Category Archives: Movies

Barry Lyndon (1975)

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Link: Barry Lyndon

Summary: A young man is forced away from home and ends up marrying into a wealthy family, where, in his foolishness, he squanders his good fortune.

Thoughts: This is a bit of a bizarre film.  It doesn’t seem to take itself seriously.  I suppose this is true of a lot of Stanley Kubrick’s work.  There’s something self-consciously exaggerated about the story and the characters, as if we’re not meant to empathize with the characters, especially in their cruelty, but to view them as peculiar and intriguing specimens who make a wild story possible.  Characters are very one-dimensional, yet it works because of how they contrast or compliment one another, like characters from a fairy tale.  Visually, the film is nice and painterly, but it does not stand up to the sort of cinematography today’s technology makes possible.  Its age is evident.  Overall, I enjoyed it, but I think the story and the title character ultimately come across as a bit too dull for the film to share the status of some of Kubrick’s other work, like 2001, Spartacus, and Strangelove.

Drug War (2012)

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drugwar

Link: Drug War

Summary: An illegal drug-manufacturer is caught and tries to avoid the death penalty by aiding police in a high-stakes drug deal sting operation.  But is he really helping the police?  Or is he only working to subtly sabotage the entire operation and gain his freedom?

Thoughts: Fast-paced and engaging film.  Perhaps a little too fast-paced, as I found myself rather confused as to what was going on in the first half hour.  Part of that is probably due having to read subtitles and not being used to distinguishing Asian faces very well.  (As racist as it may seem to say “they all look the same!”, it’s true; by the end of the film it’s easy, but it’s always a bit of a challenge at the beginning when there are more than a few characters.)  Once I had a good handle on what was going on, I very much enjoyed all the plot twists, and the high-tense climactic Scorsese-worthy (or maybe milder-Tarantino-worthy) ending was very satisfying.  Overall, I found this to be a very fun action flick.

The Colony (2013)

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thecolony

Link: The Colony

Summary: In a post-apocalyptic world of snow, colonies survive in various underground bunkers.  When one colony mysteriously won’t answer its radios, men from another colony set out to see what’s going on.  The surprises they find may lead to their salvation.  Or their doom!

Thoughts: The film starts out OK.  The visual effects are nice.  The characters are intriguing.  The dialog is a bit cliché, but it gets the job done.  But when they discover what happened to the mysteriously silent colony, it’s all downhill.  Turns out (spoiler alert) that the other colony was killed by zombie-like cannibals.  The rest of the film is little more than the heroes battling these animal-like cannibals, and it all feels rushed, repetitive, and empty.  And then suddenly it ends.  There’s something really off about the structure and pacing that makes the ending seem really abrupt, even though by that time you’re glad it’s over.

Ender’s Game (2013)

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Summary: A young and very intelligent boy is sent to a “battle school” in space to compete in training games in preparation for fighting deadly aliens.  Based on the 1985 novel.

Thoughts: May be spoilers ahead…

The weaknesses:

Some lines of dialog come across as extremely cheesy, and there are cheesy moments when characters smile at each other and nod.  I hate those sort of shots.  Actually, this is my biggest complaint.  The movie would be much better if you just take out some of the cheesy lines.  They may have worked in the book, but they just don’t translate to screen for some reason.

Many of the supporting characters came off as flat cardboard characters, either supporting Ender for some unknown reason, or hating him for some unknown reason; we don’t really get a chance to empathize with anyone but Ender.

The set design was a bit sci-fi cliché; clean polished metal walls everywhere, everything all square and straight and bright and colorful.

Battle school and command school always feel a bit fake.  We only see three adults, usually talking in their office.  Surely there are more somewhere?  Or is it that easy to run the place?  We only ever see shots of the students doing things in neat clean rooms.  There are so few props.  There’s no life to the place, it doesn’t feel like a bunch of people are living there.  It feels like a bunch of wooden movie sets.

Finally, the movie just sort of misses out on the strong themes of the book.  It hints at them now and then by dramatizing scenes from the book, but it never really explores them.  There’s the manipulation and emotional abuse Graff puts Ender through because he thinks that’s the best way to make him strong.  There’s Ender’s struggle to both defeat his enemy and understand his enemy.  There’s what the adults ultimately do to Ender for their own ends.  These themes are there in the script, but they’re not there in spirit, if that makes any sense; I never really felt them like I did in the book.  The book does have the advantage that we can see into Ender’s thoughts, but there should’ve been a way to get these themes across in the film, in the music and pacing and tone, etc.  That’s the art of filmmaking; making a film say things without a character having to speak them, making a film say things that can’t be spoken.

The good:

I thought the film hit some beats very well, particularly Graff and Ender’s exchange as they first blast off into space, when Ender is forced to do push ups after angering a sergeant, when Ender first meets Mazer, and the very end when Ender faces the bug alien Formic thing.  (Unfortunately, a lot of these great moments fail to add up to anything thematically; they’re not cohesive.  They come across as a highlight reel from the book.)

The camera work was nice.  A lot of straight head on shots, which are refreshing and help draw you into the characters and the world.  I only fear the director may have over used it.  (Over-the-shoulder shots usually feel very faky to me; it’s rare that people just stand there facing each other talking, or even look directly at each other through an entire conversation.)

Very nice cinematography and music.  Great acting.   (I don’t blame actors for having to deliver cheesy lines.)

Overall:

Overall, despite my complaints, the story from the book is still there, it still works, and it’s still powerful.  Overall, the film was honestly better than I expected it to be.  Still a lot of missed potential and really annoying cheesiness.  I guess it also helps to be familiar with the book, because then you can understand what’s going on in Ender’s head even if it’s not coming across on screen (or is delivered through a really cheesy line).  That is, I can’t really think of this as a film in and of itself; it’s a layer added onto my understanding of the book.

I enjoyed it. If you’re a fan of the book, you’ll likely enjoy it too. Still not as powerful or as deep as the book, but it’s certainly one of the better book-to-film translations I’ve seen.

World War Z (2013)

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Link: World War Z

Summary: When a zombie epidemic spreads so fast that apparently there’s no warning for any country at all, a man sets out to investigate the zombie-ism and save what’s left of the world.

Thoughts: The biggest problem with this movie was lack of characterization.  The film tries to get into the action right away, so we have no time to get to know the characters.  So when they’re in danger and running from zombies after just two short scenes, we really don’t care much about them.  If anything, they annoy us, especially the hero’s two daughters who do nothing but stand there and scream when their father isn’t there.

After a half hour or so of boring bland zombie survivalism (with enough shaky cam to make you queasy), the real story begins: it is up to our bland boring hero to investigate the origins of the zombie virus.  But even this is not the real story, because the investigation somehow morphs into finding out why the zombies don’t bite certain people, and using whatever it is to save everyone else.  And even this investigation is boring because nothing’s at stake for our hero until near the end, when his family is put in danger.  But they’re still such bland characters that it’s still hard to care.

Blancanieves (2012)

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blancanieves

Link: Blancanieves

Summary: A retelling of the fairy tale Snow White and the Seven Dwarves set in the late 1920’s in Spain, with Snow White being the daughter of a bullfighter.  After an attempted murder by her wicked step mother, she finds herself traveling with seven bullfighting dwarves. 

Thoughts: Like The Artist, this is a modern-day black and white silent film.  It is too bad The Artist overshadows this film for the novelty of being a modern-day black and white silent film, because where The Artist is gimmicky, cheesy, dull, and uninspired, Blancanieves is fantastic.

While the tale of Snow White is familiar enough that you will always know where the story is headed, the film does provide interesting twists that allow for a fresh perspective on the classic tale.  The photography is brilliant, managing to turn an otherwise normal black and white world into something that seems on the edge of fantasy.  The story and the pacing are tight; never is there a dull or pointless moment, yet never does it feel rushed.  Being a silent film, it is very refreshing to see the much more imaginative and economical ways in which filmmakers can tell a story without needing to resort to dialog.  Finally, the musical score Alfonso de Vilallonga is the icing on the cake; it is beautiful.  Overall, the film creates a wonderfully mesmerizing storybook feeling that I found to be very enchanting.  I’ve lately seen a number of films based on re-imagining classic fairy tales, but this is the best I’ve seen so far.  Great film.

Oblivion (2013)

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Link: Oblivion

Summary: After human civilization on Earth is obliterated by war or something, humans flee to a moon of Saturn.  Meanwhile, a man is stationed on Earth to help maintain technology that turns the Earth’s water into some sort of energy source they can use on Titan or something.  But when a mysterious vessel from space lands on Earth, the man discovers a human survivor, a woman he vaguely remembers, and he slowly comes to realize that the true nature of his mission and the true history of Earth are not what he thought.

Thoughts: The story was far too convoluted and left me asking a lot of questions.  It seemed like one of the driving forces of the story was its sense of mysteriousness.  Weird things happen and the main character has to piece together the true nature of his mission and the true history of Earth.  I think this would’ve worked better if the story had framed these as specific questions, and had the main character focus on answering them one at a time.  Instead, the main character is driven by a bunch of questions that all get muddled together, making his goal vague, making his actions hard to relate to.  That is, because he’s not seeking an answer to a specific question, we have no frame of reference to judge whether his actions get him any closer to an answer.  When the answers are revealed, they only inspire more questions.  It was liking watching a murder mystery in which the killer is revealed to be a robot, with no explanation given as to where the robot came from, why he was programmed to murder, and how he got away with it.  Granted, a fan of the film, or the graphic novel it’s based on, could surely come up with answers, but that I have to ask for them shows that it were not given very clearly in the film, ruining it for me.  A far superior sci-fi film featuring similar conspiratory mysteries, and a story that stays focused and followable, is Moon (2009).

Oblivion also features a complete waste of Morgan Freeman.  His character is so bland that they could’ve given the role to anyone.  That they obviously casted him just for his name makes me feel cheated.

I did enjoy the look and feel of the film (though do we really need so many crotch shots, Mr. Cruise?) and the sci-fi score, but not enough to make up for the overly convoluted story.

Now You See Me (2013)

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Link: Now You See Me

Summary: Four magic-related entertainers are brought together by a mysterious ringleader who has them perform three magic shows in which they redistribute wealth.  Meanwhile, the FBI tries to track them down and figure out how they’re doing their tricks.

Thoughts: This is one of the worst films I’ve ever seen.  The magic “tricks” involve sci-fi nonsense like 3D holograms and being able to hypnotize people to control them.  It’s hard to be dazzled by such ingenuity when we know it’s really the product of screenwriters being lazy hacks.  When other plot twists are revealed to have been part of the grand plan, they too have explanations far too outlandish to be satisfying.  The film spends so much energy trying to make each plot twist surprising that they completely fail to be meaningful, especially the film’s final twist, the revelation of who the mysterious ringleader is.  If you’re not saying, “I thought so,” or “That sure is stupid,” you’re saying, “I really don’t care.”  Take, for example, the twist at the end of The Prestige.  Perhaps you can see that film’s revelation coming from a mile away, but that’s because it’s meaningful, it plays into what the entire story is about.  This film’s final twist, on the other hand, tries so hard to hide itself that it makes itself completely arbitrary, and so has zero dramatic impact.

Aside from the ridiculous convoluted not-clever plot, there’s something a bit sickening in images of paper money falling like confetti upon happy crowds as if stealing from the rich to give to the poor is at all noble or romantic, or that it should make so many people so easily happy as they smile and jump up and catch it.  To me, it feels almost condescending, in a way.  “I know what’s important to you, poor soul!  Money!  So, here, have some!  Yay!  You’re happy now, aren’t you?”

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

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Link: Star Trek Into Darkness

Summary: Kirk and Spock try to stop a mysterious terrorist villain who has an evil plan.

Thoughts: I’ve never seen anything else from the world of Star Trek other than this film and Mr. Abrams’s previous Star Trek film, so I can’t compare this installment with past incarnations of the franchise.  So my reaction to this film comes from experiencing it in and of itself, and as a sequel.  I can’t say I much cared for it.  It felt like it was trying to create something emotionally between Kirk and Spock’s relationship, but it falls completely flat.  Spock, with all his logic, should be able to, you know, actually use it to understand how other people feel, even if he lacks much natural ability to empathize.  Similarly, Kirk, as a human, should also be able to use logic and empathy to understand Spock’s position.  The fact that neither character can figure things out makes them both seem incredibly stupid, unrealistic, hard to relate to, and certainly impossible to have any emotional interest in.  And this pretty much ruins the story for me, which is otherwise a pretty standard sci-fi action film.  And without any emotional depth, it all comes across as bland.  And as this seems to be a consistent problem with Mr. Abrams’s work, I don’t have really any hopes for the next Star Wars film.  (Though at least it’s guaranteed to be better than Episode 1, for even the worst Abrams film is a masterpiece compared to that.)

Memories of Murder (2003)

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Link: Memories of Murder

Summary: Cops try to track down a serial killer.

Thoughts: (Spoilers ahead.)  Netflix claimed I would love this film, but it was wrong.  The humor and grittiness were a bit raunchy for me, and the ending annoyed me because, as it turns out, they never catch the killer!  All their leads go nowhere.  All the twists and turns in the plot lead to a complete dead end.  The climax is a complete dramatic let down.  (Although the music was good.)  It left me feeling like I had wasted time.  I realized afterwards that the story was based on the true story of the “Hwaseong serial murders”.  Of course, a lot of the film was fictionalized, but the murders really do remain unsolved crimes, which is rightly aggrivating and disconcerting.  But I don’t know why someone thought this would make great material for a film.  Maybe a documentary.  Anyway, the film was a success and is in IMDb’s “Top 250” (at position 214 as of this post), so a lot of people like it for some reason.  There is probably some Korean cultural and/or political subtext that is over my head.

Amour (2012)

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Link: Amour

Summary: An old man cares for his dying wife.

Thoughts: (Spoilers ahead.)  Though it’s obviously a pretty feel-sad film, the artistry of the filmmaking was fantastic.  I loved the gentle pacing, the gentle camera work, the use of classical piano music, and the subtlety of the mood changes.  The ending annoyed me a bit as it seemed to portray assisted suicide as a difficult but morally acceptable decision.  I suppose one could argue otherwise, claiming it was just how those characters responded to the situation, but I’d still argue that because the film portrays no negative consequences of the action, it’s portraying it as morally acceptable.  It’s as if the characters forget the point of their lives when death is imminent, which is odd, since it’s the title of the film.  Killing people to put them out of pain (or to put yourself out of the pain of watching them suffer) is not love, it is fear of pain.

The Host (2013)

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believe what?

Link: The Host

Summary: After an alien invasion, an alien tries to take over a teenage girl’s body, but the girl’s mind fights back and they end up sharing the body.  The girl forces the alien to find her loved ones, rebels who are resisting the invasion and hiding in the desert.  Meanwhile, the alien develops a love interest of her own, because apparently being a 1,000 year old alien is very similar to being a teenage girl.

Thoughts: I wanted to check this out as it was directed by Andrew Niccol, who wrote and directed Gattaca and In Time, and wrote The Truman Show, all of which I enjoyed.  Would he be able to turn something by Stephanie Meyer into an enjoyable sci-fi?  The answer is a resounding NO.  This film was awful.  I could’ve forgiven the stupid girly romance nonsense if it had created any interesting conflict, or made any sense in the first place.  (Why is such an old alien falling in love with a random earth dude?)  Instead, the conflict is just “oh no, the human part of me loves this guy, and the alien part of me loves this other guy, I guess I should just make out with both of them!”  For example, what if she was forced to save only one or the other?  That would’ve been interesting.  But no twists like that are explored.

Secondly, the aliens made no sense.  They’re at first portrayed as these morally elite beings who don’t believe in lying or cheating or stealing or killing, yet they have no problem killing most humans by taking over their bodies.  No explanation is given as to why they think this is perfectly morally OK, yet strongly oppose the rest of humanity’s moral weaknesses.

Thirdly, we’ve got what Blake Snyder would call “double mumbo jumbo” — that is, more than one crazy thing the audience has to accept.  First we have to accept that aliens have invaded and have taken over human bodies.  OK, we can go along with that for the sake of a story.  But then we learn that the rebels are hiding in this huge bigger-than-a-mansion desert cave, where they have electricity, water, a huge farm powered with giant mirrors, a medical room, room for vehicles, and a room for clap-off lightning bugs that seem to exist only to look cool and romantic.  It’s just ridiculously far-fetched.  We are told that there is only one secret entrance to the place, yet sunlight is pouring in throughout the place, lighting all the rooms and halls.  Only one entrance?  The place is full of holes!

Fourthly, how incredibly dumb do you have to be to accidentally slice your leg while reaping crops?

Really horrendous film.

Russian Ark (2002)

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russianark

Link: Russian Ark

Summary: A 90-minute film made entirely in one long take.  The camera follows a ghost or spirit as he wanders around the Hermitage museum (and through different time periods, from the 1700-somethings to modern day) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, now and then stopping to talk to people who can see him and making philosophical observations.

Thoughts: Some parts were interesting and poetic, but overall, without a real overarching plot (which I suppose would’ve been very risky since they were filming the entire thing in one take), it was rather meandering and I found myself phasing out every now and then.

Phantom (2013)

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Link: Phantom

Summary: Based on the true story of a Soviet submarine that sank after it mysteriously went rogue and tried to fire a missile near the US, the movie tells the story of a submarine captain who battles against rogue Soviets who are trying to start a war between the US and China.

Thoughts: Here’s a good example of what happens when filmmakers don’t seem to know their Blake Snyder beats and get the pacing all weird.  What should’ve only been the midpoint event comes way too late and is actually the climax, making it seem as if the problem was really not that hard to solve.  Pretty bland film.