The final Harry Potter film was as expected: glorious eye-candy with a stellar cast, numerous niggling plot annoyances and overall a rather hollow feeling. Continuing where the seventh film left off, the eighth sees our intrepid dropout trio continuing their collection quest for horcruxes. The first is in Gringott’s banking vaults, where our heroes seem completely indifferent to the several people they end up killing for doing their jobs. The next is in Hogwarts, so there is a rushed homecoming before the search is interrupted by Voldemort himself arriving. All-out war erupts under the banner of Potter, and during the chaos Harry finds and destroys the penultimate horcrux (not counting the twisty accidentally-made one). Here, what Voldemort should do is go ‘oh, hay, I only have one more horcrux, my snake. What I should do is fly him to some remote jungle and hide him away, not take him to battle with me and let him slither around while I’m busy.’ Alas, he makes a fatal mistake, and because of the lame concept of magic wands having allegiances, he loses.
There are some excellent moments here: Snape’s flashback montage told its story with elegance and brevity, teachers getting to show their power is oddly satisfying, and Fiennes pitches Voldemort with the right amount of madness, cruelty and vulnerability. The three central actors have learned to produce convincing, if not ranged, performances, and Helena Bonham Carter’s best moments are acting like Emma Watson accurately enough it’s easy to forget she’s a completely different person.
But the final showdown is so anticlimactic, the book’s hard-hitting deaths are presented with an affecting starkness but then don’t have any discernable affect on the characters and Oscar-winning thesps show up to be totally underused.
I’m not sad to see the end of the Potter movie franchise. The only one of Rowling’s stories I think was good was Prisoner of Azkaban, and that’s a very long way off now. A hollow blockbuster certainly no better than any other fantasy around it.
Saturday 16 July 2011
Friday 15 July 2011
Mongol
Mongol was very interesting, telling the story of Genghis Khan with some superb acting, beautiful cinematography and startlingly effective music. The characterisation was just brilliant, that gruff staccato language matching wonderfully the curt, aggressive and yet poetic way of communication the Mongols have, if the film is to be believed. A man from such an empty sort of a lifestyle, and he went on to begin what would become one of the greatest empires the world has ever seen. Surprisingly, the film focused on Temujin’s life before his days as a warlord, his times being persecuted by enemies of his father, locked away as a ridiculed slave and bonding with family, rather than on fighting with powerful neighbours. Thus the narrative became somewhat turgid at times, and the film was definitely overlong, then felt rushed at the end, but there were some superb moments between characters, and the tone evoked was so authentic and yet otherworldly that it was a shame when less believable aspects, like monks who can see the future and visits from expressionistic wolf-gods detracted from the sense of veracity, even though I’m sure they are very much authentic parts of Temuhin’s legend. According to news articles, though, people from Mongolia are not impressed at the portrayal, and claim it is very inaccurate. I also see this is the first part of a planned trilogy, which explains the focus on his early life.
Wednesday 13 July 2011
Transformers 3: The Dark of the Moon
I really disliked Michael Bay’s first Transformers film, enough to avoid the second. The only positive was Peter Cullen returning as Optimus Prime. The rest, from human characters to design choices, I couldn’t stand.
And I went to this film with low expectations. I’d read reviews calling it bloated, vastly overlong, plotless and little more than a way for Bay to imply he was an underappreciated genius who would show the world how amazing he was. That and how certain shots were recycled from Bay’s previous films. Coming out of it, the main thing that stays with you is how horribly long the film was, two and a half hours that felt like over three. What’s most frustrating is that everything up to Sentinel Prime’s motive being revealed was more or less completely extraneous and could have been compacted into a very short sequence without much impact on the very thin characters, and yet the final confrontations were laughably short. Great long setpieces have very little connection to plot – for example, perhaps the most bravura sequence is hooked on the idea the soldiers want to go up a building already falling in two in order to get a good position, and abort as soon as trouble occurs.
I still don’t like the techno-organic look of the Transformers. More elegant simplicity would have worked. The second film seems to have introduced lots of comic relief Autobots, who are annoying – although at least their scenes aren’t as horribly jarring as the pseudo-satirical ones featuring poor John Malkovich…trying to pretend changes of styles mirror robots in disguise ain’t gonna cut it here. Surprisingly, I didn’t find LeBoeuf or Fox-replacement Rosie Huntingdon-Whiteley annoying – they were cardboard characters in a Hollywood blockbuster, which is just fine. The Sam character’s job hunt and quest for self-worth not only took far too long but ended with the message that to be special and stand out, you have to be part of some crazy world-changing events, and should all have been truncated as it brought no depth.
It was a little odd hearing Leonard Nimoy, voice acting exactly as he did in Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, as Sentinel Prime, as his distinctive voice is still associated in my mind (Spock notwithstanding) with Galvatron. But I suppose most of the audience, even though who watched the animated film as children, will not make the connection or find it odd.
The film had amazing visuals and the 3D was some of the best I’ve seen on the big screen. Bay certainly knows how to film things blowing up, as is his reputation. But a great story and interesting characters would have elevated this immeasurably.
And I went to this film with low expectations. I’d read reviews calling it bloated, vastly overlong, plotless and little more than a way for Bay to imply he was an underappreciated genius who would show the world how amazing he was. That and how certain shots were recycled from Bay’s previous films. Coming out of it, the main thing that stays with you is how horribly long the film was, two and a half hours that felt like over three. What’s most frustrating is that everything up to Sentinel Prime’s motive being revealed was more or less completely extraneous and could have been compacted into a very short sequence without much impact on the very thin characters, and yet the final confrontations were laughably short. Great long setpieces have very little connection to plot – for example, perhaps the most bravura sequence is hooked on the idea the soldiers want to go up a building already falling in two in order to get a good position, and abort as soon as trouble occurs.
I still don’t like the techno-organic look of the Transformers. More elegant simplicity would have worked. The second film seems to have introduced lots of comic relief Autobots, who are annoying – although at least their scenes aren’t as horribly jarring as the pseudo-satirical ones featuring poor John Malkovich…trying to pretend changes of styles mirror robots in disguise ain’t gonna cut it here. Surprisingly, I didn’t find LeBoeuf or Fox-replacement Rosie Huntingdon-Whiteley annoying – they were cardboard characters in a Hollywood blockbuster, which is just fine. The Sam character’s job hunt and quest for self-worth not only took far too long but ended with the message that to be special and stand out, you have to be part of some crazy world-changing events, and should all have been truncated as it brought no depth.
It was a little odd hearing Leonard Nimoy, voice acting exactly as he did in Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, as Sentinel Prime, as his distinctive voice is still associated in my mind (Spock notwithstanding) with Galvatron. But I suppose most of the audience, even though who watched the animated film as children, will not make the connection or find it odd.
The film had amazing visuals and the 3D was some of the best I’ve seen on the big screen. Bay certainly knows how to film things blowing up, as is his reputation. But a great story and interesting characters would have elevated this immeasurably.
Monday 11 July 2011
Only the Strong
Only the Strong may be the worst film I’ve ever seen. That’s what happens when Hollywood gets its hands of capoeira – it becomes typical kung-fu to use against Hispanic gangs of baddies. And the main guy’s form was truly saroba. Thank goodness they got some decent players on at the end…though some real interaction would’ve been better than a showcase of acrobatics at opposite ends of an imagined roda. People won’t learn a thing about capoeira from watching this movie – it would be better if it did not exist.
Friday 8 July 2011
Hellboy 2
Hellboy 2 was great fun! I enjoyed it thoroughly. It was considerably more whimsical and celtic-influenced than the first one, and the plot wasn’t the most exciting thing ever, not to mention that you knew what was going to happen to the antagonist during his first scene with his sister. But it’s a comic book film – that’s fine. And we’ll always have Pan’s Labyrinth for a cracking plot.
As usual, it’s the visuals that are really the reward for your admission price. Oh, there is some glorious stuff here, and as usual it’s Doug Jones who really gets the best minor characters to portray: the Angel of Death is something quite special, and the chamberlain was awesome too. I loved Krauss as well, a hilarious character you could still take seriously. Abe Sapian missed David Hyde Pearce’s voice, but the way he was written was very sweet. I actually liked Luke Goss’s Prince Nuada; people have said he lacks presence, but I thought the way he was violent yet soft and almost wispy suited the character and his culture very well. Great fight scenes, too – and of course, there’s brash, sarcastic Ron Perlman anchoring it all as Hellboy himself. I wished there could be more of the Jones-style characters (and the guy with the cathedral on his head did tickle me) rather than big CG things and generic trolls, but of all the big movie franchises, Hellboy is the one that can actually have a sense of wonder, of gentleness and real scope, and that gives me a sense of loyalty I don’t get with something like Batman or Iron Man.
As usual, it’s the visuals that are really the reward for your admission price. Oh, there is some glorious stuff here, and as usual it’s Doug Jones who really gets the best minor characters to portray: the Angel of Death is something quite special, and the chamberlain was awesome too. I loved Krauss as well, a hilarious character you could still take seriously. Abe Sapian missed David Hyde Pearce’s voice, but the way he was written was very sweet. I actually liked Luke Goss’s Prince Nuada; people have said he lacks presence, but I thought the way he was violent yet soft and almost wispy suited the character and his culture very well. Great fight scenes, too – and of course, there’s brash, sarcastic Ron Perlman anchoring it all as Hellboy himself. I wished there could be more of the Jones-style characters (and the guy with the cathedral on his head did tickle me) rather than big CG things and generic trolls, but of all the big movie franchises, Hellboy is the one that can actually have a sense of wonder, of gentleness and real scope, and that gives me a sense of loyalty I don’t get with something like Batman or Iron Man.
Monday 4 July 2011
Green Lantern
Green Lantern is one of the staple DC titles, in various incarnations. Several of DC’s big crossover events have revolved around the Lantern mythos, including the recent silly zombie-derived Black Lantern saga. Wise, ageless beings on the planet Oa have forged rings that allow the user’s will to manifest whatever they imagine – and eventually one chooses Hal Jordan.
The Parallax saga was what brought Green Lantern a new relevance in comics. Hal became a really interesting character when he felt responsible for the deaths of thousands, including those he loved. It was later retconned so that Parallax was an external entity so that Hal could be redeemed, but it was still a powerful story. Here, attempts to work from that…make for a messy, stupid and terminally dull story.
It’s hard to make Hal likeable, especially at the start, and Ryan Renolds does the character no favours. He’s meant to be a likeable, cocky rogue, but instead he’s just a cocky cock. Expecting an audience to sympathise with a character who has an amazing job, hot body, sleeps with lots of women and is the love interest of one who’s stunning is asking a lot – and trying to get us feeling sorry for him purely because he saw his dad die was just too contrived. When the central moral lesson of the film turns out to be ‘Hey, even if you are helped to be where you are through nepotism, you can still feel worthy and fulfilled!’ is going to resonate with a tiny minority.
And for a special effects-laden fantasy epic with magic powers limited only by the imagination, the story certainly trundles along. Every time we think the story is going to kick off, with fantastical creatures bearing rings of power, Hal goes back to earth and we get more dullness with his relationships and the inconsequential scientist infected with some of Parallax’s power. We could be seeing Killowog and Sinistro in long, breathtaking battles, but instead we have a guy with a bulging head attacking some special agent in absurd heels.
At the end, Parallax the destroyer of worlds, too powerful for numerous Green Lanterns, gets killed by a stupid trick that makes him seem totally unthreatening, awkwardly shoehorned into a recollection of a prior lesson and with much talk of it being Hal’s ‘humanity’ which saves the day – for no apparent reason. Plodding, unlikeable and overlong, Green Lantern is a real disappointment.
The Parallax saga was what brought Green Lantern a new relevance in comics. Hal became a really interesting character when he felt responsible for the deaths of thousands, including those he loved. It was later retconned so that Parallax was an external entity so that Hal could be redeemed, but it was still a powerful story. Here, attempts to work from that…make for a messy, stupid and terminally dull story.
It’s hard to make Hal likeable, especially at the start, and Ryan Renolds does the character no favours. He’s meant to be a likeable, cocky rogue, but instead he’s just a cocky cock. Expecting an audience to sympathise with a character who has an amazing job, hot body, sleeps with lots of women and is the love interest of one who’s stunning is asking a lot – and trying to get us feeling sorry for him purely because he saw his dad die was just too contrived. When the central moral lesson of the film turns out to be ‘Hey, even if you are helped to be where you are through nepotism, you can still feel worthy and fulfilled!’ is going to resonate with a tiny minority.
And for a special effects-laden fantasy epic with magic powers limited only by the imagination, the story certainly trundles along. Every time we think the story is going to kick off, with fantastical creatures bearing rings of power, Hal goes back to earth and we get more dullness with his relationships and the inconsequential scientist infected with some of Parallax’s power. We could be seeing Killowog and Sinistro in long, breathtaking battles, but instead we have a guy with a bulging head attacking some special agent in absurd heels.
At the end, Parallax the destroyer of worlds, too powerful for numerous Green Lanterns, gets killed by a stupid trick that makes him seem totally unthreatening, awkwardly shoehorned into a recollection of a prior lesson and with much talk of it being Hal’s ‘humanity’ which saves the day – for no apparent reason. Plodding, unlikeable and overlong, Green Lantern is a real disappointment.
Quantum of Solace
Quantum of Solace was a bit of a mess. Some nice action and slick production, but the story was weak and too many characters were only sketchily-drawn. The trouble was Bond spent too much of it pinballing around after various dubious yet convenient leads and the plot he was ultimately to foil was underwhelming and revealed much too late, making the whole thing seem to lack any direction.
Calendar
Then an interesting film by Armenian director Atom Egoyan called Calendar, which deals with cultural identity and estrangement far more effectively than Lost in Translation and pieces together its story in reverse with far more cleverness than Memento. Surreal repeated scenarios become believable, a relationship breaks down in a slow, sad and pathetic way and yet there are lighter moments, too. Feels far older than 1993, but nevertheless was very interesting viewing.
Calendar
Then an interesting film by Armenian director Atom Egoyan called Calendar, which deals with cultural identity and estrangement far more effectively than Lost in Translation and pieces together its story in reverse with far more cleverness than Memento. Surreal repeated scenarios become believable, a relationship breaks down in a slow, sad and pathetic way and yet there are lighter moments, too. Feels far older than 1993, but nevertheless was very interesting viewing.
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