picture in “Play Bill” she looks like a hot babe. I can’t wait for the next issue of Maxim Does Opera.

The set production was outstanding. The set was minimalist in keeping with the Japanese motif. White shoji paper screens were effectively used to move actors and change sceneries. They could have used some color to break up the blandness of the white paper. Paper lanterns were used to change locals from the harbor to the village. A shower of cherry blossom petals rained down from the rafters creating a dream like effect.

A wonderful treat was the Bunraku puppeteers. This is a very old Japanese puppeteering tradition. The puppeteers wear black, like Ninjas but without star daggers. They manually manipulate the puppet on stage without strings. You are not supposed to see them, but I did. The child puppet was handled in this manner and in a dream sequence and so was a mini Madama B.

That’s it, feel spent. I think I maxed out on culture for 2014. See you at the movies.