Cowboys & Aliens

Maybe, it’s just that I really enjoy western’s, but I would’ve been satisfied with Cowboys & Aliens, had the extraterrestrials never showed up. There’s something that I just love about the simplistic, visceral rawness of an old western movie set, it could be the notion that with less lucrative sets it puts the actors talents at the foreground or that I’m nostalgic and enjoy being transported back to another time. Whatever it is, when you bring together talented individuals like Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Jon Favreau, and Steven Spielberg you’re definitely in for something very cool.

The plot of the movie goes like this: a spaceship arrives one night in a settlement in Arizona, with it comes epic destruction and many disappearances. A short time before this apocalyptic night a stranger jaunts into town, with a boldness and swagger about him that the townspeople take notice of. He is Jake Lonergan, played by Daniel Craig, but he’s suffering from a strange amnesia as he doesn’t know who he is, how he came to be in this place, and what the contraption on his wrist is. Lonergan’s boldness is put on display as he stands up to Percy Dolarhyde, acted well by Paul Dano, the son of Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde, cattle baron and the driving force of Absolution’s economy. Dolarhyde senior is of course portrayed by Harrison Ford, and when he gets word of his son being thrown into the clink he isn’t pleased. Couple that with the news of farmhands vanishing and missing, burnt and mutilated cattle and Dolarhyde is grumpy as hell. Dolarhyde confronts Sheriff John Taggart, but he doesn’t budge on his decision to send Percy off to face his judgment. But, all of this is interrupted by a bright red light on the horizon, which leads to bodies being snatched by “demons in flying machines”.

I don’t want to give too much else away, but Spielberg, Orci, Kurtzman, Lindelof, and company have crafted a very solid screenplay that ties together well. Spielberg is definitely one of Hollywood’s masters of science fiction, so I can speculate that his insight on how the extraterrestrials should look and move was extremely valuable. The only flaw I wondered about after seeing the movie, that I’m sure was discussed at production meetings was how on Earth did those cowboys survive a full on battle against aliens with “atom scrambling” weaponry, with only some dynamite, an alliance with some of the natives, and their trusty six-shooters (The answer is truthfully, they would’ve been pulverized and there wouldn’t of been any American history post 1879). Alas, this is just fiction, and of course you’ve got to root for the good guys, no matter how insurmountable the odds.

But, although not many critics and moviegoers enjoyed Cowboys & Aliens, I did. I wouldn’t crown it movie of the summer” or anything like that, but I’d recommend watching it to anybody who enjoys science fiction or Daniel Craig. I do realize that, that isn’t the most sweeping endorsement, but the movie didn’t really have that “It” factor that movies like Men in Black or Independence Day had in spades.

Captain America: The First Avenger

I’m definitely not completely sold on 3D technology, and movie’s like Captain America, are the reason why. At no point during watching it this past weekend did I think to myself, “This is such an awesome scene, I can’t imagine this without my 3D glasses on”. They actually served as more of a hindrance than a help, as they aren’t the most comfortable pieces of eyewear out there. But, when looking at the box office take for the film, I have a good understanding about why Marvel/Paramount decided to add 3D in post production.

Anyways, a bit about “The First Avenger”, it of course starred Chris Evans, who many know from the Fantastic Four franchise and more recently Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Evans proves those that cast him were wise though, as he carries this “bridge” or setup blockbuster into a moderately favorable reviews and a very healthy domestic box office take. Evans’ boyish, cocky swagger that served him well as “the Human Torch”(Or whatever he is, in Fantastic Four) wasn’t replicated here, as it so often is in superhero movies. He brought a relatable, selfless underdog-“esque” charisma to the role that I think many audiences enjoyed. Even after the transformation, from the below-average Joe to Captain America, Evans’ still managed to show the character’s vulnerability.

Captain America has a few supporting performances that are noteworthy, the first of which being Hayley Atwell, as Peggy Carter. Other than the notion of her being an agent in the United States Army being extremely far-fetched, she has great chemistry with Evans’ onscreen and she can fake deliver a punch with the likes of the Jolie’s and Jovovitch’s of the world. There’s a scene with her towards the end of the movie, where she dons a red dress, that I’m sure all the drool-y adolescent Marvel fan boys will be replaying in their minds (Or on their PC’s) for the rest of the summer. I’d look for some big things from Atwell after this effort.

Hugo Weaving, as Johann Schmidt/Red Skull, might be the best villain in a superhero flick in quite some time. His grandiose, borderline lunacy which he exudes during any monologue where he’s detailing his plans for world domination are exceptional. I see a lot of similarities to his performance and Christoph Waltz’s in Inglorious Basterds, but I won’t be surprised if Weaving doesn’t win an Oscar, but give the man a Saturn nomination or something, at least..

Stanley Tucci, is Dr. Abraham Erskine and is as he usually is, quite brilliant (I heard the biggest reason he signed onto the film was because he’s always wanted to portray a character with a German accent). But, he is very convincing with the accent and in this role, his thoughtful acting, which he brings to all of his roles, is very important during a scene in the early stages before Steve Rogers becomes Captain America. Dominic Cooper, who must be a rather big star in the UK, adds a solid performance as Tony Stark, “the Marvel Comics Godfather of weaponry”. Tommy Lee Jones (Who I almost forgot, but based on his performance in this one, shouldn’t have) stands out as, Colonel Chester Phillips, a brazen, “take no sh*t” tough guy.

I haven’t seen Green Lantern, and I don’t plan to see it anytime soon, with as bad of reviews as it got, but I’d definitely put this movie above that and somewhere below Thor (Just slightly). But, it’s a worthwhile summer blockbuster, that if can be avoided, should be seen two dimensionally.

Super 8

Super 8 is so reminiscent to me of all the childhood classics that Steven Spielberg bestowed upon my generation. The rough and tumble Super 8 film crew consisting of a handful of Hollywood unknowns, might as well be carbon copies of the kids from, “The Goonies”. Or “ET” with the connection that can be made between two estranged beings, a young child and an extraterrestrial. Spielberg will be remembered as a Hollywood icon because of how over the years he’s created rich, compelling, visually striking films with enormous budgets, while utilizing the acting of relative “Hollywood unknowns”. His philosophy of not taking away from the story by casting big names and flashy marketing campaigns has remained one of the most refreshing aspects of Hollywood summer blockbusters over the last ten years or so. I think this last notion is blurred a little bit with marketing behind, Super 8, but he’s a producer for this movie and not directing it.

But, I did notice something from the MTV Movie Awards from last week that I thought was a bit peculiar, It was J.J. Abrams, the movie’s director, and Spielberg appearing at the awards show to present an award and plug their film (of course!). It isn’t really like Spielberg, to croon to the beckoning of any studio’s marketing department, even not his own, DreamWorks. But, with this one I think the executives at Paramount really pressed the fact that this movie needed to do well in the 13-19 year old male/female demographic, so that its opening weekend take would be deemed a successful one. I think the movie’s producers and marketing team felt that the movie should do well with the 18-25 yr. old demographic that are regular, Lost, viewers. But, although the numbers, $38 million for the weekend, are being considered above industry expectations, I think that Paramount would’ve liked a bit more.

Anyways, a little about the movie… Probably one of the best aspects of, Super 8, is the interaction between these young adults, who are trying to make a zombie movie. Charley’s bossiness of the others and how the audience will see this in regards to their adolescence/childhoods, the crew’s immaturity, but tact/adeptness at utilizing real life events unfolding around them to increase the movie’s “production value”. It brought me back to my childhood, even reminded me of some of the hopes and dreams I had when I was that age, which I’m sure was a similar effect for others watching the film. It might be a little slow in the middle before the story climaxes, but the acting, casting, and directing are right on point and make for an awesome science fiction thriller that most certainly has appeal to such a wide range of moviegoers.

Thor

Just like Iron Man did in 2008, Thor has surprised a lot of people and busted blocks to reign in the arrival of summer movie season (Fast Five, did open before it, but lacks a superhero, so it doesn’t count). Chris Hemsworth has got to be the talk of the town, with a successful opening, a rumored offer from the Snow White and the Huntsmen people, and just generally women swooning over his chiseled self for 120 minutes in cineplexes across the country.

The movie probably isn’t as “good” as Iron Man, but it’s leading star is easily as entertaining as Robert Downey Jr. One aspect that it’s inferior to Iron Man in, is the chemistry between the two stars that Downey Jr. and Paltrow had onscreen. It was so obvious when watching their scenes unfold that those two were friendly/comfortable with each other when the cameras weren’t rolling. Natalie Portman, who is the leading lady in Thor, doesn’t have that before mentioned chemistry with Hemsworth, but she’s an adept enough actress that audiences will certainly focus on her other qualities instead. This is hardly a major squabble to have with a $150 million blockbuster, but I’m trying to be a bit critical of a movie which I really loved, so bear with me.


Not being very familiar with the Thor comic books, the learning curve to understand where he comes from, what he can do, and why he’s doing it is more than adequately addressed by director, Kenneth Bragnagh, Stan Lee, and the rest of the film’s producers. But, I think the ultimate goal of familiarizing the audience with Thor and his abilities is to introduce another character of the Marvel universe and build anticipation for The Avengers Summer 2012 release. Well, this plan worked on me as Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk now have some serious competition in my book for “Most badass contemporary superhero”. I think Stan Lee and the rest of the Marvel execs hope Chris Evans, as Captain America, can add even more clutter to this later in the summer.

Scream 4

It all started with a panicked 911 call in a small, fictional California town called Woodsboro, and it ended in a blood bath. The closing words that Courtney Cox’s character, Gale Weathers delivers at the end of the original Scream movie are synonymous with the horror franchise and they bring the story full circle, in as close to a perfect ending as possible, in my opinion. I’m a very biased Scream fan, as it was one of the first movie franchises that really made that business of moviemaking appealing to me. I remember how big of a deal it was to be seeing a gory, R-rated movie as a middle-schooler, I remember almost all of the nutty one-liners that Stu and Billy Loomis recite in that final act, I remember what the original did for the horror genre during the late 90’s. The franchise has a lot of history to me, so it’s difficult to write an objective review of it, but nevertheless I can still try, can’t I?

I’m going to rundown the plot synopsis of this movie rather quickly, because there are so many other topics that I want to discuss. But, it’s the fifteenth anniversary of the original Woodsboro murders and Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is returning to town for some publicity for her new book, Out of Darkness. Sidney’s return though is coupled with a grisly murder of two Woodsboro High student. The killer eventually makes it known that Sidney and those who she loves are primary targets and the rest of the town become suspects, like in the previous three movies. But, Scream 4 is unlike the movies that came before it (Thankfully it’s much different than Scream 3). The biggest difference I noticed was how the screenplay addressed slasher-movie cliché’s. Like the infamous opening scene murder sequence, the police chief’s buffoonery in solving the murders, “the rules to surviving a sequel or trilogy”, and various other cliché’s. This time around Wes Craven, Kevin Williamson, and company dispelled all the major cliché’s by basically creating a joke of them. It’s evident from the somewhat confusing, somewhat controversial first scene, but I think it was an extremely wise play and it achieved one of the most important tasks for the movie, to keep your core audience guessing/interested/satisfied. I’m sure if they wanted to they could’ve wrote an opening scene with Sidney being “off-ed” and turn everybody on their heads, but that would’ve made the rest of the events of the film very difficult to come up with and also left little doubt in the audience’s minds on whether she’d survive the movie or not. They could’ve had a scene similar to Drew Barrymore’s from the original, but more over the top of course, this probably would’ve been met with displeasure because of the whole “been there, done that” notion. I think they got it just right this time around.

In terms of casting, I’m so glad that Emma Roberts got the role of Sidney’s cousin, over Ashley Greene. Roberts really “killed” the role, and I can see her being cast as a similar character in the future because of how well she pulled it off. Hayden Panetierre, as Kirby Reed, was another casting choice that I really enjoyed. Panetierre not only nailed the look, but had all the right moves to go along with it. Nico Tortorella, as (INSERT CHARACTER NAME) , was another savvy selection, as every time he appeared on screen it echoed the creepiness of Billy Loomis to me. Anthony Anderson and (GUY FROM THE OC) did provide a little comic relief, but their characters were both too one dimensional and lacked enough screen time to really have an impact on the movie. Lastly, Alison Brie’s character, Sidney’s publicist, was acted incredibly, with me finding myself hoping for her death because of how nasty/unlikeable she was in the film.

Honestly, some scenes in the film were too over the top, nothing really with blood and gore, but more in terms of just, “I saw this coming a mile away, and they’re still going to have it happen”. This is I think unavoidable when dealing with the fourth movie in a franchise, but I don’t feel that it happened to often where I was checking my watch to see when it would all be over (But, again I’m a long-time fan of the Scream franchise). But, with a young nucleus of actors coming on board for this movie there have been rumors of this being the first installment in a new trilogy, as long as this film performed at the box office. Unfortunately, the movie has had a very dismal showing at the box office and any hopes of a Scream 5, are as unlikely as Drew Barrymore surviving the opening scene of the original movie.

The Adjustment Bureau

The Adjustment Bureau is a science fiction thriller built around a romance between characters that Matt Damon and Emily Blunt play. Although, I think it's a bit light on the thrills, it does portray an intriguing viewpoint on fate, free will and the involvement of the "powers that be". The story comes from a Phillip K. Dick's short story about "adjusters" who influence the outcomes of events from the shadows. Dick more famously is responsible for the story that the film, Minority Report, is based on.

The movie is set in New York City, so many are these days, but director George Nolfi manipulates the many intricacies that Manhattan has in an exceptional way that sort of makes the city backdrop a character all its own. Doors, which the adjusters use to travel, transport the audience from the MoMa to Yankee Stadium and on to the Statue of Liberty. Nolfi really does well for a first time director, but one of the few gripes I have with the film, is that he could've used a couple more scenes to establish the passionate feelings between Damon and Blunt's characters. A few of the scenes towards the end of the movie are reminiscent of the Bourne trilogy, which shouldn't be shocking because of Nolfi's involvement in both films.

Damon and Blunt, do certainly have an on screen chemistry that doesn't seem fake or forced, so I wouldn't be surprised to see them collaborate on another movie, but credit should be given to Nolfi's script and how it allowed the two stars to seem so comfortable with each other.

There are very solid supporting performances given by Anthony Mackie, John Slattery, and Terence Stamp. They all play case workers for the Adjustment Bureau, with Mackie portraying a more compassionate adjuster, Slattery is a smug, calculating adjuster, and Stamp's character is the most feared adjuster of them all, who is known as the Hammer.

The Adjustment Bureau, might not have fully lived up to all of the potential that it had, but it is still a good movie. It's entertaining, it has two very watchable stars, and it's a sci-fi movie that doesn't require the nerdiest of nerds to thoroughly enjoy. These elements should be enough reason to see it at the theaters over Battle: Los Angeles and Red Riding Hood.

The Next Three Days

Unfortunately, Russell Crowe's off screen issues may have deterred a lot of people from seeing this movie initially, I know that's what took me so long to see it. But, this is unfortunate because Paul Haggis's, The Next Three Days, is a surprisingly exceptionally well paced crime thriller that went completely unnoticed throughout the awards season. If Winter's Bone could secure a nomination for Best Picture, why not this movie?

Anyways, say what you will about Crowe and his performances and how they relate to this one, but I'm pretty convinced that anybody in the circumstances that his character, John Brennan, found himself in would've acted accordingly. It's unfair to be harsh on Crowe because his character's ability to adapt to the situations he finds himself in, draw close similarities to another character that Crowe played in some other film.

The shining performance of this film though is Paul Haggis. You should remember him as the screenwriter/director who "Crashed" the Oscars back in 2006. His ability at crafting a screenplay that unfolds with such complexity and drama that this film does is truly an amazing accomplishment. I found myself marveling at the way he connects little occurrences during the film, almost like how he did in, Crash.

I've been griping a lot over the Oscars for the last couple weeks, and I don't think this gripe isn't worthy of mention, that either Roman Polanski's Ghost Writer or Haggis' direction in this film deserved an Oscar nomination more than David O. Russell for the Fighter. The awards show has been criticized by many for being a political, popularity contest, but this year more than recent years it is certainly seems to be the case.