Transformers - Review

"Transformers" by director Michael Bay , based upon the really popular toy line/cartoon series of the 1980's is hands-down the best film of the summer so-far and one of the best of the year.  It is definetly Michael Bay's funnest film with some of the most beautiful visual and acoustic aesthetics that I have seen in a movie. 

The schematics:

Direction - Michael Bay (9/10):

Hostel II - Review

Hostel II does have a good premise and tremendous potential but in the end, it really is not that good.  I generally have no problem with excessive gore or brutal manipulations of human flesh, so that really is not the issue.  I have an "iron stomach" when it comes to watching films and I have yet to see a film that really grosses me out (that includes Hostel II).

   The main problem with Hostel II is that seeks to communicate its story through scenes of violence - which I am okay with, as certain stories can only be told via violence as brutal violence does underlie many incidences of human interaction in both the present and the past - however, there is no "real" story to communicate here.  Eli Roth (director/writer) drops hints a good story brimming underneath the surface but does not at all explore it.  What most of the film becomes is violence for the sake of violence;  violent shock value is no longer used as a story mechanism but as the story itself - and it does not really work out.


Caption:  Scene from the Ed Wood director's cut of "Hostel"

Script - Eli Roth (3/10):

For those unfamiliar with the basic premise of Hostel, it goes something like this:

There exists an Elite Hunting Society that is a possible off-shoot of the Russian Mob that conduct a service;  the service is that they have an auction for very wealthy men and woman around the world where they can bid on captured backpackers that frequent a particular Hostel in Slovakia.  The client who wins the bid is then allowed to torture/kill their victim in any way imaginable (which is shown in detail), in accordance to their own wishes.

While the premise is indeed grisly, it is not unlike events that have occurred in present time and in history.  The idea of people being sold as commodities has surfaced in various domains of human interaction, whether  it be slavery (that is still going on in places like Sudan), present day human trafficking in Eastern Europe, child kidnapping and subsequent forced prostitution in present-day Thailand, etc; Roth's premise does have many parallels to the real world. 

The fundamental flaw with Hostel II is that it does a disservice in sufficiently exploring this premise.  The film has the immense potential to explore the human perspectives on several issues relevant to the "human commodity" premise, akin to what director Edward Zwick did for african Conflict diamonds in the awesome "Blood Diamond", but Roth simply does not do it justice.  More aptly, he does not treat it with respect.

Roth dedicates only a minute fraction of the film to discussing the human sides of the Elite Hunting Club's Hostel; specifically, he shows in detail on how the target victims are bidded on and does provide some characterization on the Clients motivations for killing/torturing people.

The scenes with the clients Todd (Richard Burgi, the imposter dad in first half of Season 1 of "24") and Stuart (Roger Bart) are the only worthwile parts of the film.  Todd gets an mental erection on the idea that he gets to kill somebody while Stuart is reluctantly roped into the ordeal by Todd;  the actual reasons that underlie their motivations are shown towards the end, along with other details of the Hostel.  Even though the scenes with the clients are the only "good" scenes relative to the film, at the same they are not actually good as the characterization for Todd and Stuart are superficial at best.  Their existence serve more as plot contriavances than actual human characters.

The "good scenes" in Hostel comprise just a fraction of the entire film.  Most of the film follows formula's set by the "Friday the 13th" s of the past with a VERY predictable plot;  the main trio of victims/characters are very under-developed, mixtures of carciatures from the Stock Bank of Horror Cinema.  You have the level-headed girl Beth (Lauren German), the attractive but horny blond Whitney (Bijou Philips), and the geeky, non-attractive but "pretty on the inside" artsy girl Lorna (Heather Matarazzo) and of course the blantantly iniquitous but immensly physically attractice European girl Axelle (Vera Jordonovo).  Beth (German) is the only one is somewhat developed, a 1.5 dimensional character versus the rest of the 1-Dimensional characters.

What really pisses me about the film is that Roth abandons the good that the film could have and instead makes a film that pursues shock value for the sake of shock value. It seems that Roth aims to define the film with its scenes of violence vs using violence to explore his story.  This does not work and really, really hurts the film.  When a film has the fundamental material to be amazing but goes instead goes in a direction towards a shitter, it really pisses me off ( *cough* "The Punisher" * cough* "Batman and Robin" * cough* "Blade: Trinity" * cough*).  I warrant my low score for the script with these reasons alone.

Caption: Bijou Philip's unsuccessful audition for King Kong in Peter Jackson's "King Kong"

Direction  - Eli Roth (6/10):

Though Roth's script sucked, his direction here and there is pretty good.  Two scenes to watch out for are when the backpackers are bidded on and when the two clients enter the compound to prep themselves to kill their captives.  The latter is especially cool as it has a nice score that accompanies it.

Here Roth really does demonstrate a potential for good direction but unfortuantely direction cannot take a film very far if its severely disfigured by an abysmal script, as is the case for "Hostel II". 

I do like how Eli Roth does not shy away from the violence but at the same time he does not really orient it any meaningful direction.  For example, in Speilberg's awesome "Schindler's List", violence is shown in very brutal and grisly detail - however, Speilberg is able to treat it with respect such that the violence comes off as meaningful rather than just plain shocking.  In Roth's "Hostel II", it attempts to be just plain shocking.

So far, the best Roth film piece still is the brilliant and hilarious fake Trailer "Thanksgiving" for the film "Grindhouse".  A good film does exist in Roth somewhere but for some reason he really makes an attempt in sticking to really crappy source material. 

Caption: "see Tarantino over there...if he starts yelling, just show him your feet and he'll shut up"

Acting (6/10):

 The film's script is what really brings the movie down.  The acting is actually kinda all right - to be perfectly truthful, you cannot really bash acting if the actors involved do not really have a good script to act on. 

That being said, Lauren German, Roger Bart and Alan Burgii do a somewhat good job in crafting the emotional context's of their respective characters given that on paper their characters are paper thin.

Caption: The number of people rushing to see "Hostel III"

Music - Nathan Barr (5/10):

Save for the one scene where the clients prep themselves for the killing, the music is really not that special. 

Closing comments:

"Hostel II" could have been really good but it seems that Roth made a bad movie not because he made series of oversights but apparently because he genuinely wanted to for some reason- I frankly do not know why because its just retarded but oh well.

Final Score:  3/10

TMNT - Review

Ask anybody on the street these days and I guarantee you that most of them would have interacted with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle phenomenon in some capacity during their childhood.  If they enjoyed the Turtles as a kid, give them a high-five; if they hated the Turtles, then let them be forever dead to you.

            Yes, I’m a huge TMNT fan.  I watched the light-hearted cartoon series, read the violent graphic novel series, seen all the live-action movies, and sought the toys as if they were crafted by the Gods of Olympus. 

            Now that I established my (probably unhealthy) obsession with the Turtles as a kid, let’s get down to the movie.  The new “TMNT” film by writer/director Kevin Munroe despite its share of flaws is perhaps the best TMNT film to date, superior to all the previous film incarnations.  Plus it does not have Vanilla Ice in it so that’s definitely a good thing (I apologize if I offended all 4 fans of Vanilla Ice in the world).

Script -  Kevin Munroe (6.5 / 10):

The film picks up after the Shredder has been defeated.  Master Splinter has made Leonardo (the leader/ boy scout) spend some time training in South America, so that he can hone his skills.  With Leonardo gone, the rest of the crime-fighting turtles are no longer allowed to fight crime until his return, having them take up rather mundane jobs to pass the time:  Donatello (the scientist) has taken up the tech support profession, Michaelengelo (the party dude) is an entertainer at kids’ birthday parties and Raphael (the badass/ asshole) simply “sleeps all day” but at night is secretly a crime-fighting vigilante known as the “Nightwatcher”. 

April O’ Neil and Casey Jones (the Jason Voorhees look-a-like) are now in a relationship, running their own shipping company and still maintain their friendship with the Turtle family.  April's character is not really fleshed out that much but Casey Jones is done a little bit more...for example, they never ever really explain April's martial art prowess that she has in the film from the beginning; in the cartoon and graphic novel, she was always a non-martial art prowessed reporter/programmer. 

   Leonardo soon returns from his training mission to resume leadership over the Turtle family but that’s easier said than done.  Raphael is extremely jaded towards Leonardo, feeling that he abandoned the family by training away in South America and left him to pick up the pieces, similar to a situation where one brother goes off to college and the other stays home to run the family business.  Leonardo feels that since Master Splinter designated him as the leader, he has every right to resume leader ship.  The friction between the two brothers is a driving force behind the film’s narrative and is perhaps the best part of film’s story structure.  However, Michaelengelo and Donatello are left behind as their characters are comparatively not fleshed out that much. 

         With the Shredder gone, the film must enlist a new antagonist to challenge the Turtles and this is where the weaknesses of the film’s story become apparent.  The main “villain” in the film is an immortal tycoon named Max Winters (voiced by Patrick Stewart) who enlists the help of Karai (protégé of Shredder, voiced by Ziyi Zhang) and her Foot clan to engage in some diabolical acts.  To be perfectly blunt, the villains in the film are treated very poorly.  They have very little character development and several details that could help the audience understand their plan are left out; the ending of the film is rushed, neutering a finale that could have been epic if it was treated with less haste by the director.  The film runs a scant 80 minutes; perhaps if the film was 30 – 40 minutes longer, these problems could have been neutralized.

Direction - Kevin Munroe  (8/10):

            The film is visually very impressive.  There is very cool use of lighting and water effects in the film and really immerse the viewer into the film's atmosphere.   There are several cool shots in the film and much detail went into delineating the agility and fighting prowess of the Turtles, which was impossible to do in the previous live-action movies where the actors playing the turtles had to move around big hulking costumes while sweating their asses off...(im sure everybody remembers Michael Keaton in his 3 inch thick costume for Batman that rendered him incapable of turning his head without moving his whole body).  The fight scene between Raphael and Leonardo is especially impressive in this regard. 

     Though visually the is impressive, he really dropped the ball in the way he paced the movie.  For example, there is a scene towards the end where the turtles and crew have to break through a HUGE army of Foot soldiers and Karai.  There is no build up to this scene and when it does happen, it lasts for less than a minute.  It pains me as a turtle fan to say this but it really left a bad afteraste.

Voice Acting  - (7/10):

  First the strengths:  the voice acting of the four turtles are dead - on with their characters.  Leonardo's  (James Arnold Taylor) voice is very self-righteous and "boy scout" like.  Raphael (Nolan North) sounds like an asshole / badass that he always his, refusing to take crap from anybody or thing.  Dontaello (Mitchell Whitfield)  and Michaelangelo (Mikey Kelley) sound like the scientist and easy going party dude respectively.  Master Splinter (Mako Iwamatsu, in his last performance) sounds very different than the cartoon character but still somewhat fits.

  The dynamic between Leonardo and Raphael is treated in a very mature fashion and the voice acting by the actors really help to convey this feeling in their speech. 

  The villains have very little to act from so their respective voice acting does not really feel like it conveys anything.  Karai (Ziyi Zhang) is somewhat of a cool character in the comics as the top protege of Shredder but is really done a disservice here as she is not developed at all.  Her screen time is very minimal and there is literally almost no emotion in whatever she says.  Max Winters (Patrick Stewart) is not really developed that well but his voice acting is much better than Karai's.

Music - Klaus Badelt (9/10)

Klaus Badelt always has excellent music in his film compositions and in this film the tradition is continued.  The score is really good but there are very places in the film where you can really "hear" it.  It might be because the theater I saw it in was crappy or Munroe decided to play it down.  Anway, music is pretty good.

Closing Comments:

Flaws aside, the film’s strength lies in its exploration of the dynamic between Raphael and Leonardo.  Had writer Kevin Munroe applied more effort towards strengthening the film’s main story, the film would definitely be better.  Still, if you’re a turtle fan, you will definitely find something to like about it.

Final Score:   7.5 / 10

Smokin Aces - Movie Review

  If you just want the short, abridged version of this review then read just this:  See.  It.  NOW.

"Smokin Aces" by director/writer Joe Carnahan, whose previous movie credits include "Narc" and the very subtly named "Guns, Guts, Bullets and Octane", is perhaps the best movie of the new year so far.  Lets break it down:

Caption:  "Can you hook me up with Turtle?"

General Analysis:

  The premise of the movie is as follows:  a washed up has been mob figure  Buddy "Aces" Israel (Jeremy Piven) has been caught by the FBI and is persuaded into providing intel that could destroy the mafia's control on Western United States.  The mob does not want this to go through and thus puts a $ 1 million hit on Israel, calling the attention of very unique hitmen to the fray to take him out.  Mean while, the FBI send two of their agents Donald Carruthers (Ray Liotta) and Richard Messener (Ryan Reynolds) to protect Israel who has ensconsced himself in a Penthouse suite.....

....Thus what you have is a massive convergence of violence, hitman, FBI trying to get into one hotel room and it works out great.

Script - Joe Carnahan (8/10):

From the get-go the script for the film is very different for films of this genre.  The plot is mentioned in the first 15 minutes or so and every thing after that is just the execution of events. 

Most noteworthy of the script is that it is able to juggle several characters together such that it gives each and every one of them a moment to shine and make an impression.  Whether its the Neo-nazi Hitmen the Tremor Brothers , Israel's emotional breakdown and disintegrating friendship with Sir Ivy (Common), Agent Messener's cathartic disillusionment with the FBI, all the character's are written such that you can get a sense of who they really are even in the span of a few minutes, whether its degenerate, psycotic, quirky, angry or emotionally washed out.  They all are able to  make a genuine emotional connection with one another and the audience.  For a film that is just 2 hours in length and more than 10 interacting characters, that is quite a feat.

The script deftly weaves through several genres at once seamlessly.  Whether the scenes be comedic, violent, very serious, or just plain random , every one of them come together nicely and add something to the generally quirky atmosphere of the film.

This is not a plot-driven film and makes that known early on; rather its a character driven film through and through. There is a plot at work in the film but it is not the primary focus.  The film engages the audience to follow the characters and experience what they experience.  While some characters may make actions that the audience may not agree with, the audience is still able to empathize with them.

Overall, solid script.

 Scene from upcoming "Gamestop: A day in the life".

Direction - Joe Carnahan (9/10):

Carnahan's direction simply put, is amazing. 

Every scene make an impression and engages the audience in the events of the film.  The film manages to be serious, humorous, violent, quirky all at the same time.  Notworhy aspect is that these aspects of the film never compete with one another but rather resonate harmionously in unison. 

Carnahan establishes an emotional connection with the audience, which makes the film even more heart-felt and sincere.  The events in the film never seem like its just "stuff happenning"; rather it engages the audience such that every scene is powerful and involving.

The cinematography in the film is engaging in that all of the events in the film actually flow together.  There is never a gross loss of continuity between scenes, which makes the film experience all the more better.

Overall, hats off to Carnahan.

Acting - (9/10):

The performances by the actors are really good as well.  The actors are able to complement the already good script by making their characters seem all the more real.  Jeremy Piven is especially excellent as he communicates much of his emotional disintegration and breakdown purely physically without words; better yet, he makes it real.

Ryan Reynolds is suprisingly good as well, demonstrating that he can really act despite  "Van Wilder" fame.  In his final scene, he is able to sum up his character's dissillusionment with the FBI without any words but only subtle physical gestures.

Overall, solid work.

Music - Clint Mansell (10/10):

Clint Mansell, whose previous works include the awesome score from  "Requiem for a Dream", gives a really good score here too as well.  His score really gets the audience engaged and immersed in the film and help create a very involving and atmospheric film experience.  Take note of the score in the final scene in the film - very good.

Closing COmments:

"Smokin Aces"  is not without flaws.  THere are certain aspects of the film that are not tied up (like what intel exactly did Israel have on the mob that was so important).  Some have been overly codensed and could have benefited from more relaxed screen time, like a back-story involving an FBI mob undercover agent whose story is relegated to voice overs.  These issues could have been dealt with if the film was around 15-20 mins longer but alas.

However, the pros of the film definetly outweigh the cons. 

In Summary: SEE IT NOW.

Final Score:  8.7 / 10

Uwe Boll and Saw?! - (Not movie review)