I liked this movie. I didn't love it - I just liked it. The premise seems simple enough: giant monsters (the Kaiju) invade our world through a portal beneath the Pacific Ocean, so we develop giant robots (the Jaegers) to battle them. Unfortunately, that's about as deep as it gets. Sure, there's some stuff in there about humans "interfacing" with the Kaiju like the Jaeger pilots (there are two pilots per machine, connected via neural interface), but that actually kind of weighs the movie down. The movie really shines in its action scenes (which are absolutely spectacular), as well as in some of the acting (notably Charlie Day, who injects a little bit of humor into the film, as well as Idris Elba and Ron Perlman).
A sequel is planned (although I don't really see the point, as the movie works very well as a stand-alone film).
Overall: A good tribute to the old Japanese kaiju films (such as Gojira), Pacific Rim possesses some originality, but this is brought down by a cliched story and (mostly) average acting.
Rating: 70/100
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Monday, May 27, 2013
The Hangover Part III
The Wolfpack is back, for one final adventure - and this time, the plot is actually new. When Alan causes a major freeway accident (it involves a giraffe and an overpass), his father suffers a fatal heart attack, and his friends and family decide that it's time for him to go away to get well. As Stu, Phil, and Doug take him to the looney bin, they are run off the road... by Black Doug (remember him, from the first movie?) In fact, the whole plot of this movie hinges on the first two films (especially the first one - they pick up on very minor pieces of dialogue from that film and make them into plot points here). Ken Jeong is back as Mr. Chow, who is just as crazy as ever (perhaps even moreso now). We also have the return of Jade the Hooker (from the first film), as well as her son.
Although nowhere nearly as good as the first film (which is as much a "popcorn classic" as films such as Star Wars and Casablanca), Part III is a great improvement over the second film, which was just a rehash of the first film set in the Philippines. This time around, the humor is MUCH darker (often venturing into the realm of black comedy), with a surprising amount of violence for a gross-out comedy. Also notable is the fact that the humor is slightly less juvenile than in the first two films (although whether or not this is a good thing is a matter of personal opinion - after all, even Benjamin Franklin loved a good fart joke). Most interestingly, however, is the fact that we get some character development from Alan - he actually matures a bit during the film, and even takes responsibility for some of his actions. It's pretty touching, in some ways.
While the humor here is hit-or-miss (primarily "hitting," though), Part III serves as a worthy finale to the trilogy. Don't get up as soon as the end credits start to roll - there's a quick (but absolutely priceless) scene just after the initial cast list.
Rating: 80/100
Additional Note: There was one scene I simply could not stand to watch. To put it bluntly: I am not epileptic, but I swear to God, said scene probably would have given me a seizure. Also, I now understand why they banned that one episode of Pokemon with the missiles and the flashing lights (which is nowhere NEARLY as bad as the scene from the movie I'm discussing).
Although nowhere nearly as good as the first film (which is as much a "popcorn classic" as films such as Star Wars and Casablanca), Part III is a great improvement over the second film, which was just a rehash of the first film set in the Philippines. This time around, the humor is MUCH darker (often venturing into the realm of black comedy), with a surprising amount of violence for a gross-out comedy. Also notable is the fact that the humor is slightly less juvenile than in the first two films (although whether or not this is a good thing is a matter of personal opinion - after all, even Benjamin Franklin loved a good fart joke). Most interestingly, however, is the fact that we get some character development from Alan - he actually matures a bit during the film, and even takes responsibility for some of his actions. It's pretty touching, in some ways.
While the humor here is hit-or-miss (primarily "hitting," though), Part III serves as a worthy finale to the trilogy. Don't get up as soon as the end credits start to roll - there's a quick (but absolutely priceless) scene just after the initial cast list.
Rating: 80/100
Additional Note: There was one scene I simply could not stand to watch. To put it bluntly: I am not epileptic, but I swear to God, said scene probably would have given me a seizure. Also, I now understand why they banned that one episode of Pokemon with the missiles and the flashing lights (which is nowhere NEARLY as bad as the scene from the movie I'm discussing).
Thursday, April 4, 2013
R.I.P. Roger Ebert
Legendary movie critic Roger Ebert has passed away at the age of 70, following a recurrence of cancer. Roger Ebert (along with Leonard Maltin) inspired me to start reviewing movies, and for that, I thank him. My condolences go out to Mr. Ebert's family, friends, and colleagues.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Red Dawn (remake)
As Forrest Gump once said, "stupid is as stupid does." The remake of Red Dawn isn't stupid - it's completely effing retarded (and I do NOT use the "r-word" lightly).
Things I Liked About This Movie:
-The cast was awesome.
-The Korean-American Marine (I think his name was Smith) was basically a massive redneck.
Things I Hated About This Movie:
-Everything else.
The plot (North Korea invades the United States) isn't even halfway realistic (unless you count the video game Homefront, which was the idea of John Milius, the director of the original Red Dawn - Homefront actually offers up a reasonable scenario, at least). North Korea's military is entirely focused on attacking South Korea, and their entire strategy is, "let's throw as many men and tanks at the South Koreans and Americans and hope that we have more guys than they have bullets." North Korea's two major allies are Russia (which, in this film, has been taken over by ultra-nationalists [sort of like in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare]) and the People's Republic of China (which was the original enemy in the remake - the film had to be re-edited so as to allow it to be shown in that country, which would not have been possible with the Chinese as the invaders [at least China would have been a more plausible adversary than North Korea]), and even they don't like the North Koreans all that much. Let's look at some of the highlights of this movie's idiocy:
-An EMP wipes out the communications infrastructure, rendering the U.S. military unable to coordinate, yet allows iPhones to continue to operate. In reality, many of the computer-based systems in the military are hardened against EMPs, while iPhones are not, so the opposite should be true.
-As a large chunk of the military is deployed overseas, there aren't enough troops left to combat the threat at home. This actually makes sense. However, I highly doubt that the only initial defense against an invasion would be some local police officers and a single F-16.
-North Korea invades the west coast, while Russia takes the east coast. Because obviously, North Korean forces wouldn't be attacked by the South Koreans, the Japanese, and the Australians as they launched an invasion of the U.S., while the Russians could just slip by NATO and France.
-North Korea's military SUCKS. Big time. Their equipment is shitty, their soldiers and even their officers are under-trained and underfed, their navy is a complete joke (compared to the rest of their military, which isn't that great, either), and their few allies don't even like them that much.
At least the original Red Dawn was at least halfway plausible - this one makes Harry Potter and Star Wars look like highly-realistic films. Hell, I bet that even the Lord of the Rings movies are more factual than this piece of crap.* Don't waste your time.
Rating: 15/100
*Yeah, I haven't seen any of the LOTR movies. Sue me.
Things I Liked About This Movie:
-The cast was awesome.
-The Korean-American Marine (I think his name was Smith) was basically a massive redneck.
Things I Hated About This Movie:
-Everything else.
The plot (North Korea invades the United States) isn't even halfway realistic (unless you count the video game Homefront, which was the idea of John Milius, the director of the original Red Dawn - Homefront actually offers up a reasonable scenario, at least). North Korea's military is entirely focused on attacking South Korea, and their entire strategy is, "let's throw as many men and tanks at the South Koreans and Americans and hope that we have more guys than they have bullets." North Korea's two major allies are Russia (which, in this film, has been taken over by ultra-nationalists [sort of like in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare]) and the People's Republic of China (which was the original enemy in the remake - the film had to be re-edited so as to allow it to be shown in that country, which would not have been possible with the Chinese as the invaders [at least China would have been a more plausible adversary than North Korea]), and even they don't like the North Koreans all that much. Let's look at some of the highlights of this movie's idiocy:
-An EMP wipes out the communications infrastructure, rendering the U.S. military unable to coordinate, yet allows iPhones to continue to operate. In reality, many of the computer-based systems in the military are hardened against EMPs, while iPhones are not, so the opposite should be true.
-As a large chunk of the military is deployed overseas, there aren't enough troops left to combat the threat at home. This actually makes sense. However, I highly doubt that the only initial defense against an invasion would be some local police officers and a single F-16.
-North Korea invades the west coast, while Russia takes the east coast. Because obviously, North Korean forces wouldn't be attacked by the South Koreans, the Japanese, and the Australians as they launched an invasion of the U.S., while the Russians could just slip by NATO and France.
-North Korea's military SUCKS. Big time. Their equipment is shitty, their soldiers and even their officers are under-trained and underfed, their navy is a complete joke (compared to the rest of their military, which isn't that great, either), and their few allies don't even like them that much.
At least the original Red Dawn was at least halfway plausible - this one makes Harry Potter and Star Wars look like highly-realistic films. Hell, I bet that even the Lord of the Rings movies are more factual than this piece of crap.* Don't waste your time.
Rating: 15/100
*Yeah, I haven't seen any of the LOTR movies. Sue me.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Enemy at the Gates
A good cast, a good idea for a story, and good action sequences don't necessarily make for a great movie. Case in point: Enemy at the Gates. Based on the career of legendary Soviet sniper Vasily Zaitsev during the Battle of Stalingrad, what would otherwise be an excellent war movie dealing with two little-seen aspects of the war (the Russian Front as seen by the Russians, and the lives of snipers) is marred by a number of glaring historical accuracies and a love triangle. On the one hand, it was nice to see some recognition for the heroic women of the Soviet Union (which may have been the only country during the Second World War to allow women to serve in combat roles [albeit only in a few roles, such as snipers or fighter pilots, and, unofficially, as tankers]). On the other hand, having two snipers fall in love (and even have sex) during the middle of a desperate battle slowed the film down greatly (and was also very historically inaccurate). Oh, and Zaitsev's opponent in this movie? A legendary German sniper who may have not even EXISTED IN THE FIRST PLACE! The Soviets distributing only one rifle for every two men (the idea being that the unarmed man would grab the rifle of the other man when he died) was completely ludicrous - the Russians may not have had enough rifles for everyone, but every man would at least have some sort of firearm by the time he was thrown into combat (if a soldier was not issued a Mosin-Nagant rifle, he would probably be given a submachine gun [most likely the widely-produced and widely-distributed PPSh-41]). Also, the Russians would not have distributed weapons to men just before combat - in fact, Zaitsev and his comrades were already armed by the time they boarded the trains to the front (according to Zaitsev's memoirs, he was not issued a rifle initially - he carried only a PPSh-41). And I don't think the Russians would have shot their own men if they retreated during battle (although I have heard of this happening at some points - just not during the Battle of Stalingrad, where every able man was needed to fight the Germans). There are also absolutely NO Russian tanks or planes to be seen anywhere - in fact, the Russians had many vehicles (including the excellent and widely-produced T-34, in addition to captured German tanks and Lend-Lease vehicles from the U.S. and Britain, such as the Sherman), as well as large numbers of planes (including a number of excellent domestic types, and craft received from the U.S. and Britain). You know what, I'm gonna stop listing the historical inaccuracies - there are just too many to count. Point is, if you like war films (and have actually read this entire overly-long paragraph), then you should give this a try. If you could care less about this genre, skip it.
Rating: 67/100
Rating: 67/100
None But the Brave
An interesting picture, None But the Brave is the only film ever directed by legendary actor/singer Frank Sinatra. A Japanese-American co-production, the film is intriguing in that it examines both the Americans and the Japanese fighting in World War II, with each group speaking their own language. There were no subtitles for the Japanese dialogue, so it was hard to understand what they were saying, but it seems like they were saying the same things as the Americans were.
The film begins with narration from a Japanese lieutenant, who, along with his platoon, are the only people left on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean (the island was bypassed by the island-hopping Allied forces). Things change after a Skytrain transport is shot down over the sea, and crash-lands on the island. The pilot, his radio operator, about a dozen marines, and a Navy medic/corpsman (Sinatra) are the only survivors. After some initial fighting (which results in the destruction of the boat the Japanese were building), the two sides agree to a truce so that all may survive. In spite of continuing friction, friendships form, and the two groups work together. Eventually, the Americans get their radio working, and are able to send for a rescue - at which point everything falls apart.
None But the Brave is far from a masterpiece, but it is actually a pretty good movie. My only major complaint was casting Tommy Sands as the Marine commanding officer - it was painful to listen to him speak, and he made the character seem like a loud, buffoonish asshole. Frank Sinatra, on the other hand, was brilliant, and added some good humor to the mix. All in all, a very watchable picture.
Rating: 78/100
The film begins with narration from a Japanese lieutenant, who, along with his platoon, are the only people left on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean (the island was bypassed by the island-hopping Allied forces). Things change after a Skytrain transport is shot down over the sea, and crash-lands on the island. The pilot, his radio operator, about a dozen marines, and a Navy medic/corpsman (Sinatra) are the only survivors. After some initial fighting (which results in the destruction of the boat the Japanese were building), the two sides agree to a truce so that all may survive. In spite of continuing friction, friendships form, and the two groups work together. Eventually, the Americans get their radio working, and are able to send for a rescue - at which point everything falls apart.
None But the Brave is far from a masterpiece, but it is actually a pretty good movie. My only major complaint was casting Tommy Sands as the Marine commanding officer - it was painful to listen to him speak, and he made the character seem like a loud, buffoonish asshole. Frank Sinatra, on the other hand, was brilliant, and added some good humor to the mix. All in all, a very watchable picture.
Rating: 78/100
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