Author Archives: Eugene

About Eugene

I'm currently trying to get back to my original weight of 7 Pounds and 6 ounces. yeah it's an uphill battle... I am a purveyor of many genres and mediums, from comics and anime, to movies and television shows. I'll get anything a shot and if it's good I'll praise it, and if it's bad... I'll be brutally honest. And I love frozen yogurt, I will always seek some out after a meal.

Review: G.I. Joe: Retaliation – A Real American Hero (at the box office)

Leave a reply

I saw G.I. Joe: Retaliation this weekend.  G.I. Joe: Retaliation is a direct sequel to Rise of Cobra, it’s the on-going mission of the Joes in the fight against a ruthless organization called Cobra.  This time we get a completely new cast with the Joes; Flint, Lady Jaye, Roadblock, and Jinx, among others.

The good; Flint’s in this movie, he’s my personal favorite G.I. Joe character from the Real American Hero incarnation of Gijoe.  So it’s nice to see him in live action finally along with Lady Jaye, played by Adrianne Palicki .  Dwayne Johnson as Roadblock is a great choice as well, I’m ok with this ethnicity change in a character, unlike Ripcord… who’s character was completely changed.

On the Cobra side we get Lee Byung-hun back as Stormshadow, a new Cobra Commander, Firefly and Zartan.  Firefly is the only new Cobra character we get, and Ray Stevenson does a good job interrupting this saboteur character from the Real American Hero cannon.

Other than the characters we get new vehicles/armor, and they look like a HISS tank and a FANG.  It’s great to see these things in a non-animated form.

The action between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow is great as usual.

*SEMI-SPOILERS* There’s some nice easter eggs/nods to the Real American Hero series.
-They explain Cobra Commander’s face mask.
-Zartan’s connection to Storm Shadow from the comics is integrated.
-The Cobra private military soldiers have helmets that look like a pre-Viper, it’s the helmet portion without the face mask.
*END SEMI-SPOILERS*

The bad; the movie’s pace is rather speedy.  Things move quickly from scene to scene, it’s an action scene cut next to a scene explaining how they get to the next action scene.  That’s not a bad thing, but here it feels like they could’ve worked more on the transitions between scenes.

The action scenes are covered in the typical modern day transition… why is everything shakey cam?  And why all the close ups?  There are scenes where you can tell it’s Byung-hun going against Ray Park (even though he’s masked through-out the movie), I know these guys are capable, so let’s put their skill on display.  There’s a lot of action with the other cast members too, but the geography of the scenes is muddled and messy at times.

There’s also a lot of death in the movie, I know they’re making it modern day GiJoe, where there are no lasers or parachutes deploying last minute… but we’re killing off main characters here, I was surprised that they would do that to non-red shirts.

Overall, 5 year old me enjoys this movie, but older me also sees this movie objectively.  Retaliation is movie in the spirit of what A Real American Hero was all about.  I liked that it acknowledge the mistakes of Rise of Cobra and then it moved forward.  Check your brain at the door, go back to the eighties and imagine what a 5 year old boy wanted to see in a theatre. 

Oh… and Duke stays dead, and knowing (that) is half the battle.

Review: Olympus Has Fallen… to second place at the box office

1 Reply

I saw Olympus Has Fallen this weekend.  The audience was so strange, a mixture of families, old people, teens, and more old people.
The short of it is, Gerard Butler plays a secret serviceman who’s been sorta drummed out, but when foreign terrorists attack the White House, he’s the only guy that can save the day.

The good; I really enjoyed this premise.  I enjoy the actors in the cast.  The lighting.  The trailers, I loved the trailers, they succeeded in getting my butt in the theatre.

The bad; the movie is almost like a B-Movie, in that there isn’t much to it.  The film is rated R, boy do they let you know that this is an R Movie, f-bombs everywhere.  Not sure that was really necessary.

The action scenes are covered in the typical way, close ups with hand held camera work… why?  I wanna see things, again, it feels like they’re compensating for the lack of skill.  I wouldn’t mind a stunt double, even like that horrible one in Robot Jox.

Overall, worth a rental, if only to escape the movie going audience these days.  I don’t want to sound too mean, but elderly people at an 8pm showtime for this movie just don’t go together, I could make the obvious joke about how they should already have been asleep for 3 hours, and that they’re way past their bed time, but I won’t.  Lately they have just been noise generators that detract from the movie viewing experience.

Review: Oz the Great and Powerful – great and powerful at the box office

Leave a reply

I saw Oz The Great and Powerful this weekend.  In the vein of the musical Wicked, this film is a prequel to the adventures we have with Dorothy.  It’s how Oz became the wizard of Oz.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you should.

The good; I love the opening sequence, it’s in 4×3 black and white.  We’re treated to this retro/turn of the century… well, slide show thing.  It’s this old timey puppet show music box thing, just a delight to see.  Then the black and white continues with the live action, not until we “leave Kansas” do we get the full widescreen as well as color.  I really enjoyed that bit.

Like with any prequel, we come in to the story knowing a little about the characters.  So it’s nice to see nods to what we know appear.  A couple of them (which aren’t spoilers) are Oscar Diggs (Franco) going by Oz and being a magician.  He also meets a former flame, who’s visiting to let him know that she’s marrying a John Gale, it’s Dorothy’s family.  I love stuff like that.

Once we get in to the land of Oz the film takes a different look, granted we have color and are utilizing the whole screen now, but it feels more like Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland.  Lots of visual effects to take in.

And then we have Rachel Weisz, she looked great.

The bad; I wasn’t too thrilled with some of the make-up *SPOILER* Mila Kunis turns in to the “traditional evil Witch” that we know as the villain from the Oz story.  I just felt she wasn’t up to pare for that role. *END SPOILER*

Overall I enjoyed the movie, I’m not the biggest fan of James Franco, but he managed to do all right, it didn’t help that Kunis wasn’t working for me.  The 3D was a blend of the “viewing in” aspect of Avatar, but also had enough “gimicky” qualities of traditonal 3D where things flew out at you.  Definitely kept me invested, and it made $80 million this weekend, so I wasn’t the only one.

 

Review: Life Of Pi – ala mode makes Pie disappear faster

Leave a reply

Just saw Life of Pi.  It’s about Piscine Molitor “Pi” Patel, a teenage Indian boy who’s family is moving to Canada, and along with them the animals in their zoo, they’re going to sell the animals to someone in the Americas.  While on the transport ship they run in to a storm and the ship sinks.  Pi manages to get on a life boat and so he must survive.  Sounds simple enough.

The good; the movie looks amazing.  The images are stunning.  Did they use a real tiger at all?  I can’t tell.  The journey of Pi in the middle of endless ocean is remarkably covered.  Much like Castaway we manage to be enthralled by a single focus point, and the emotional beats are certainly there.
Did I mention that the movie looks great?  Ang Lee paints wonderful images.

The bad; it’s Castaway with a Indian boy and a Tiger, or Open Water, or Frozen … see where I’m going?  The journey of the film is nothing new.  Ang Lee manages to stretch out a smaller amount of story in to a feature length film.  I don’t plan on seeing this film again, it doesn’t have replay value to me.  But I am glad having seen it.
The film brings up the question of God and his role in our lives, but then quickly drops it, much like the lack-luster Prometheus.  I would’ve liked some more dwelling on this inner struggle, there’s a lot of time spent on the ocean isolated, this eternal question should’ve had more time devoted to it.

Overall, I enjoyed watching Life of Pi, don’t need to see it again, but I was left wanting some more.  Something new that I hadn’t seen in the other similar movies mentioned above.
*SPOILER* The ending sort of bugged me, where Pi is being interviewed as to what happened with the ship wreck, the survival story of the Tiger and other animals… compared to humans on the ship?  The Tiger is Pi, the Zebra is the kind Japanese Sailor, the Jackal is the French Cook… I’m not sure what the point of that was?  Is it supposed to be like Fight ?  I just didn’t see why the metaphor with the animals had to be there, but that could be because of the book. *END SPOILER*

Review: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in to a little song and dance

Leave a reply

I saw The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey this weekend.  Is it me?  Or is the Sherman Oaks Arclight degrading?  The audience there as of late has become that of a dollar theatre.
Back to the movie, it’s the first in a prequel trilogy to that of Lord of the Rings.  We follow a young Bilbo Baggins as he embarks on a journey through Middle-Earth.  A Dwarf King is seeking to reclaim his rightful mountain kingdom from a dragon that’s occupying it now, he needs help, and that’s where Bilbo joins their merry gang.  We also get to see some familiar faces along the way.

The good;  the score, I love Howard Shore’s music.  Its swelling grandeur really compliments those wide shots.  This is the exception where a prequel actually worked for me.  We’re again brought in to the world of Middle-Earth, a time and place where not much changes in terms of technology.  So I’m ok with this, it’s not like a sci-fi prequel, where the technology of the world is far better in the past than it is in the future.
Speaking of music, there’s singing in this movie!  I actually wanted more songs.

Martin Freeman is great as the young Bilbo.

The bad; there are certain scenes where there’s too much going on, the frames are just too busy, one example that comes to mind is the mining caves.
I realize that the work of literature, The Hobbit, story, where it is one.  It felt more epic, when it wasn’t, it’s a very straight forward story without any twists or turns.

Overall, I enjoyed An Unexpected Journey,  it was delightful seeing the shire again, as well as some familiar faces of Middle-Earth.  I’m now curious to see it in forty eight frames 3D.  The scene with Gollum is amazing, the emotions that they get out of his computer generated face was frighteningly real and… well emotive.  It was a treat seeing that scene filmed live action, we all know the scene from the Bass/Rankin The Hobbit.
Still uncertain why this is a trilogy, but my butt will be in the theatres.

Review: Zero Dark Thirty – Super Dark and Heavy

Leave a reply

Just saw Zero Dark Thirty, its a thriller about the decade long search/hunt for Osama bin Laden.  It’s Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal teaming up for another military style film, since their award winning The Hurt Locker.

The good; it’s intense, and feels like a documentary more than a film.  Maybe docudrama is more of an accurate description.   I enjoy the gritty quality that’s carried over from The Hurt Locker, this isn’t a war movie, it’s a thriller about the new age of terrorism and how wars are fought.
I really felt the frustration of Maya as she devotes her life to finding her target.  That was a pleasant surprise to have Maya as the main character.

The script is broken up like a Tarantino movie, there are chapters marking each step of the movie, this part makes it feel like a documentary.

Zero Dark Thirty is a calliope of actors, they just pop out of the wood work.  Have fun spotting them all.

At the climax of the movie we actually shift character focus, where Maya was our main character, we’re now with the SEALs as they conduct their “jobs”, and it works unlike Peter Jackson’s King Kong.

The bad; this movie is a thriller and not an action movie, I think people will come in to the theatres expecting The Hurt Locker or Saving Private Ryan.  Be warned, this is more about the foot work that led to locating bin Laden.

Also… is this movie “too soon?”  The film is super dark, and that’s probably how it was in real life, it feels that after 9/11 there were just attacks and bombings with no real “victory.”  The heavy tone remains throughout, I don’t think the mass public is ready for that.  With that consistency weighing on the audience, there’s no real arc, with peaks and valleys of emotions, which is why this feels more like a docudrama than a film.

Overall, very intense and heavy.  It’s also a great commentary on how the changing in Presidency had an effect on how intel gathering was conducted.  We went from torturing to more solid leads and detective work, I just find that amazing, and then I also think back to the night when it was on the news that bin Laden had been killed.
President Obama didn’t want the US torturing captives for information, which in the movie felt counter productive to making progress, but in the end it seemed to help them gain solid leads on where they should strike.

*SPOILER* (possibly) I also have to point out the end where we shift focus to the SEAL team, it really showed how they work, and that they’re a finely tuned machine with what they have to do.  For those of you expecting a massive shoot out, you won’t get that here, it’s about tactics and precision, and the way the scenes are shot with low lighting situations coupled with night vision was amazing.  I felt the closeness of the house as they cleared each room as well as the unknown of being in the dark.  And in the end it really showed how any one of the operatives could’ve shot bin Laden, to them he was just another hostile in a complex.

 

Source: ew.com via Eugene on Pinterest

Review: Wreck-It Ralph wrecks the box office

Leave a reply

I saw Wreck-It Ralph this weekend and apparently so did everyone else.  It’s about Ralph, the villain in an old 8-Bit game called Fix-It Felix Jr, who is fed up of being the bad guy, so he game jumps and decides to find his own destiny.

The Good:

Where to start… where to start… the humor is great, lots of stuff for the grownups who grew up with 8-bit games.  When they’re in Game Central Station there are a lot of characters from other games, Wreck-It Ralph is the Who Framed Roger Rabbit of video games.  I enjoyed seeing all the other characters throughout the movie, as well as the other arcade machines that pass time in the arcade.

The animation is top notch.  Each game is a separate world and the characters that inhabit that world behave and look differently.  An example is Ralph’s world, the inhabitants of the apartment of Niceland behave in short quick movements, almost with a staccato beat, which is very evocative of the 8-bit world in which their video game takes place in.  Then we go on to Hero’s Duty where everything is in high def with lots of action going on in the background.  Next we visit Sugar Rush where the world is made up of some form of candy.  A standard movie takes time establishing one world in which the protagonist lives in, with its own set of rules in the case of sci-fi or fantasy, but with Wreck-It Ralph we’re treated to at least three other worlds, amazing that the filmmakers were able to accomplish that.

My main praise for this film has got to be the story.  The story is what grabbed me immediately, from the beginning Ralph is a relate-able character and his journey is one that is simple yet complicated in its own way.  The arc of the story is very very similar to Brave and The Iron Giant.  The ending especially reminded me of The Iron Giant.

The Bad:

I don’t think I have anything to put here.  Only that people will immediately dismiss this film as being a cartoon and not an animated film.  “I don’t watch cartoons,” to those of you whom this applies to… I say, stretch your brain, and allow yourself to experience something new, it might shock and amaze you.  And if it doesn’t, then you have no soul and you should have a doctor look in to that.

Overall:

I cannot recommend this movie enough.  There’s something for everyone, it’s a throw back to the 8-bit games that pioneered video game entertainment industry, as well as a commentary on the state of video gamer entertainment today, but above all it’s touching and moving in the right places.  I predict a best animated feature nom.

Another bonus is the short Paperman that we got before the main feature, what a pleasant little treat.

It’s also great to see all the other video games, here are some to name a few; Bowser, Paperboy, Ryu, Ken, Blanka, Pac-Man, M. Bison, Zangeif, Chung-Li, Sonic, Q*Bert, Frogger, Princess Daisy…

Review: Cloud Atlas – in which the Wachowskis do it again… sigh

Leave a reply

Saw Cloud Atlas this evening.  It’s difficult to say that this movie is about… but I shall attempt it.
It’s about characters in different parts of their lives and how everything is connected no matter the distance between time and space.

The good; the cast, Tom Hank, Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Grant… the movie is peppered with wonderful actors and everyone delivers a great performance.

What else… what else… the music, the Cloud Atlas Sextet is beautiful.  It’s also filmed very well, the images look amazing.

The bad; everything else.  What is this movie about?
*SPOILERS* At the end of the movie I was left with this “message”… history repeats itself and it takes death and sacrifice to change the flow of things.  How are these notions new to us?  A simple message was beaten down, drug out until all the blood drained from its supple carcass… and then that continued for about three hours.  A short film could’ve conveyed the same message more effectively.

Why the run time of one hundred sixty four minutes?  Several different stories inter cut and interwoven together to create a tapestry of prosthetic make up and wigs.  The edits were oddly chosen, we get a scene in the nineteen seventies cut with one from eighteen ninety with little more than a verbal transition connecting the two.  The actors don’t even play the same characters reincarnated…  the editing caters to the self diagnosed ADD masses of today, for shame.

The Wachowskis are hit or miss, I love The Matrix, the first and only movie of the franchise, I enjoyed V for Vendetta, and I’m in the minority on this one, but  I enjoyed Speed Racer as well.  But Cloud Atlas manages to lose me on every front.

Also, there’s this; http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/matrix.asp 

A rumor circling small circles that Sophia Stewart won a lawsuit for ideas she had for The Matrix, completely false, do yourself a favor and read the full story.

Overall skip Cloud Atlas.  Just cause a movie has big name actors does not necessarily make for an excellent movie.  Southland Tales had a huge cast list and was a mini reunion for SNL alumni… if the cast is your only reason for seeing a film, I shake my head at you, you’re the reason why marketing is what makes a movie, rather than the content.
My prediction is that it’ll get nominations for best adapted screenplay and best make up.

PS. don’t sit next to a stupid Asian girl who reacts at everything… we know that actors are playing multiple characters in this movie, but don’t point them out every time you recognize one of them through their make up, what is this?  A Where’s Waldo game?  When something tragic or scary happens, don’t make an audible.  If that’s how you are through life, please don’t go to Disneyland, it’ll be sensory overload and your brain might explode… on second thought, stop what you’re doing now and go to Disneyland.

Review: Argo – in which Affleck does the Bieber

Leave a reply

Saw Argo this weekend, directed by Ben Affleck, and inspired by true events about six American diplomats rescued from Tehran in nineteen seventy nine during the Iran Hostage Crisis.

The good; knowing the ending of this movie, cause it’s a true event, so anyone with novice computer skills can look up how the real story happened.  Much like Valkyrie or Titanic (to a lesser extent), I found myself caring and at the edge of my seat during the climax of the film.  Bravo, when the simple act of a plane taking off receives an applause from the audience.  And that’s not a spoiler, for those of us who can read, and learn something from history.

The casting is great, I found myself caring for all the characters, not just the Americans, but everyone… the hostages, the bureaucrats, everyone.

There are lots of in-Hollywood jokes, was not expecting that many.

I keep thinking back to the writing and directing.  The two melded together beautifully to create an atmosphere of danger and tension.  And what’s more is that it was able to be sustained throughout the film.

The bad; Affleck’s hair, it’s a little distracting and it took some getting used to.  I can’t find anything to place in this section.  But I can think of what people will not like, so let’s go with that… yeah.

Not a lot of action, this film is methodical and slower paced.  Argo is classified as a “thriller” movie… with that genre comes certain expectations and sign posts.  So the average movie going public will probably be disappointed that most of Argo is a bunch of people talking, much like Tinker, Sailor, Soldier, Spy.

Overall Argo is great, it’s the first film on my radar to scream best picture.  I waited a week to see it and it’s still getting applause in the theatres, not sure if at a carnal level that it speaks to our patriotism, but it does evoke a certain emotion given the current state of things abroad.

Argo is well thought out, and historically it’s an amazing story that deserves to be told.  My prediction, best picture and best adapted screenplay nominations.

*[excerpt from the trailer, and of course the movie]*
John Chambers: [after telling him his plan to get the hostages out] Let me get this straight, you want to come to Hollywood, make a fake movie, and do nothing?
Tony Mendez: That’s right.
John Chambers: [Smiles] You’ll fit right in!

Frankenweenie

Leave a reply

Frankenweenie is the latest from Tim Burton. From his previous short film, this feature length version is about a boy who loses his dog and longs to bring him back, a modern take of Frankenstein.

The good; it’s black and white, I mean, who else does black and white these days? Love the feel that it adds and you don’t even notice.

The film starts off right away introducing us to Victor, our main character, we waste no time connecting with him, bravo in the way they were able to pull that off. Granted, it’s sorta biased to people like me, film school graduates and what not.

At first I thought, “why make this a full length feature film, when the short film was fine?” But they made wonderful additions to fill the runtime of a feature. We get more characters and complications in the plot, building to a wonderful ending.

There’s a nice touch with the science teacher and his view on science. As Victor’s mentor he’s a shapeshifting one, you don’t know if it’s a good guy or a bad guy, he’s designed to scream bad guy but his message to Victor, as well as the audience, is surprisingly meaningful… wrapped in humor at times.

The bad; not much here, you either love Tim Burton’s character design style or you don’t. Personally, I didn’t mind it, but I can see it turning others off.
This isn’t necessarily a kid’s movie, I’d say it’s for mature kids, kids that can comprehend what’s going on, and see the deeper message behind the scary images. There are some frightening scenes, which help punctuate the message of responsibility and love.

Overall, worth watching. The setting is timeless, not exactly a period piece, but just a timeless suburban small town that may or may not have existed in history, except in the way that we remember it. It was also great to see the cast of the original short film thanked at the end. John August and Tim Burton have teamed up again for another success.

 

Looper

Leave a reply

Saw Looper this weekend, it’s about a near future where criminals have time travel abilities. Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a Looper and he kills people that the “mob” wants dead, they’re sent to the past where Joe shoots them and disposes of the body. One instance Joe hesitates and chaos ensues.

The good; time travel, it’s got time travel.  The premise is very interesting, considering the film takes place in the near future of 2044, time travel being invented relatively soon.  There’s also a lot of touches with the production design for this world of 2044, which aren’t addressed directly but are just present.  Some examples are the solar power technology, it’s just everywhere, the vehicles are solar converted, and there are panels everywhere, on house and things, a lovely element to make the world believable.

*Possible SPOILERS* Loopers get paid in silver bars, they find these bars on the backs of the people they kill from the future, when they’re “paid out” the bars are gold, this usually means that they’ve killed their future self to keep the mob clean.  Joe encounters Old Joe (Bruce Willis) during one of his assignments.  This is basically where the time travel stops, because now it’s Joe versus Joe.
What’s great about this part of the movie is that two actors are playing the same person, but they’re not the same character.  Young Joe and Old Joe are two different people with different motivations.  Typically when one version of oneself meets oneself they are allies, but here the relationship between the two remains adversarial, bravo for that.
*END SPOILERS*

The ending was very satisfying… and it fades to white.

The bad; it’s got time travel, I know I mention this in the above, but there is very little time travel, it’s used more as a device to get things started, like a red herring.  Once we get into the movie that’s all we get of time travel.  So I was torn on how to feel about it at this point.
On the one hand, I wanted more time travel, that stuff just fascinates me, and then on the other hand, I liked where it was going with the two Joes.

*SPOILERS* We reach the middle of the movie where a plot point is revealed, and it doesn’t feel organic, this kid named Cid possesses powerful telekinetic abilities that are raw and emotion induced.  Young Joe finds himself protecting Cid and Emily Blunt from anyone that might be looking for him as well as them.  It felt like we left the whole time travel hook completely and are now in a last stand sort of movie where Young Joe has to protect the homestead.
Then there’s the “sex scene” that didn’t really add anything to the movie, and it cut before it got graphic, so why have it at all?

Overall, I enjoyed watching Looper.  Got me thinking and talking about it after the movie, but not in a bad way.  Time travel movies are always tricky, this one does a nice job hooking you in and then takes a turn, for better or for worse?  I can’t say, that’s up to you and how much your mind is willing to stretch and work up a sweat.

The Adventures of Pete & Pete Reunion

1 Reply

Hey Sandy!  It’s the adventures of Pete & Pete the Reunion.  After almost about twenty years since it first ran, the cast and creators reunite for a panel discussion of their time on this gem of a series.  They talked about how the third season hasn’t been released, and probably will never be released, so we’re relegated to viewings on youtube… thank you internets.

Lately my childhood is becoming more and more present in my adulthood, never has there been a time in society where one’s childhood has been so easily accessible, what with everything being released on DVD and reboots and now reunions.  It is possible to go home again.

We also then got treated to a Polaris concert.

And then look who I met after the show?  It’s Dan Harmon from Community.  I talked to him about his recent episode with Duncan Trussell.