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Posted on May 19, 2013 by Marvin in Movies, Politics | Comments Off

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Rated PG-13

Paramount Pictures

As the end credits rolled for Star Trek Into Darkness, an obviously old-school Star Trek diehard (I’m not using the ‘T’ word) came up to me and my wife in dire straits over his belief of the new film’s disrespect of the space drama’s canon.

“The finale, shot-for-shot, matched the finale of (1982’s Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan),” he shouted at us in the dark.

“Well, they did swap the main characters’ fates this time around,” I antagonized, to my wife’s chagrin. This guy has singlehandedly assured that I won’t be watching anymore of these films in the theater with my wife. Thanks, pal.

OK, this isn’t your father’s Star Trek, or even your older brother’s. But it does manage to hit the sweet spot between Roddenberry devotees, Next Generation Gen X’ers and millennials, who have no intention of looking back as they head warp speed into J.J. Abrams’ universe. But that was the plan all along, wasn’t it?

Am I mistaken in my understanding that the franchise reboot established that this was a different approach to the Trek of yore? Wasn’t the 2009 film’s debut the time to rail against this new Star Trek, or just bow out altogether? That film was a smash, though, drawing in hardcores and newbies alike. My wife, no fan of sci-fi, thought it was fantastic. So if you came back for more, Mr. Shot-by-Shot, why complain? The new franchise is firing on all its Abrams cylinders, which is to say it holds respect for the original series, but doesn’t feel bound to be a slave to it.

Quick summary: Young Capt. Kirk, still the rogue, against-the-regulations leader of the USS Enterprise, is fuel by revenge after the Federation is attacked by an unknown terrorist. Shades of 9/11 abound, as a shaken Federation looks to harsh, secret strategies in the wake of the devastation. This includes the machinations of Dick Cheney, I mean, Peter Weller’s Federation muckety-muck Marcus, whose sneaky efforts could precipitate all-out intergalactic war.

Spock’s cool logical Vulcan mind collides with Kirk’s burning ideas of revenge, but as always, the two level each other out. A quick lovers’ quarrel between Spock and Uhura, Bone’s dalliance with Tribbles and Scotty’s silly/brilliant hijinks fill in the gaps between story proper, which is largely told in bold swaths of action.

Benedict Cumberbatch is wonderfully powerful as Khan. I don’t know how we get from this to Ricardo Montalban, but, hey, this guy was a fierce and daunting opponent who, at turns, outwits and/or outfights the Federation, Kirk, Spock, Marcus and special guest, the Klingons. By the hour-and-a-half mark I was about to put a big “S” on this guy’s chest and call it a day.

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Posted on May 13, 2013 by Marvin in Movies | 1 Comment

Iron Man 3 (2013)

Rated PG-13

Marvel Studios

We already knew Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark is a mad, snarky genius when he’s surrounded by his dazzling technology, ridiculous wealth and groupies, but darn-it-all if he’s not just as brilliant and snarky when everything’s been taken from him—money, power suit, tech toys, reputation, loved ones.

In this fourth iteration of the Iron Man saga (including his appearance in last year’s Avengers), Downey and the creators of the franchise have tacked backward to move forward.

By taking away his technology and limiting the use of his supersuit, IM3 recalls the desperate, resilient Tony Stark of the first film (2008) who fashioned his prototype Iron Man suit from spare weapons parts while being held captive in a cave.

I didn’t like this go-round as much as the first film (which surprised me with Downey’s impromptu wit, breezy action and clean through-line plot), but it beats Iron Man 2 (2010) and finds different riffs on what should be getting stale by now.

Stretches of this film rely not on action and special effects, but on the emotional and physical plight of Stark. Downey’s just great at this stuff: Serious and commanding enough to sell Stark as someone not to be trifled with, but never letting things get too heavy with his lethal, endless quips and his wink-wink genius-playboy persona.

I think the small stuff works better than the big moments: When he puts together battle gear from parts he buys from a small-town hardware store; wearing a Dora the Explorer digital watch he bums off the kid sister of a boy he befriends; the panic attacks that come out of nowhere and leave Stark a quivering mess.

I’ll leave The Mandarin stuff for the fanboys to hash out, but I’ll just say I loved Ben Kingsley as both The Mandarin and the man behind The Mandarin.

Sure, this is a summer special effects action flick. That stuff’s here too: a robot army zigzagging across the sky; deadly super soldiers who burn not just with malevolence, but seemly of lava from within; the show-stopping set piece in which Iron Man must rescue 13 people as they plummet from a destroyed Air Force One; a very cool scene where he redirects his iron suit to assemble around his girlfriend to protect her as she hurls through the air after a missile attack on Stark’s Malibu mansion.

It took some level of guts to have Stark grow up and reflect that he and his suits (and the lifesaving reactor in the middle of his chest) have become codependents and it’s time to end the relationship and fully embrace the real one he has with his love Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow).

I don’t know where they go from here (Avengers 2, maybe), but if they’re done with this Downey/Stark version, this was a nice sendoff.

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Posted on November 5, 2012 by Marvin in Movies | Comments Off

Cloud Atlas (2012)

Rated R

It’s hard to write something short about a movie so long. Three hours of mind-bending, audacious, off-the-map filmmaking.

Here’s the lowdown on the basics: The movie was codirected by the Wachowski siblings (The Matrix trilogy) and German filmmaker Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run, Perfume). It was adapted from an equally complex, enigmatic novel by David Mitchell. The film details six interlocking, yet time-spanning, stories. Ten of the main actors—including Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant and Jim Broadbent—play multiple roles (as few as three each, as many as six), which cast them as different races, genders, even synthetic creatures.

A theme of connectedness and reincarnation binds the stories—lovers who face tragedy in one life, might find happiness together in another; sins and hopes of the past ripple through time and sometimes switch places, depending on the era.

While I didn’t follow all of it (no one’s walking out of this with a clear understanding of everything—at least not in a first viewing) I did follow enough to keep me engaged in each of the stories and their characters. For a film with so much going on, I was surprised by how much it cares for its characters. I was left with questions, of course, but felt I got the overall plot and ideas behind each story, even with the constant cutting between them.

I think people who love time-jumping puzzle-plot movies will see this repeatedly, and likely catch something new each time. I think people who don’t like to work too hard in the theater will still say they walked away with favorite scenes vividly recalled because of the beautiful human moments or the striking visuals.

Something’s going on with this film. The directors are reaching to redefine filmmaking, I think. Do they succeed? Time will tell. This movie will be studied and talk about, dismissed and touted as groundbreaking. It’s as if the filmmakers were trying—within theses six mini-films—to encapsulate the whole of human existence, purpose and emotion. It’s trying to document the histories of how we love and create with passion, how we are as cruel as we are forgiving, how we move through time and space while changing those things and ourselves as we go.

This ambitious film might not do well out of the gate (it demands attention and thought), but my guess is, over time, it’s going to be regarded as something of a milestone.

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Side note: Several Asian characters are portrayed by non-Asians actors, which is in keeping with the film’s reincarnation theme that involves actors in multiple roles, but I wonder if it won’t be seen as offensive, particularly since some of the makeup effects could be seen as playing to stereotypes.

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Posted on October 22, 2012 by Marvin in Movies | 1 Comment

Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)

Rated R

Paramount Pictures

I know, I know.

Any movie with the number 4 or higher at the end of its title risks automatic long-in-tooth status. And so it goes with the fourth installment of the catching-demon-terror-on-videocamera franchise.

2007’s PA’s found-footage trope terrorized with a single camera mounted in a bedroom. PA2 (2010) one-upped that film’s voyeur content by tapping into a multiple-camera surveillance system. PA3 (2011) went old-school by bringing the pain via VHS videotape. This latest film opts to zing us with up-to-the-minute digital wizardry—laptop Skyping, cellphone video, even a videogame system’s motion-tracking technology (very cool) gets in on the action.

The producers obviously see human beings getting dragged out of frame by invisible demons as a hallmark of the franchise, but I think it’s become stale.

I should be cheering a movie that prefers slow-burn creepiness over attention-deficit quick cutting, flittering shadows and hushed demonic sounds over gore. I’m continually amazed at how these movies encourage—no, command—you to scour every inch of the frame, seeking out the lurking, about-to-pounce terror even as you’re trying to look away. There are shocks to be had, but by now, it all seems so familiar. And by now, can’t we delve a little deeper into the origin of this family-obsessed demon/witch coven nonsense, or just let it go already?

As I rolled my eyes at the post-credit setup for the next one, I’ve decided then and there to heed my opening warning about titles with growing numbers.

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Posted on August 26, 2012 by Marvin in Movies | 2 Comments

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Rated PG-13

Warner Bros.

Epic, complex, overdone, grim, redemptive and rewarding. The final film in the ambitious comic book-to-neo noir series brings it all. At darn-near three hours it needs to.

Eight years after events in part two (The Dark Knight, 2008), Gotham’s nearly crimeless thanks to sacrifices of Commissioner Gordon and The Batman, who’s now broken down and in retirement. Not for long. A three-tiered enemy looms, including those operating boldly in the spotlight, like the merciless Bane, and the double-crossers waiting in the shadows.

Anne Hathaway makes impact as Catwoman, as do Michael Caine as loyal servant Alfred, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a steadfast cop. All of Bane’s sparse dialogue is epic—when you can clearly hear it.

The film’s strength is its sustained tone of impending doom, which puts viewers and Gotham citizens in a simpatico state of victimization and hopelessness. We and they are hyped for some serious payback by the finale.

Give Batman Begins (2005)—the first in the series—a rewatch. The Dark Knight Rises draws heavily upon that film to wrap up its themes.

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