Beyond Human Ken

Iron Man 2

***Mild Spoiler Warning, See IM2 before reading***

In preface to my comments on Iron Man 2, I must state that Iron Man is my favorite Superhero movie, bar none-all subsequent films from it’s genre will be judged against the standard Director John Favreau and star Robert Downey, Jr set with that near-perfect masterpiece!

Far too many sequels fail to impress. They play out like cheap knock-offs, designed to capitalize on their predecessor’s success (take the money and run#, rather than stand on their own, as self-contained, worthy successors… Iron Man 2 stands on it’s own. In some ways it surpasses IM, but not in all ways… Iron Man was a precisely constructed film, with a brilliant screenplay, steeped in logic… IM2 is a sloppy film, especially in the motivations and actions of it’s central characters… The sequel’s plot is scatter-shot, leading to confusion, at times… Iron Man had a perfect mix of humor and drama… Tony Stark was a true hero in the first film, in IM2, a much darker film, he comes off as a self-centered prima donna, throughout-and I know his motivation for acting like a jerk, I just don’t buy it…

In his introductory scene, why does Iron Man need to jump out of a cargo plane prior to his appearance at Stark Expo? The dramatic effect on moviegoers, I guess… No one in the audience at the Expo could see the event…

Why do the three main combatants repeatedly open their faceplates in the heat of battle? One stray bit of shrapnel, and it’s all over… Because audiences need to see the actors, from time-to-time, and actors need the exposure, to own their alter-egos… Spider-Man’s mask gets ripped off in every film…

Sophisticated, fire-walled government and corporate computer networks are putty in the hands of Stark and Vanco, who casually break into complex systems at the drop of a hat… Like magic! Too far-fetched and convenient, in my estimation…

Robert Downey, Jr is in his element as Tony Stark, a great man, teetering on the brink of the final abyss, trying to put his affairs in order… But boys just want to have fun! Downey. Jr is one of our greatest actors, it’s a pity that his work as Tony Stark/Iron Man will never be considered Oscar-worthy…

The battle between Iron Man and War Machine seems out-of-place, they are best friends, but seem to be trying to kill each other, as well as being indifferent to the collateral damage their fight could cause… There was no way either could win… I found this conflict inconsistent with their trust in each other… We rarely fight like that and remain friends, at least in real life…

More background on Ivan Vanko’s motivations for his vendetta against Stark Industries and Tony Stark would be appreciated-at times Vanco seems to vacillate between justifiable rage and pure evil… Mickey Rourke is great, but Ivan Vanco’s Whiplash is a one-note character… At least there is only one super-powered villain in IM2, a wise choice…

Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer is a great clown, rife with comic relief, but there is no way he could have orchestrated Vanco’s escape from prison-or run a major weapons manufacturing corporation in Hammer Industries-he’s simply far too dumb and incompetent…

Gwynneth Paltrow #Pepper Potts#, Scarlett Johanson #Natalie Rushman#, and IM2 Director Jon Favreau #Happy Hogan), all have their moments, providing charming comic relief, and “stand by their man” loyalty… Don Cheadle is an able replacement as Lt Colonel James”Rhody” Roads/War Machine, Tony Stark’s best friend. Johanson’s Natalie Rushman (she’s never referred to as the “Black Widow” in the film), is a one woman, ass-kicking machine! The chemistry between Tony Stark and Pepper Potts is still white hot, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it progresses in the next film!

Samuel L Jackson makes a great cameo appearance as Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD, I can’t wait to see his role expand in future Marvel films!

The CGI of IM2 is good, overall, but there were scenes, such as Whiplash on the racetrack in Monaco, where it was evident that 2 shots were combined to show him walking through the fires of the crashing racecars… The first battle between Iron Man and Whiplash features the weakest CGI in the film, probably due to it’s taking place in daylight-a far more difficult challenge for the Wizards at Industrial Light & Magic…

The climactic battle is complex and well-staged, with impressive CGI, but lacks focus because it is so busy… It ends predictably, with a tactic which was showcased earlier in the film, just for this purpose…

Overall, I really enjoyed Iron Man 2-it is a lot of fun! The filmmakers went all-out, trying to surpass the original, and in some ways succeeded… The weakness of IM2 lies in the film’s inconsistent screenplay… I love these characters, and am eagerly awaiting the next installment in the series!

Grade B+.

Ken

Films Ken Has Seen In Theaters: 2010

1-Youth in Revolt–Jan 10th–B.
2-Daybreakers–Jan 10th–B-.
3-The Book of Eli–Jan 18th–A-.
4-Avatar 3D IMAX–Jan 31st–A+.
5-An Education–Feb 14th–A.
6-Crazy Heart–Feb 21st–A.
7-Shutter Island–Feb 21st–B+.
8-The Ghost Writer–March 21st–A.
9-Repo Men–March 21st–B-.
10-Hot Tub Time Machine–April 10th–B+.

Ken’s Top 15 Films of 2009

1-(tie) The Hurt Locker

1-(tie) Avatar

3-Zombieland

4-(500) Days of Summer

5-Star Trek

6-Up

7-Up in the Air

8-An Education

9-Inglourious Basterds

10-Knowing

11-The Blind Side

12-District 9

13-The Invention of Lying

14-Watchmen

15-Invictus

Avatar

A Review

World-building has been intrinsic to great works of Science Fiction and Fantasy since the glory days of the Pulp era, during the 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s-but it dates back further, to the amazing imaginations of L. Frank Baum and Edgar Rice Burroughs…. To this point in time, the exotic, alien worlds we have read about for over one hundred years were in large part confined to the boundaries of our imaginations-but not any more, for now we have Avatar, and the possibilities are limitless!

James Cameron has brought the world of Pandora to life through the sheer force of his imagination, determination, technical skills, and business acumen… Pandora is a world to rival Baum’s OZ, Burrough’s Mars, Vance’s Dying Earth, and Herbert’s Dune-all worlds of marvel and wonder, ripe with exquisite detail! Cameron’s Pandora is as scientifically plausible as he could make it-a complete and complex solar system and ecosystem!-and is far more beautiful than any film in the history of Cinema… Visually, Avatar is the most stunning work of creative, commercial art ever envisioned!

Cameron took his time, personally shepherding the new, improved “performance capture” CGI technology necessary to bring his vision to reality, and his characters to life, and he succeeded beyond all expectations! We had never seen CGI which looks more real than live action before Avatar… We have seen amazing worlds, specifically the Middle-Earth Peter Jackson gave us in his brilliant LOTR’s Trilogy, but Avatar jumps several generations of CGI beyond even those marvelous films!

The indigenous, intelligent Humanoids of Pandora are the Na’vi, who are one with the networked, living ecosystem of Pandora, unlike the invading humans, who simply want to strip-mine this pristine world for fun and profit… To the Corporation funding this expedition/invasion and it’s representatives, the science humanity could glean from Pandora and the Na’vi is simply a tool of expedience… Push comes to shove, and the invaders move to take what they want-the Na’vi have no rights on their own planet… Humans have already destroyed everything green on their world, and they are about to do the same to Pandora…

Jake Sully, a marine and paraplegic, inherits his dead twin brother’s slot in the Corporation’s Avatar program on Pandora… Once linked, Jake’s Na’vi Avatar gives him his legs again, allowing him to freely explore a world whose atmosphere is poisonous to Humans, and whose ecosystem can kill a Human or inexperienced Na’vi in a fraction of a second… Jake is separated from the scientific team he was guarding by a gigantic, ravenous carnivore, which he barely evades-an event which leads him to Neytiri, a young Na’vi Princess who will be his savior, the love of his life, and his destiny-which it takes him some time to recognize, a time during which Jake is becoming one with the Na’vi and his new clan and world…

In Avatar, Cameron gives us three simple words which are the heart of the Na’vi : “I see you.” Three words which convey the love of Jake and Neytiri… And far, far more!

The story told in Avatar is archetypical, having occurred throughout human history, whenever advanced civilizations expanded into lands occupied by aboriginal cultures of lesser means… Might makes right… We take what we want… This story is an integral part of our history and popular culture, having been told repetedly in song and story throughout the ages…

Jake realizes he has to do what is right, and help the Na’vi-which puts him at odds with Col. Miles Quaritch, the no-nonsense, tough-as-nails commander of the mercenaries the Corporation has hired to enforce it’s policies regarding the Na’vi and Pandora… Qyaritch wouldn’t give in to the devil, himself… But neither will Jake!

Avatar is a stunning visual experience, overlaid by an archetypical, visceral, frenetic plot, and characters-both Human and Na’vi- who are brought to life with convincing passion and verisimilitude…. The Na’vi and their world are real, as real as anything you will ever see in a film… James Cameron has given us a wonderful gift, he has brought our Fantasy worlds to life, and given them to us for Christmas!

Thanks, Jim!

Grade: A+.

12/31/2009

Ken

Films Ken Has Seen in Theaters: 2009

Doubt–Jan 4th–A.
Gran Torino–Jan 11th–A.
The Wrestler–Jan 16th–A+.
Last Chance Harvey–Jan 17th–C+.
Frost/Nixon–Jan 25th–A.
The Reader–Feb 1st–A.
The Wrestler–Feb 8th–A+.
The International–Feb 17th–B.
Coraline 3D–Feb 23rd–C.
Watchmen–March 6th–A.
Knowing–March 22nd–A.
Adventureland–April 3rd–A-.
Fast & Furious–April 12th–B.
State of Play–April 21st–B.
Obsessed-April 30th–B-.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine-May 3rd-C+.
Star Trek (IMAX)–May 8th–A.
Star Trek (IMAX)–May 14th–A.
Angels & Demons–May 17th–B.
Terminator Salvation–May 23rd–C-.
Night At the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian–May 25th–C+.
Drag Me To Hell–May 31st–B+.
Hangover–June 7th–B+.
Land of the Lost–June 9th–C+.
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3–June 13th–C.
Up–June 21st–A.
Transformers Rise of the Fallen IMAX–June 30th–C.
Public Enemies–July 5th–B-.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince–July 19th–A-.
The Ugly Truth–July 24th–C+.
The Hurt Locker–July 24th–A+.
District 9–Aug 16th–B.
District 9–Aug 21st–B+.
Inglourious Basterds–Aug 23rd–A-.
500 Days of Summer–Aug 23rd–A+.
The Time Travelers Wife–Aug 30–B+.
Whiteout–Sept 20th–C.
Jennifer’s Body–Sept 20th–B+.
Whip It–Oct 3rd–A-.
Zombieland–Oct 4th–A.
Pandorum–Oct 4th–C.
The Invention of Lying–Oct 7th–A-.
The Invention of Lying–Oct 17th–A.
2012–Nov 14th–A-.
The Fourth Kind–Nov 21st–D.
Disney’s A Christmas Carol 3D–Nov 27th–B.
The Twilight Saga: New Moon–Dec 1st–B.
The Blind Side–Dec 5th–A.
Invictus–Dec 19th–A-.
Avatar–Dec 20th–A+!
Up in the Air–Dec 24th–B+.
Avatar–Dec 26th–A+.
Sherlock Holmes–Dec 28th–C+
It’s Complicated–Dec 31st–B.

Adaptation of SF novels and stories to Film in the 2000’s:

Notes on 2000 SF films:

Battlefield Earth, based on the novel by L Ron Hubbard, generally considered to be one of the worst SF films ever made…

The Hollow Man was “inspired” by H G Wells’ classic novel, The Invisible Man…

K-Pax is based on a novel, but not by an author writing as an “SF” author…

Brian de Palma’s Mission to Mars is based on the Disney atttaction of the same name, as well as loosly based on a novel of the same name by Brtiish Astronomer, Sir Patrick Moore…

Red Planet is not based on the classic SF novel by Robert A Heinlein, and, in regard to it’s director-Anthony Hoffman-RP was his first, and last, film…

The other 2000 SF films have not adapted the work of any SF authors I can determine…

Notes on 2001 SF films:

A.I. Atrificial Intelligence was based on a short-story by Brian W Aldiss, “Supertoys Last All Summer Long”… Stanley Kubrick worked with several British SF writers on the story, including Aldiss, Bob Shaw, and Ian Watson… Steven Spielberg wrote the screenplay and directed the film at Kubrick’s request…

Jurassic Park III was made from an original screenplay-Crichton didn’t write a 3rd Jurassic Park novel-and he didn’t consider himself to be a “Sci-Fi” writer at all, in fact, he vehemently denied it, got upset, even…

Planet of the Apes is a lame remake of the original 1968 film, which was based on the novel by French author Pierre Boulle… Perhaps Tim Burton’s worst film…

That’s all for 2001, no other connection to SF authors I can determine…

Notes for 2002 SF films:

Imposter is based on the story “Imposter”, by Phillip K Dick.

Minority Report is “loosley” based on the P K Dick short-story “The Minority Report”, and directed by Steven Spielberg… Minority Report is one of the best films of the 2000’s…

Rollerball is an action remake of the dystopian 1975 film of the same title, which was based on a short-story by William Harrison…

Solaris is a remake of the 1972 film of the same title, which was based on the novel by the great Polish writer, Stanislaw Lem, who was a major critic of American and British SF, even though pretty much everything Lem wrote was SF…

The Time Machine is a lame remake of the classic 1960 film by the great George Pal, based on the 1895 novella by H G Wells… Wells’ grandson, Simon Wells, was director, but he was replaced by Gore Verbinsky for the last 18 days of shooting due to “exhaustion”… Simon Wells returned to oversee the film in post-production, for all the good it did him-and us!

No other SF connections in 2002 I can determine…

Notes on 2003 SF films:

The Core is loosly based on the novel Core, by SF author Paul Preuss…

Dreamcatcher is based on the novel by Stephen King, and is easily the worst major adaption of any of King’s novels…

Good Boy! is based on the novel Dogs From Outer Space, by Zeke Richardson, who has no connection to SF I can determine…

Paycheck is based on the short-story, “Paycheck”, by Philip K Dick…

Timeline is Richard Donner’s workmanlike adaptation of Michael Crichton’s novel…

I find no other SF connection in 2003..

Notes on 2004 SF films:

I-Robot is “loosly” based on Isaac Asimov’s short-story collection of the same name… There is nothing “Asimovian” about the film… Asimov was an idea man, not a thriller writer… Harlan Ellison spent 2 years writing a brilliant, faithful adaptation of I-Robot, which was never produced, but eventuallu published to high acclaim…

Night Watch is a Russian film, “loosley” based on the novel of the same name by Sergei Lukyanenko…

The Stepford Wives is a remake of the 1975 film, based on the novel by Ira Levin…

Asimov was the only “SF” writer adapted by Hollywood in 2004…

Notes on 2005 SF films:

A Sound of Thunder, directed by Peter Hyams, is “loosley” based on the short-story of the same title by Ray Bradbury…

H G Well’s The War of the Worlds, directed by Timothy Hines, is the only adaptation of Wells classic novel to set the story in it’s proper time and place: Late 1980’s England… The film is 180 minutes, and received mostly negative reviews, limiting it to a dvd-only release in the US…

The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, based on the novel by Douglas Adams, who died while working on the film’s screenplay…

War of the Worlds, the 2nd version of H G Wells classic to be set in the US in modern times… Roger Ebert HATED the tripods… Go figure… Directed by Spielberg, starring Tom Cruise, their 2nd collaboration of the 2000’s, after Minority Report…

Notes on 2006 SF films:

A Scanner Darkly, based on the novel of the same name by Philip K Dick, written and directed by Richard Linklater, who filmed digitally and then animated, using interpolated rotoscope ove the original footage… Unique look for a film!

Children of Men, based on the dystopian novel of renouned British Mystery novelist, P D James. Directed by Alfonso Cuaron, and one of the best films of the 2000’s…

Day Watch, Russian film, 2nd in the series of films based on the novels of Sergei Lukyanenko, after Night watch…

V For Vendetta, directed by James McTeague, and based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore and David Lloyd…

P K Dick was the only SF writer whose work was adapted to film in 2006…

Notes on 2007 SF films:

Flatland is an adaptation of Edwin A Abbot’s 1894 Novella, “Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions”, notable for being the first film to be digitally created by one person: Ladd Ehlinger, Jr…

I Am Legend, the third version of Richard Matheson’s classic novel, and the first to be filmed under it’s original title… Very loosly based on the novel… Watchable, but not inspired…

The Man From Earth, written by SF author Jerome Bixby in the 1960’s, and completed on his deathbed…

In 2007, only SF writers Richard Matheson and Jerome Bixby were adapted to film…

Notes on 2008 SF films:

Babylon A.D., based on the novel by French author, Maurice Georges Dantec… It is apparent that there were serious issues with the editing of the film…

The Day the Earth Stood Still, extremely lame remake of the classic 1951 film of the same name… Based on the classic novella, “Farewell to the Master”, by Harry Bates, but bearing little connection to the original story… Directed by Scott Derickson, who should have let Keanu Reeves both write and direct, couldn’t have been any worse…

Death Race, a remake of the 1975 film, Death Race 2000, based on the short-story by Ib Melchoir (who?)…

The Inhabited Island, a Russian film, based on the novel by Arkadi and Boris Strugatski… A lengthy film, which was released in 2 parts in Russia…

Jumper, “loosly” based on the novel Jumper by SF writer Steven Gould…

The Martian Child, “loosly” based on the novel by David Gerrold…

In 2007, only Harry Bates and Steven Gould and David Gerrold were SF authors whose work was adapted by Hollywood…

Notes on SF films in 2009:

The Time Traveler’s Wife, based on the novel by Audrey Niffenegger, a Fantasy by an author with no SF connection…

Watchmen, a brilliant adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’s classic graphic novel, directed by Zac Snyder… One of the best films of the 2000’s…

Not a single author labeled as a “SF’ writer has had a film version of his work released as a film in 2009…

————————————————————————————————————

There have been numerous sequels and remakes in the 2000’s, as well as fims based on video games and toy lines-but few worthy adaptations of SF novels and stories…

Why does Hollywood continually fail to recognize the work of the following SF authors as filmworthy in the 2000’s-as well as in the preceeding decades-preferring instead to focus on original, and in many cases derivative, SF screenplays?

Heinlein, Clarke, Asimov (I-Robot is a story collection, and the film bears little resemblance to Asimov’s story and style and theme), Bradbury, LeGuin, Jack Williamson, Fred Pohl, David Brin, Greg Bear, Gregory Benford, Connie Willis, Robert Silverberg, Stephen Baxter, Alistair Reynolds, Greg Egan, William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, Paul J McAuley, John Ringo, David Webber, Robert Charles Wilson, Joe Haldeman, Kim Stanley Robinson, Dan Simmons, Orson Scott Card, Kate Wilhelm, Larry Niven, John Brunner, Roger Zelazny, Frank Herbert, James Blish, Fritz Leiber, walter M Miller, Jr, Clifford D. Simak, Alfred Bester, Nancy Kress, Lucius shepard, Vernor Vinge, Joan D Vinge, Robert Reed, Charles Stross, John Varley, Poul Anderson, Michael Swanwick, Ian McDonald, Jack Vance, Harlan Ellison, and countless others…

It is frustrating to note that even when SF novels are adapted to film or TV, the results have been spotty, at best-most of the best SF films have been made from original screenplays… Are complex SF novels too dificult for the majority of screenwriters and directors to adapt to film?

I know that many SF classics have been optioned over the years, often repetedly, but films were not forthcoming…

Here are some suggestions for SF films:

http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/303871/top_10_potential_scifi_franchises_hollywood_ignored.html

John Scalzi on the derth of SF film adaptations:

http://blogs.amctv.com/scifi-scanner/2009/02/scifi-book-adaptations.php

Succesful SF authors whose work has never been filmed:

http://www.republibot.com/content/really-successful-sf-authors-whos-work-has-inexplicably-never-made-it-big-screen

SF novels which one blogger says should have stayed as books, and never been filmed:

http://io9.com/5020563/10-books-that-were-better-off-on-paper

The Stars My Destination has been optioned again and again:

http://www.cyberpunkreview.com/movie/upcoming-movies/the-stars-my-destination-optioned-for-filming/

At one time, James Cameron had the option to film Alfred Bester’s classic SF novel…

Sex or Violence? Which is the true horror in current films?

“If you suck on a tit the movie gets an R rating. If you hack the tit off with an axe it will be PG.” Jack Nicholson

Why is explicit, gratuitous, incessant, bloody violence a staple of current films, perpetuating Horror series which seem to go on forever, attracting rabid fans who know all the dialog in the Halloween series by heart, when even a hint of sex or nudity turns most Americans into 70-year old virgin old maids from Boston?

Why is it acceptable to show a crazed barber with a razor slit at least a dozen innocent throats in blood-gushing detail, while a scene showing a nude couple in a loving embrace would cause many patrons to hurridly exit the theater in shock and disgust, offended to the very core of their being?

Is it that we are accustomed to shared violence, but sex is a private matter?

Do we get vicarious jollies from seeing someone get their brain eaten on the Silver Screen? Is it “fun” to see a teenage girl and boy impaled as they lie together after experiencing sex for the first time? (Sex in Horror films is a sin/crime, punishable by death, executed by an inhuman, unstoppable, psycotic killer…)

Are we so used to the explicit sex of porn films that the softcore sex of mainstream movies bores us? Do we want to see it all? Or is explicit sex another form of Horror?

It is a curious dynamic, in that the mix of sex and violence in a Horror film is critical, too much sex-as in Jennifer’s Body-and the film fails to draw at the box-office in sufficiant numbers to make it successful…

In today’s Hollywood, in current feature films, SEX is a turn-off, not a turn on…

500 Days of Summer

A Review

500 Days of Summer is a charming and bittersweet and wise comedy-romance, which-if you’re lucky-will play for one week at your local multiplex, but, sadly, most moviegoers won’t even be that fortunate… So, catch it if you can… To note that this character driven, structurally complex, nuanced, heartfelt, and self-assured film is the work of a former music video director and first-time feature-film director-Mark Webb-is a sure sign that great filmmaking is still with us, both now, and-hopefully-for the next generation of moviegoers!

In this film, Joseph Gordon-Levitt reminded me of a young Keanu Reeves-but with talent to burn! His Tom Hanson experiences a gamut of emotions from A-Z: From first crush, to love, to infatuation, to frustration, to uncertainty, to heartbreak, to bitterness, to resignation, and, finally, back to hope again… Gordon-Levitt has come a long way as an actor since his days as Tommy Soloman on Third Rock From the Sun-he is a true “leading man” now, and can carry a film on his own-he has tremendous screen presence and range as an actor!

Zooey Deschanel is Summer Finn-as in the “500 Days of Summer”… Summer’s beauty takes one’s breath away, lighting up the screen throughout the film, leaving no doubt as to why Tom’s emotions are getting the best of him… Deschanel reminded me of a young Audrey Hepburn in this, by far her best, role… Summer is by turns ethereal and assertive, telling Tom at the beginning of their relationship that she is not looking for “love”, for all the good that does her, since he is smitten with her at first sight…

As their relationship progresses, Tom is unable to understand why she doesn’t feel the same way, even when he’s agreeing with her that they are “just friends” in order to keep seeing her… Tom hits a jerk at a bar-not for trying to pick up Summer, but for casting aspersions on her choice for an escort-and Summer gets upset, saying she “had it under control”, causing him to storm-confused and frustrated-out of her apartment, because he felt he was supposed to do something in that situation-”I just got my ass kicked for you!”, and not just timidly cower behind her… “We’re a couple!”, Tom screams, as he leaves… Summer later comes to Tom’s apartment to apologize, but, as she snuggles close to him, she says “I like you!”… The writing was always on the wall, Tom just refused to read it…

I can’t fault Tom for falling for Summer, she pretty much had him at first sight… And she was honest with him about not wanting love or commitment-or even believing that love exists, since she had never gotten over her parents’ divorce… (It didn’t matter that his parents were divorced, as well…) She did act like they were a couple, however, to the degree that she screwed him up badly when she left… (Tom and Summer were a “couple”, in everyone’s eyes but hers…) I guess the moral of this story is you can’t make someone love you if they don’t love you… Or, maybe, some can screw without being in love, and some can’t… And Tom is one who can’t…

The structure of 500 Days of Summer is brilliantly innovative, telling the story of Tom and Summer in non-chronological order, contrasting the good days with the bad… We know how their relationship ends fairly early, but we don’t know how Tom’s heartbreak is resolved, until the end…

Two unique scenes deserve special mention:

The film’s lone musical scene, with “young Tom in love” walking joyously through the streets of LA, to the tune of Hall and Oates’ “You Make My Dreams” is extremely charming and euphoric and well worth the price of admission! This sequence is reminiscent of the scene in Spider-Man 3, with Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker doing Travolta’s Saturday Night Fever walk through the streets of New York, but is far superior. Tom’s joy in his newfound love Is contagious-everyone he meets joins in his celebration!

The split-screen, party scene-in which Tom’s fantasy of how the evening will progress with Summer is contrasted with the reality of how it actually progresses, making Tom’s disappointment all the more tragic…

One other aspect of the film that stood out for me was the supporting cast, led by Tom’s wise-beyond-her-years little sister, Rachel, played by Chloe Moretz, and his two best friends, McKenzie and Paul, played by Geoffrey Arend and Mathew Grey Gubler, respectively… In many of our greatest films the supporting cast is crucial to the film’s success, and 500 Days of Summer is no exception!

This film was a revelation! It evokes powerful emotions, and is very wise concerning relationships… 500 Days of Summer is a film I will treasure forever, and one of the very best films you will see this-or any!-year!

Grade: A+.

8/24/2009

Ken

District 9: A Review

District 9 has everything one could hope for in a Science Fiction/Horror film: The estimable Peter Jackson producing/mentoring a hot new writer/director: South Africa’s Neill Blomkamp. Revolting aliens. Human arrogance. A gigantic floating spaceship. Real-world symbolism. Frantic chase sequences. Effective CGI. Firefights with energy blasters. Starship Troopers-like battle armor. Slums which make those depicted in Slumdog Millionaire look like Park Avenue in comparison! Aliens with compassion. Humans without compassion. Betrayal and redemption. Plus, District 9 may be the single most disgusting genre film since David Cronenberg’s The Fly! Hold the popcorn! (Or save the bag, at least…) I took my seat expecting to be rocked to the core of my Sci-Fi lovin’ heart!

But… I have problems with District 9-and I want to see it again, ASAP… I’m puzzled as to why I don’t love the film-why it didn’t “ROCK!” for me… Some things do stand out:

I had trouble understanding the thick accents of the South African actors, at times…

I found the central human character, Wickus Van De Merwe, played by Sharlito Copely somewhat irritating-but he is excellent, overall-a pitch perfect anti-hero!

Communication between humans and the insect-like, humanoid “prawns” is entirely too facile-even after 20 years, direct communication between two species with completely different speech organs would still be problematic…

The aliens look alien-but act as if they were born on Earth… They are entirely too human, too anthropomorphic-especially the father/son duo, which displayed more humanity than any of the humans in the film, but in a human way, not an alien way… In the subtitles, the aliens talked just like us, saying what humans would say in the same situations…

I keep thinking of all the movies District 9 “borrowed” ideas from-such as: Alien/Aliens (harvesting alien DNA for use as bio-weapons), Enemy Mine (human bonds with alien, an alien with a child), Species (human/alien DNA combined to form hybrid), and Alien Nation (alien spaceship with over a hundred thousand “slaves” lands near LA, slaves which gradually blend in with the human population)…

The films structure is extremely choppy, jumping back and forth between a pseudo-documentary and straight narrative-which at times results in the audience being told of events before we see them enacted…

I suppose I’m over-analyzing the film, but I really expected to be blown away, and wasn’t… I hope a second viewing will clear things up for me, one way or the other…

Grade: B.

8/18/2009

Ken

Random Thoughts on Terminator Salvation

The first 3 Terminator films boast an escalating series of powerful, sophisticated, & exponentially more lethal Terminator models.

TS features a prototype Terminator (an “Infiltrator”) which never threatens the film’s central character, John Connor-even though Connor does his level best to kill the Infiltrator, Marcus Wright-and then, suddenly, makes a deal with him, even as he prepares to finish him off…

This John Connor is dumb, far to disorganized, and far too dependent on others for his survival… I can’t see this John Connor saving the world from Skynet…

The “come with me if you want to live” formula used in the first 3 films is not used in TS… The 1st three Terminator films are frantic chase films, with all the action in each film being tied to one major plotline… TS does not have an unstoppable Terminator to force the action of the film throughout… There are several separate plotlines which alternate until they finally intersect…

Why would McG and his writers completely abandon the tried-and-true Terminator formula developed by James Cameron in 1984? The screenplay for TS is scattershot, at best, with far more misses than hits…

The featured romance in TS should have been John & Kate Conner, and have rivaled the romance between Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese in Terminator, not a romance between two new, supporting characters… Still, Marcus Wright and Blair Williams exhibit far more chemistry together than the Connors do… Bryce Dallas Howard has little to do as Kate Connor, she fades into the background…

Christian Bale as John Connor barely makes his presence known in TS, and never makes John Conner his character-even when he becomes leader of the resistance and goes in solo against Skynet, Bale seems to be working hard to blend into the background… He never projects to the degree that Arnold Schwarzenegger or Linda Hamilton or Michael Biehn or Robert Patrick or Kristanna Loken-or even Edward Furlong-did in their roles in the first 3 Terminator films… Bales’ John Connor has no depth… He is who he is because the legend of his future role as the savior of Humanity is common knowledge among the resistance, not because he has earned it…

We are told again and again of Marcus Wright’s “strong heart”, a heart which allows him to make “The Ultimate Sacrifice”, affirm his Humanity, and save the man destined to save the world… A predictable and unbelievable plot element…

The human resistance is far too widespread and organized and equipped for my taste… I wanted to see a ragtag bunch of desperate, overmatched humans fighting against Skynet, not fully equipped armies, with helicopters, jets, and submarines and enough firepower to take over the country of their choice…

Even Skynet is dumb in TS… The plan it reveals to Connor is entirely dependent on random chance and coincidence…

The (recently cancelled by FOX) TV series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles always stayed true to Terminator canon-at least from the first two films… I was never frustrated with the way the story of Sarah and John Connor was told… It always seemed spot on with James Cameron’s Terminator films… The characters were brought to life in interesting ways, and we came to know and care for them… I felt no empathy for any of the core characters in TS… They never came to life, for me…

McG has already signed on to direct Terminator 5… I fear he has already strayed to far from the story of John Connor that James Cameron began in the mid-eighties to get back on track… I have always had tremendous expectations for the story of an adult John Connor and his climactic war against Skynet, but-unless Cameron decides to return to the franchise with creative control, we’re going to continue to be disappointed, I’m afraid…

Ken

Revised 7/28/09