The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

Director:  Peter Jackson

First, I’ll admit I’m among the legion of fans that loved Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy.  I was thrilled to hear he would be taking another tour back to Middle Earth with The Hobbit.  I’ll admit I was concerned when I read that he would be making The Hobbit into three installments.  I thought he might be stretching out a story that wouldn’t support the great length.  Similar to the Star Wars prequels, I was afraid the movies would feel longer than they should.  However, I knew Peter Jackson was at the helm and would always give him the benefit of the doubt when it comes to movies set in Tolkien’s world. 

He didn’t disappoint.  Understandably, the movie goes to great effort to tie the look, feel, and action to an extension of Lord of the Rings.  More so that the Star Wars prequels, which were made over twenty years after the originals, The Hobbit feels like it could have been made immediately after, with the special effects and visuals fitting right in with the original trilogy.  These don’t feel miles apart. 

As for the story, Jackson does stop and linger when he gets a chance.  This was most apparent near the start of the film as the dwarfs arrive for the first time at Bilbo’s place before setting out on their mission.  It dwells, but it is still entertaining.  Jackson’s commitment to the whole world of Tolkien, down to the smallest details, is a large part of what made the original trilogy so great and it does the same for this new movie. 

I won’t get into the story line because you probably either know it by now or wouldn’t want any spoilers, except to say that Bilbo, Gandalf (the great Ian McKellen) and the company of dwarves set off on a journey into the harsh lands of Middle Earth to reclaim the home of the dwarves. 

Jackson brings back many familiar faces in addition to Gandalf, including Galadriel (Cate Blanchett), Lord Elrond (Hugo Weaving), and Elijah Wood (Frodo…yes Frodo, you’ll see how it works).  The show is stolen though by the return of Gollum (Andy Serkis again), who in about twenty minutes of screen time makes a huge impression and sets up key story elements. 

 I do agree with those who might say that The Hobbit felt like more of the same, which I think is an incredibly good thing.  I hope he can keep it interesting for the next two films, but I don’t doubt it at all.  What makes me nervous is when he makes a movie outside of Middle Earth. For Peter Jackson, when Tolkien is involved, he’s right at home.  That is a very good thing for the movie lovers out there.

As a final note, I saw this movie with my son who is seven.  He loved it.  It was a moment that I can’t get enough of, seeing him actually being drawn into a movie and engaged at his fullest.  I cherish memories like this and The Hobbit was the first time (in a live action movie at least) where I saw him fully amazed.  I think that counts for something very big. 

Top Ten (movies released during and that I actually was able to watch) of 2012:

 

1.        The Avengers – Just plain awesome. 

2.       The Dark Knight Rises – Christopher Nolan capped his Batman trilogy off with a remarkably bleak movie that echoes our unfortunate times.  And he did it with great skill.  Anyone who dares to make a Batman movie in the future has major shoes to fill.

3.       Seeking a Friend for the End of the World – I love Steve Carell and I loved this dramedy.  This movie has one of the more hearfelt, well-acted romantic moments I’ve seen in a film in a long time.

4.       Prometheus – Because I love the camera work, the pedigree of the production values, and the way they tie the Alien story to more profound beginnings.

5.       The Hunger Games – I didn’t read the book, but I was drawn into the story.  I also thought Jennifer Lawrence did a fantastic job.  It was a star-making role. 

6.       Men In Black 3 – Because this one was actually funny again.  Josh Brolin does a hilarious interpretation of Tommy Lee Jones.  And Will Smith says “let’s go get some dumb-ass pie”.

7.       Total Recall – Great all-out escapist, action movie.  It’s not trying to be anything more than it is, which is a good bit of fun.

8.       The Campaign – My buddy at work and I keep trading lines from the movie.  It’s that funny.

9.       Skyfall – A bad Bond movie is usually more entertaining than other films.  A great Bond movie (like Skyfall) is Top 10 material.

10.   Wreck It Ralph – Two reasons:  My son loved it so much that we went to see it twice and it was a lot of fun for me too.

Total Recall (2012)

Director:  Len Wiseman

 

Why remake a movie like Total Recall?  Back in the early nineties, the first version starred  ”Ahnuld the Governator” and was a kitschy thriller with very few memorable moments.  You can catch this movie some times in repeat on TBS or TNT, but it’s not like there are that many die-hard fans of the original that strap a third boob on to their chest and head out to Comic Con each year to celebrate their fandom (if you’ve seen the movie you know what I’m talking about).  So, again, why do a remake?

I can see two main reasons.  For one, brand recognition, while thin there are plenty of people around my age that still remember the original.  Also, the basic story is solid and really is one of the staples of the action genre at this point.  In recent thrillers such as the Bourne films, we’ve seen the “due to memory loss I forgot I was an action hero stud” thing done a couple times over.  But that doesn’t mean people are tired of seeing it and that you can’t bring something net new to the mix.

Well, this one didn’t really light up the box office with huge returns, but I’m here to tell you that’s a shame.  This version of Total Recall was exactly the distraction I wanted it to be.  An all-out action movie from beginning to end with inventive set pieces, a cool star in Colin Farrell who could deliver a convincing performance, and futuristic sci-fi ideas that were nifty enough to make me notice.  The story is set in the future following great chemical warfare on Earth.  Life on the planet can now only be maintained in two safe spots, which are England and Australia.  In order to travel between the two, a unique passage called “The Fall” exists which shoots people down through the Earth’s core to end up on the other side of the planet.  It is far-fetched no doubt, but one of the smarter inventions that this movie brings to the table.  The story again follows Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell) who starts out living a below average boring life with his wife (the suspiciously terrific Kate Beckinsale) feeling like something is missing due to these weird dreams he keeps having.  Before long, he ends up at Rekall, a “vacation of the mind” download tourist agency and all heck breaks loose.  It appears, in a scene right out of The Bourne Identity, that Quaid can really handle himself with a gun, even against several trained agents.  Once Quaid returns home and finds, no spoiler here, that his wife is in on things and attempts to kill him, the movie remains in a quick-paced, action chase mode from here on out.  There are flying cars that feel like Minority Report, a colony of robot government agents that harken back to Star Wars clone troopers, and explosions galore. 

This movie is really a mesh of some really good sci-fi moments of the past, all wrapped up into one nifty display.  I understand that people would be disinterested in something that seems to be such a do-over, and I can’t argue that it’s not one.  However, I found that it is a smart film with a good action director in Len Wiseman.  I recommend you give it a try.

Men in Black 3 (2012)

Director:  Barry Sonnenfeld

It’s been 10 years since Men in Black 2 underwhelmed at the box office.  Although successful financially, it seems agreeable among most critics and audiences that the sequel was a disappointment.  The first Men in Black was released in 1997 and helped solidify Will Smith as the king of 4^th of July summer box office.  This was essentially his follow up to Independence Day and the movie was a huge, lasting entertainment.  I re-watched both movies prior to seeing Men in Black 3 and I can say that not much has changed over time.  I still think the original was a genius piece of oddball comedy, which completely benefits from the chemistry between Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, while the follow up just feels uninspired.  So, it’s understandable that prospects for Men in Black 3 didn’t seem too exciting.

So is part 3 any good?  I think so.  Instead of a total retread of plot devices, this chapter actually furthers the story line and characters of Agents J (Smith) and K (Jones, also played in younger form by Josh Brolin).  The movie also gives you something new in Josh Brolin, who does a very entertaining Tommy Lee Jones impersonation.  The cadence of his voice and mannerisms are uncannily similar to Jones and their physical appearances are more of a match than I would have thought.  The movie is worth seeing for Brolin’s performance alone.  A nice plus is that Smith and Brolin also share a great comedic chemistry together to match that of Smith and Jones.  The crux of the story is that Agent J, through a series of events, finds out that to save the world he must journey back in time to save Agent K from being hunted down by the movie’s baddie (Jemaine Clement, doing a wonderfully creepy job as Boris the Animal).  By eliminating K, Boris hopes to set off a chain of events that will allow him to take over the world and pretty much wipe out humanity.  Thus, Smith meets the younger Agent K and they share an adventure that leads to certain secrets about our agents that we didn’t know, while trying to prevent Boris from enacting his master plan.

So, without giving anything major away, I’ll focus on what I enjoyed about this movie.  It moves with a quick, solid pace.  Smith, Jones and Brolin are all enjoyable actors that fit these roles.  Smith delivers one-liners better than most comedians working today.  He’s still one of the most likable personalities on screen.  I liked that they brought newness to the story while also giving us an assortment of aliens (good and bad) which are a custom of the films.  They still bring a sense of funhouse, gross-out tactics and slimy goo wherever they can fit it in and some of the action scenes in the film are highly entertaining. 

High points all around for this additional chapter of Men in Black.  If they never make another, this one allows the franchise to close on a high mark.  Of course, this is a Hollywood produced movie, so if the profit margin was high enough, we can bet more black-suited agents will visit our multiplex at some point soon.

Skyfall (2012)

Director:  Sam Mendes

The Bond movie franchise is celebrating its 50 year anniversary and the hiatus imposed by financial troubles at long-time studio MGM means we haven’t seen 007 on screen in 4 years.  Well, the wait is over and they’ve given audiences something to enjoy in this new edition.  Watching Skyfall got me thinking.  How does a movie franchise remain relevant in this day when so many action franchises reach the “long-in-the-tooth” feeling by the third installment?  Here are my thoughts:

1.        Take advantage of the pedigree.  Having already established Daniel Craig as a tough, scrappy, cool Bond.  A 007 less interested in frivolities and snappy one-liners and more down to earth.  He can wear a suit with the best of them for sure.  However, his intensity brings some mystery to Bond that the character sorely needed.  He seems driven by internal forces and he’s magnetic to watch.  With audiences clearly accepting of Craig as Bond (looking at the grosses of the previous two efforts), the production team brought in Sam Mendes (a director more interested in theatre than action films) to direct, added John Logan (screenwriter of Gladiator) to co-write, and Roger Deakins (of Cohen brothers films) to photograph.  This is clearly a sign that Team Bond is taking opportunities seriously and they want Bond to be around for another 50 years.  The production is top-notch filmmaking.  Staging, editing and pacing are all key to the story and the suspense.  They have made that rare film where images stick with you after the movie, in a good way.

2.       Respect the audience and your history.  A tricky part of keeping a franchise alive is to constantly balance giving the audience something new, something old (tipping the hat), and something to look forward to.  In this respect, Skyfall pays off in spades.  While Casino Royale’s job was to introduce us to Craig as Bond and bring the action into our Bourne-influenced times, Skyfall juggles the tasks of paying homage to the previous 50 years of Bond as well as setting the stage for future installments.  It felt to me like the job of re-booting Bond was not over, because the lack-luster Quantum of Solace didn’t do much to keep you wanting more. So, Skyfall seems to complete the process of re-instating 007 through its events.  I won’t get into spoilers, but fans of the Bond movies of old will catch several homages and some changes are made that set things up for Craig to fall into a groove in the next few Bond films (of which I understand he has committed to doing 2 more).

3.       Recognize the times.  Skyfall is blatant about pointing out how different our world is now.  Enemies are no longer as obvious as countries (as in the Cold War era) and for all we know could be terrorist cells housed within small towns.  When anyone could be a major threat, this drives fear, uncertainty, and panic.  Movies, by definition, counteract this because no matter what happens, in the end we are going to be looking the enemy straight in the eye as they face down our hero, in this case 007.  So, while movies today go to great ends to demonstrate that any one of us can create a whole lot of trouble for the masses if we are crazy enough, it is somewhat cathartic to have that camera follow them around so we know who we are looking at.  And Javier Bardem is no slouch as a totally crazy Bond villain.  This guy is pure creepy, it’s as simple as that. 

4.       Gain the right to reinvent.  Bond can keep going as long as he wants to really.  Many years ago by replacing Connery with Roger Moore, they created a pattern of handing over the reign that makes the next reinvention of the character an inevitability and something to look forward to, not to dread (well, Lazenby and Dalton aside at least).  With the expectation that the wheel will keep turning, people have shown they are obviously interested and up for the escapist ride.  After all, everyone needs a hero and we can all enjoy the adventures of an anti-hero who manages to grab the gun, get the girl, and save the day. 

So, I haven’t told you very much about the movie itself, which is on purpose.  It’s a Bond movie people.  And it just so happens to be a pretty well made one.  As Team Bond would no doubt approve, I am looking forward to the next one. 

Here Comes the Boom (2012)

Director:  Frank Coraci

 

Those who are familiar with Kevin James from his long running sitcom The King of Queens know that he has a knack for making comedy out of the everyday struggles blue-collar Americans face.  Personally, I think he’s a very talented comedian who can be flat-out hilarious.  My wife and I are fans of The King of Queens, however, his movies (example Paul Blart: Mall Cop and Zookeeper) haven’t been overly impressive.  They’ve focused more on James as the physical goof-ball and the humor has worn a bit thin.  If you follow box office projections, you know that expectations for his latest effort, Here Comes the Boom, are on the lower end.  I attribute this in large part because people expect more of the same.

So, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Here Comes the Boom is not just the “same old”.  The movie, co-written by and starring Kevin James, definitely displays some of his signature physically comedic routines, such as breaking out into wild dance moves, hurling himself through a classroom window to avoid being late (note:  he’s the teacher and he starts off behaving more like the worst student in the room), and attempting to slam dunk a basketball and having it not go so well.  However, the movie has a mission and a definite theme.  James plays a school teacher who has lost his inspiration and is kind of in a rut.  He’s not happy with where his life is going.  He’s not happy that the school is making budget cuts that will affect the job of the music teacher down the hall (played by Henry Winkler, the FONZ).  He’s not successful at wooing the other teacher down the hall (played by Salma Hayek) to go out on a date.  To reflect the dismal state, the whole first half of the film is shot with a low-lit, cloudy filter.  You can see the dust accumulated on rails in the classroom and you get the feeling the whole school, and the town in general, just needs to be saved.  Without going into too much detail, James’ character takes on a challenge to help raise money to save the music program at the school and his friend’s job.  He gets involved in Mixed Martial Arts to do so.  Think Rocky with a comedic twist. 

To say the movie attempts to make a statement would be correct.  It’s not a political statement (not directly at least) but more of a statement on the human condition.  Overall, they are promoting that people stand up and try.  Stop waiting around.  Get up, get active and create change one person at a time.  It’s all been done before in many other films and stories, but that makes it no less effective.  I was moved by how well the movie reflected our current times and the feeling that I know many people have.  Let’s be honest, how else can we perceive of something like a multi-trillion dollar debt problem…the word helpless tends to sneak in there. 

Needless to say, this family-friendly movie takes a positive approach and by the end of the film you are feeling like everything is going to be ok for James’ character, for the school music program, and life in general.  I think this is what the filmmaking team wants you to take away from the film – a positive feeling.  I’ll even say that the last line of the film, “Viva America”, stuck with me.  It is the follow up on a punch-line joke (you see James’ character also teaches a nightly class for immigrants working on their citizenship applications).  I’m certain that it was intentional that these were the last words spoken in the movie.  Like many Americans, these filmmakers love this country and want to see some positive turnarounds….and I’m hoping they get their wish.  I didn’t expect to come out of a movie titled “Here Comes the Boom” and write these words.  The movie is funny, there are definitely several moments where I laughed out loud.  It was the moments that made me think about things larger than this movie that I didn’t expect.  It was a pleasant surprise. 

Go see the movie and decide for yourself.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

 Director:  Christopher Nolan

With a broken, saddened heart I’ll say that I truly feel many strong emotions over the senseless tragedy that occurred during a screening of this movie.  One day, I might write an essay on the topic, but the focus of this piece is going to be kept on the movie itself.  The connection between the movie and the events is impossible to ignore, admittedly, but had it not happened I would have written a review anyway – and this is my attempt at creating that. 

Christopher Nolan and the production team (actors, cinematographer, production designer, etc.) that he surrounds himself with are functioning at the top of their movie-making game.  In 2005, Batman Begins was released amid much speculation, being that the previous screen incarnations of Batman had become, and remain today, a laughable joke.  Batman Begins soared on many levels and left people, including myself, saying WOW, NOW THIS IS HOW IT’S DONE!  Taking story elements from several 1980’s comics writers (such as Frank Miller) to explain how Bruce Wayne really became Batman, the film took many liberties with the material and created a singular vision that remains fascinating to watch today.  In 2008, The Dark Knight further pushed the boundaries of “license” with the material and proved that in the hands of this team (and I say team because a movie is not solely made by one person), the legend of Batman was respected, safe, and receiving potentially the greatest treatment on screen that it ever will.  Serious actors, crisp dialogue, strong character development, bold production sequences, and a story line that weaves in parallels to emotions and events in our real world made these movies (more so in The Dark Knight) a must-see experience.  Famously, the death of Heath Ledger, who made himself immortal in the role of the Joker, was the first headline grabbing event that impacted how people perceived and approach this evolving movie series.  It was clear by the end of The Dark Knight that we were watching greatness take place on screen – pure movie magic. 

So, The Dark Knight Rises arrives with a heavy burden.  Can it live up to the greatness of the preceding movies?  Will people find the baddie (Tom Hardy’s Bane) as irresistible to watch as Ledger’s Joker?  Will the supposed conclusion to this epic trilogy provide a satisfying ending for both the “comic fan” and the average movie goer? 

My answer to each of these questions is a resounding YES.  The Dark Knight Rises is a truly epic film.  In production scale and vision of story, it is BIGGER than The Dark Knight and Batman Begins put together.  Let me say, THESE MOVIES ARE NOT FOR CHILDREN UNDER 13.  The tensions created in The Dark Knight Rises feel real.  Many people die.  Chaos reigns in Gotham City for much of the movie.  The images are often very tough to watch.  The action set pieces in this movie are flawlessly executed.  The boom of an explosion rocks you and the landing of a punch is felt in your seat.  These are truly top notch production values.

The acting crew once again brings near perfection to the roles.  A special call out to Christian Bale who has given us a wonderful vision of Bruce Wayne, a hero so personally affected by tragic circumstances that he turns himself into a personification of pure will power.  Joseph Gordon Levitt joins that cast as an idealistic young cop named John Blake.  He turns in a great performance and represents true good behavior and honest intentions in a city so rotted by class warfare and evil intentions.  One scene in The Dark Knight Rises is breathtaking in that they create a moment where the “cops” and “thugs” have a battle on the streets of Gotham, which has been so ravaged by Bane (Tom Hardy, pure evil behind the mask) and the battle is like a modern day moment right out of Braveheart.  Sides line up and war is brought to our immediate home fronts.  It is chilling.

The storyline focuses on Bane’s attempts to bring wreckage to Gotham City while Bruce Wayne (Batman), having taken the blame for Harvey Dent’s crimes at the end of The Dark Knight has become older and retired from crime fighting.  He’s pushed back into the game to handle Bane – whose dependency on a medication fed to him through the claw-like mask he wears gives him incredible physical strength – and Batman finds Bane could be more than he can manage.  Brutal fist fights occur.  A twisty story line is played out.  Without giving anything away, at the end of the movie I was both roused out of my seat and left with a deep urge to watch the movie again immediately. 

People in the theater stood up and applauded as the credits rolled.  It’s rare this happens at a screening of a movie.  I’ll never know if all the applause was for the movie itself or possibly a reaction to the recent surrounding events.   Regardless, high art deserves acclaim and recognition and this movie is, in my opinion, a prime example of high art in blockbuster movie-making.  I applaud this movie and the Nolan Trilogy of Batman films.  They’ll stand the test of time.  I’ve heard it said that to know if a movie is great is to wait 10 years and see if people are still interested in it.  We’ll see what happens, but I’ve got a pretty good idea. 

It may sound cheesy, but to the makers of these films I say THANK YOU.  This is why I love the movies. 

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

Director:  Marc Webb

 It’s impossible not to recognize the obvious question when discussing the new film The Amazing Spider-Man…is it too soon for a reboot (or is one really necessary at all)?  Ok, so that’s two questions.  Well, I’ll say this about that.  Marvel, the comic book publisher of Spider-Man comics, has done a terrific job of building a movie enterprise out of The Avengers, which began in 2008 with Iron Man and, over the course of 4 additional entries, built slowly into the payoff of this summer’s kick-off film, The Avengers.  This is an example of the movies modeling what comics have done (albeit on a much smaller budget) for years – providing heroes like Iron Man and Thor with their own comics to headline while bringing them together for a mash-up of sorts in The Avengers comic line.  So, in spirit of transitioning the business model comics have employed for decades over into the movie business, we now have a new version of Spider-Man “drawn” by a new artist.  It’s as simple as that. 

I thought this new version of Spider-Man was appropriately timed in its release this summer, arriving at theatres between The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises.  The Avengers was the pinnacle of comic-to-screen look and feel.  The action soared and the characters/colors felt torn right from the pages.  It was picture-perfect, a superhero blast of a movie.  Now, in contrast, The Dark Knight Rises promises to be spectacular in its own way.  I’m ready for more doom and gloom in the hands of Christopher Nolan, the director who has truly created a singular on-screen vision for the Caped Crusader that reflects our current political and economic climate.  Stuck right in the middle is The Amazing Spider-Man, a  movie that wants to be both real (Peter Parker in skinny jeans and a hoodie and quirky, shy-guy mannerisms) and spectacular.  At times it can feel disjointed.  Bringing the more realistic approach to the film didn’t always work for me.  It was handled best in Peter’s interactions with Captain Stacy (father of Peter’s love interest Gwen Stacy).  In these scenes Andrew Garfield was able to layer the foundation of a more confident Peter Parker, a boy becoming a man and learning to stand up for his beliefs. 

To add, I didn’t feel I needed to see a Peter Parker who can get bruised, cut, and bleed like the rest of us.  This added-reality element really works for Batman (as he is a tortured soul anyway) but not for Spider-Man.  Let’s face it, Spider-Man is at best a fantasy for little boys to watch and read about.  Peter is a good kid to whom something magical happens, but he still has to learn to uphold his values and remain a contributing member of society.  He has to learn the Golden Rule, Do unto others…

As for the added backstory of Peter’s parents, I felt it was just not needed and a bit distracting.  Also, just as I was thinking I was witnessing the first Spider-Man movie that would not leave me with anything truly amazing, the climactic battle sequence between the Lizard and Spider-Man was presented.  It was a visual and technical achievement of the highest order, with a nice blend of heartfelt support thrown in for Peter from the public who has learned that he is trying to help (much better than the bridge sequence at the end of the 2002 Spider-Man).

So, was this new version of Spider-Man necessary?  I don’t know, and to be honest I don’t really care.  I do know this – little boys (and those boys who grew up in the age of blockbuster cinema) all over the world love to see Spider-Man swinging between tall buildings and those in the audience (my son included) seemed to love it.  That makes it worth it to me.