Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen, a review

14-04-10

So I watched "Transformers: The Revenge of The Fallen" at the cinema last night, and I was pleasantly surprised. I still think that the original film is better -- I decided a long time ago, when I read the plot of the sequel and found it somewhat "empty", that the original was a better film -- the original had a sense of wonder that is hard to recapture and those scenes that were meant to move an audience, didn't feel contrived or manipulative at all, unlike in the sequel.

The visual effects, as expected, were some of the best in the history of cinema -- absolutely amazing. There's a scene where Optimus Prime goes head-to-head with both Megatron and Starscream, in a forest, as Sam watches from a distance. To say that this scene was exciting, would be a gross understatement. I have not the words to fully impart to the reader how breathtaking this scene was. The fight choreography was some of the best, not only in animation -- since Optimus Prime, Megatron and Starscream were computer-generated characters -- but, once again, in the history of cinema. It was hard-hitting, had impact, had "oomph!", the three combatants moved gracefully, it was easy to see what was taking place and the seamless integration of the gigantic virtual battle of the three titans, with live-action, was to say the least, impressive. Optimus Prime is a uber-warrior, an iron hand in a velvet glove -- he was outnumbered two to one, yet he fought with the grace of a Shaolin monk and the determination of the Greek Spartans of old. Now I understand why someone would say that Optimus Prime is his/her hero. This scene was also quite emotional, it was sad to see Optimus "killed" by Megatron and the despair on Sam's face. I felt the deep paternal connection between a non-biological extraterrestrial and a human, being severed. I was quite glad when the rest of the Autobots arrived on the scene, letting loose a barrage of super-advanced alien gunfire and preventing Sam from falling into Megatron's evil clutches.

16-04-10

There was a ship -- a humungous seagoing vessel -- with the word "Bayos" emblazoned on its front, and when I saw this, my eyes welled up a little from enjoyment -- it was the film-makers winking at the audience. You see "Bayos" -- a combination of "Bay", the director's name, and "chaos" -- is a sort of running in-joke between Bay, his producer Ian Bryce and crew, that references Michael Bay's knack for directing exciting action sequences, that are often frenetic and somewhat chaotic.

Another "wink" that I liked was, the huge theatrical poster for the film "Bad Boys II" -- a Michael Bay film -- hanging on the wall of Sam's shared college dormitory.

Some of the "sexual" comedy was funny, but most of it seemed inappropriate and clichéd. Two examples are, firstly, Mikaela (Megan Fox) accidentally landing on Sam's nerdy college roommate's (Freddy Rodriguez) gonads, after having been teleported to the Egyptian desert, by geriatric Cybertronian Jetfire. Secondly, the Witwicky's two male dogs, Mojo and Frankie, copulating and Ron (Kevin Dunn), Sam's father, yelling at Mojo to stop "dominating" Frankie. Despite this, there were some genuinely good laughs to be had. An example is when Sam's roommate leaves the toilet with his pants down to his ankles, pretending that he's run out of toilet paper, attacks a museum guard with a taser, who falls down paralyzed, and then accidentally administers the taser on himself and falls on the incapacitated guard, also temporarily paralyzed -- taser still in hand and pants down -- to which Simmons (John Turturro) exclaims when he arrives on the scene -- "What the hell is going on here?!" or something. Very funny.

Another delight in this film was some of the dialogue, despited being shouted, delivered at lightning speed and somewhat obscured by the dean of explosions and gunfire -- referred to as Bay's "military porn", by a blogger whose name I can't recall.

21-04-10

I loved the scenery in this film, seeing shiny, brightly colored vehicles driving through the sun-drenched deserts of Egypt, was a feast for the eyes. Some kudos goes to cinematographer Ben Seresin, who more than adequately filled Mitchell Amundsen's shoes, who shot the original film. Seeing super-advanced vehicles or technology set against barren desert landscapes just gets me going, I'm not certain why. Perhaps it's the contrast between the sleek, shiny, synthetic and intricate parts, with the natural, harsh and plain desert sands. I'm not certain. Anyway, this reminds me of the fun I had seeing the intricate podrace vehicles tearing through the deserts of the planet Tatooine at lightning speed, in George Lucas' "Star Wars Episode IV: The Phantom Menace".

Steve Jablonsky's score was, like the original film's, magnificent. There were some new themes that, despite being similar to some from the first film, were quite emotional and beautiful in their own right.

It's been one full week since I watched "Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen" and my memory of it has become vague, plus this essay has been written in three passes with too long intervals in-between, so the momentum has somewhat waned. Thus, I'll end here.

Suffice it to say that "ROTF" isn't a perfect film, there are numerous things that make precious little sense, but it's a great deal of fun to watch. Watch it.

Inglourious Basterds, a review

The Inglourious Basterds are a motley group of Jewish-American soldiers, led by the pompous and somewhat insane Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), that are sent to German-occupied France to kill Nazis and throw a spanner in the Fuhrer's plans for world domination. The Inglourious Basterds end up playing an important part in the complete and utter destruction of the Third Reich.

The dialogue was, to say the least, interesting -- the kind of dialogue that one wants to listen to over and over. It was an immense pleasure to watch as the stellar cast delivered it.

One particular song stood out for me -- "Putting Out Fire" by David Bowie, from the film "Cat People". It was used in the scene where Emmanuelle/Shosanna (Melanie Laurént), beautifully decked out in red dress and lipstick, stands beautifully, with smoldering cigarette in hand, at a circular window and looks down on the mingling crowd below, as if psyching herself up for the huge task at hand. This scene, in my opinion, contains some of the best costume design and cinematography in the film. Emmanuelle's beautiful red dress and pale skin, partly illuminated by the light streaming through the window, looked absolutely divine.

The violence was unexpectedly graphic and disturbing -- a taste of Tarantino's "Controversial Cinematic Violence" -- but despite the discomfort I felt, I thought it gave the film credibility. It was World War II, one of the worst wars known to mankind, if not the worst -- it had to be gory.

It wasn't difficult to see that this film was made by a film fanatic. What with all the filmic talk sprinkled through the dialogue, the largest and final action set piece taking place in a cinema, the director taking his time to show how a film comes on several reels and how the reels end up inside the film projector, and many other things. What was shown was almost enough to serve as a primer course in film projection! Okay, that's an exaggeration, but it was more detailed than it needed to be.

I liked how the dialogue kept switching between the three romance languages -- French, German and Italian -- and English. It added a great deal of linguistic life and colour to the film, and showed the skill of the actors and actresses.

This film is definitely worth one's time. It's so visually and aurally rich, that it's in a sense, "educational".

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, a review

Plot Summary

Chun-Li (Kristin Kreuk), a concert pianist and martial artist, is out to avenge the slaying of her father Xiang (Edmund Chen), by ruthless businessman, M. Bison (Neal McDonough).

Thoughts

This is without doubt, one of the worst movies ever made.

The acting in this film was awful, and that doesn't fully articulate how bad it was. Chris Klein, who played a sex-starved teen in one of the "American Pie" films, plays Charlie Nash, an Interpol operative. Klein imbues his character with about as much life as a corpse has. The rest of the main cast -- Kristin Kreuk, Robin Shou, Neal McDonough and Michael Clarke Duncan -- put in performances of gigantic awfulness. Although Shou, who played martial artist Liu Kang in another video game adaptation, had a sincerity and conviction that made his performance a little less awful.

The story was awful -- Bison ripping his unborn child out of its mother's womb, thereby ridding himself of his conscience -- I mean, c'mon! Perhaps it wouldn't have seemed ridiculous had the scene been executed well.

The hand-to-hand fights and gunfights were as exciting as watching wet paint dry, the choreography of both was appalling. Both lacked impact and excitement. It was as though the actors and actresses had not been given any direction at all and so had to improvise on set, during principal photography.

It is movies like this one that evoke an appreciation of filmmakers with real talent and commitment. "Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li" is not worth anyone's time.

Luc Besson and his Lone Runners

There are parallels between the films "The Professional" and "Transporter 3". The former, written and directed by Luc Besson. The Latter, co-written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen, and directed by Olivier Megaton. I don't know whether the parallels are coincidental or intentional, but Mr. Besson had a hand in shaping both of films.

The protagonists from both films, Leon (Jean Reno) from "The Professional" and Frank Martin (Jason Statham) from "Transporter 3", are dedicated, disciplined, exceptionally skilled and work alone. Both are permanently altered for the better by the females who inadvertently come into their lives. For Leon, it's a 13-year-old girl played perfectly by then child prodigy Natalie Portman, who gets him not wanting to be lonely anymore, wanting to enjoy life and put down roots, towards the end of the film. For Frank, it's a highly attractive, freckled Eastern European woman whom he's transporting, played satisfactorily by Natalya Rudakova, who gets him to loosen up and overcome his fear of living. One needs only one word to describe what Leon and Frank do, a "cleaner" or "hitman" and "transporter", respectively. Each man has one person whom he trusts and who knows what he does for a living -- a sort of confidante. For Leon, it's a burly restaurant owner who gets him "hitman" work and keeps his earnings like a bank. This restaurateur is played nicely by likable New Yorker, Danny Aiello. For Frank, it's a French Police Inspector whom he occasionally goes fishing with, played by Francois Berleand.

Finis.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a review

Plot Summary

Logan / Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), an ex-special forces operative, lives a quite life with his lover Kayla Silverfox (Lynn Collins). Victor Creed (Liev Schreiber), in league with Colonel William Stryker (Danny Huston), simulates the murder of Kayla. Enraged and vengeful, Logan agrees to have an indestructible metal bonded to his skeleton so that he may exact revenge.

Thoughts

On the whole, I thought that this film was mediocre. The drama -- those moments driven by simple emotional acting -- was poorly timed, pretentious and lacked the emotional punch of classical Greek tragedy, which it seemed to aspire to. The only action sequence that almost thrilled me, I repeat, almost thrilled me, was the one where Logan and Victor fought the elusive and deadly "Weapon XI", on the rim of a nuclear reactor tower. It wasn't very exciting but it got my attention. The rest of the action set pieces didn't do anything for me, I'm not sure why. It may have been the extensive use of CGI, bland choreography or what seemed to me to be an over-faithfulness to the source material -- merely taking the comic-book action as it was and putting it on screen -- making the action come across as too fanciful, even for a film based on fantasy. I found the story somewhat convoluted and some of the characters' motivations weak or unclear.

Hakeem Kae Kazim, who portrayed a Nigerian criminal here, seems to be taking on more and more roles of this type, he runs the risk of being stuck in this type of role for good. He played a despicable character in Terry George's "Hotel Rwanda" and played a role identical to this in Edward Zwick's "Blood Diamond" and who knows what else. It's starting to lose its believability. I found the Nigerian locale unconvincing, it felt more like a set or studio back-lot than a real location, and some of the trees that I saw in the landscape seemed out of place.

In spite of the aforementioned, this film had several things going for it. One of them was the talented Liev Schreiber. Schreiber didn't act as Victor Creed, he became Victor, through and through. He had a strong presence on screen and was a more than formidable opponent for Logan. Schreiber conveyed the animalistic tendencies in Victor with a fierceness that was scary. His take on the character was full and interesting, saving it from the monotonous, two-dimensional hell that it would have ended up in otherwise. Some of the credit for this, goes to the writers and others of course.

Another thing this film had going for it, was Harry Gregson-Williams' outstanding score. The score was impressively heroic and rousing, very apt for this film. Unfortunately, the score was more entertaining than the film itself. 

Ryan Reynolds' portrayal of "Deadpool" was enjoyable. I enjoyed the character's absurd sense of humour. Dominic Monaghan's portrayal of Bradley, a mutant with the ability to manipulate electricity and energy, was subtle and restrained yet, very effective. I tend to have difficulty commenting on the principle player's performance, which in this case, was Hugh Jackman. I suspect that the reader will disagree with me quite strongly, but I found Jackman's performance to be no more than adequate. I admire his continual return to such a physically and emotionally demanding role -- all that impaling, scowling, snarling, grunting, melancholy and so on. The role suits Jackman to a T, the man was born to play it.

Last but not least. The visual effects and the opening credits sequence were outstanding. Of note, were the effects that went into fleshing out Logan and Victor. What made the opening credits sequence impressive for me, was that a great deal of back story was revealed that would have had to go into the film itself, saving time. Another thing was the subdued colour palette, which enhanced the impact of the visuals. And there's a scene where Logan and Victor, as G.I.s in Vietnam, stand back-to-back, as they are surrounded by fellow soldiers -- Schreiber's pose in this scene, claws extended and fangs bared, looked exactly like a work of comic art, it was amazing. Another thing that was impressive was Victor, leaping around like a cheetah on the beaches of Normandy during the D-Day landings, dispatching German soldiers with claw and bullet, it was just fantastic. Gregson-Williams' monster of a score made it all even more appealing.

"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" is worth at least one look.

Lost: Season 1

"Lost" is a fantastic TV show, and that's putting it mildly. One theme that the writers keep hitting upon, is the danger of keeping to oneself, information that would be best shared with all -- secrets. I love watching Charlie and Claire interacting with each other, their interactions are so beautifully moving most of the time. There's a piece of music that accompanies almost all the scenes where Charlie and Claire interact directly with each other, I call it "Charlie and Claire's Theme", it's at once beautifully melancholic and hopeful. Michael Giacchino, the score composer, outdid himself with that piece, I don't have the words to adequately articulate how deeply that cue moves me.

For me, "Lost", is not only about being lost in terms of physical location, but being lost in life too -- losing your way, as you travel to that place where you can say without doubt, that you're the best person that you can possibly be. I loved the scene in season one, where Sawyer reveals to Jack that he, by sheer happenstance, wound up sitting next to Jack's father in a bar in Australia and then proceeds to share with Jack the contents of their conversation. This was Sawyer's way of bidding farewell to Jack and thanking him, without seeming like a pansy. Matthew Fox's and Josh Holloway's performances in this scene, were I think, outstanding. More so Fox's. My eyes welled up as I watched this scene.