MOVIE REVIEW: Django Unchained (2012)

Dear Quentin Tarantino: I've long admired your work since I first saw Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction when I was 16 years old. Since the release of Inglourious Basterds nearly four years ago, you've convinced me that it's entirely possible to forge historical fiction out of pulpy, B-movie tropes and make them chillingly relevant, whilst being overwhelmingly entertaining. The closest comparison I can make to this technique are postmodern adaptations of Shakespeare I've seen developed for theatre, but even that is a loose comparison. Here, the execution with Django Unchained, while controversial, is absolutely flawless.

1858, the American South. German dentist King Shultz purchases Django, a slave, from a travelling slave-owner. Dr. Shultz shoots the slave-owner, dead and frees his captives. He reveals to Django he is actually a bounty hunter and trains Django to be his apprentice. After a year of lucrative exploits, Django reveals to Shultz he has a wife, Broomhilda. Enchanted by their personal history (due to a coincidental connection with her name to German lore), Shultz agrees to help Django find Broomhilda, who happens to be owned by a wealthy plantation owner named Calvin Candie. Candie also happens to be sadistic, shrewd, and morally corrupt; a fact the duo must deal with in order to leave with Broomhilda, and their lives.

Django is essentially a spaghetti western set amidst a pre-American Civil War, Deep South backdrop. Like my earlier comparison with Shakespeare, here, the setting is Tarantino's canvas, and the genre serves as his colors. The heroes of spaghetti westerns were typically regarded as social outcasts or marked men who had nothing to lose in order to reach their goals. Django is a freed slave, but gains individual strength upon his freedom and legendary status (because in 1858, an African-American, in dapper attire on a horse is going to draw attention). The stories usually dealt with reclaiming lost love or gold, here we get both, and with the similar quality of blood-soaked, graphic violence that made counterculture American westerns like The Wild Bunch so notorious. It's a daring artistic proposition, that entertainingly pays off.

Aside from the violence, the only thing that will potentially repel viewers from Django is the blatant displays of racism portrayed in the film. Yet, the racism in Django, while a subconscious political statement, is really a dramatic device used by Tarantino to remind viewers of how society viewed each other during this time period (one sequence involving a pre-KKK movement comes off as comically brilliant). Interestingly, I remember hearing very little about the anti-German sentiment and antisemitism that was portrayed in Inglourious Basterds. It is my personal opinion, as horrible as they are, that historical depictions of racism must avoid censorship, as a reminder of how far away we've matured as a society, and as a lesson why we should never tolerate them again.

Bold, ingenious, audacious. Django Unchained is currently my favorite film of 2012.

10/10

Peace,
- Jon

MOVIE REVIEW: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)

Revisionist/alternative history is slowly becoming a favorite genre of mine. About a year ago, I read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, also by Seth Grahame-Smith. I thought it was moderately enjoyable, having not read the Jane Austen novel, I couldn't appreciate the throwback references. However, when I caught wind of a film adaptation for one of his works; Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, I had to give it a shot.

Seeking revenge for the murderer of his mother, a young Abe Lincoln is rescued by a self-proclaimed vampire hunter, who begins to train him to be America's answer to Van Helsing. He learns that American vampires were descended from one in New Orleans, and have plans to turn the nation into a land of undead. Lincoln enters politics, and becomes President, but somehow needs to find a way to protect his secret identity from his family and the nation, in order to avoid opening a Pandora's Box of fear upon America.

AL:VH is basically a story of style over substance. I don't know if it was the storyline or the hammy, theatrical approach to the acting that resulted in something lost in translation for me, but the execution of the narrative for some reason didn't click with me. In fact, I got a little bored with a good chunk of the story. Fortunately, the film has enough action to spare, and comes off as very over-the-top yet grand when juxtaposed against the Civil War setting. While in the end, I didn't have much to say about the film as a whole, I appreciated it's sense of spectacle and look forward to the next Grahame-Smith adaptation...just as long as they work on tweaking the script a bit more.

6/10

Peace,
- Jon

MOVIE REVIEW: Silent Night (2012)

Yes Virginia, there are killer Santa films. Quite a few in fact, although none of them in particular have been very good. Silent Night in fact happens to be a "loose remake" of a controversial 80s slasher called (more pretentiously) Silent Night Deadly Night. I have seen the original before, and by all means, it's one tasteless, sick puppy of a film. It's not enjoyable by any stretch if you're looking for entertainment, but requires the viewer to suspend some moral fiber in case it might offend (a couple shots of strong eggnog will help). I have no interest in reviewing it for the sake of my sanity, but I came across the remake out of low expectations that maybe they tried something different and markedly improved. The result? Yes, but not by much...

In a small, Wisconsin town on Christmas Eve, the Sherriff and his young, attractive Deputy have responded to a bizarre murder where the killer has allegedly been sighted as wearing a Santa suit. That's bad news for the populace, because the town is so fired up for Christmas that they throw an annual Santa parade, complete with hundreds of potential suspects dressed as St. Nick. Each killing leads the duo to piece together a pattern to the murders, until they discover the killer Kringle's true motive.

The most distinct aspect this film has going for it is the police procedural, mystery edge to the story, that's helmed by the Sherriff and Deputy. The problem is, it's done a little clumsily, with a lot of guess-work going on in an attempt to create what ends up being poorly-written suspense that's barely worthy of "CSI." The rest is typical, ultra-violent, slasher fare with creative "kill-scenes" that are obviously a throwback to the 80s - bratty girl electrocuted by cattle prod, topless porn actress fed into a woodchipper, elf-clad blonde impaled on deer antlers (which also happened in the original) - I swear, I'm not making any of this up. Surely there's a core audience who...appreciates...this sort of stuff. Most of the time, I was either wincing or raising my eyebrows in disbelief.

I guess what the film does have going for it is Jamie King's performance as the Deputy, since she really manages to come off as the only relatable character in the entire story. Even the killer's identity feels like something of an afterthought, tacked onto the "meh" screenplay and leaving the door open for a possible slew of direct-to-DVD sequels. Also, let's face it: Most of my generation was raised on a diet of chipper Christmas films, only to discover "alternative" fare like Gremlins, or Die Hard in later years. I always welcome something "different" for the holidays. The only difference between those films and Silent Night, is that they were better films.

6/10

Peace,
- Jon

MOVIE REVIEW: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

Hello everyone, hope you're all enjoying your holidays. I've been back from school for roughly about a week, but have resumed blogging after a week of decadence. I just needed some "me" time, but now I'm done. Anyway, for the first of my three reviews, here's The Hobbit.

Most Tolkien fans are already familiar with the story: prior to Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Bilbo Baggins is paid a visit by Gandalf and a group of dwarves who he joins on a quest to reclaim their kingdom from a threatening dragon. Although Bilbo is reluctant at first, he discovers a sense of adventure amidst the journey, including a fateful encounter with a wayward hobbit named Gollum and "The One Ring."

Putting it nicely, The Hobbit is to Lord of the Rings what the Star Wars prequels are to the original trilogy. Some may cry blasphemy at my comparison, but I generally enjoyed those films, even if they were wholly inferior in comparison to their predecessors. The Hobbit dazzles viewers with the help of a ten-year advance in special effects between the series. Although I did not see the film in it's controversially ground-breaking, "soap opera-like" 48 frames-per-second, I've seen enough film and TV on LCD projections that I know it's really best served for films like these where the "smoothness" makes the CGI less obvious. At 169 minutes, it's a long endeavor, but with enough adventure, imagination, and distinct characters that it will keep your attention.

The Hobbit's biggest flaw is that it's esotericism comes with a strong reliance on comic relief, whereas viewers unfamiliar with Tolkien at the time Lord of the Rings was released (like me) were tenaciously drawn into the world of Middle Earth thanks to the trilogy's strong dramatic thrust. The Hobbit leans heavily on mild-frathouse humor, mostly from the dwarves. While it worked in bits and pieces in Rings, here it feels at times excessive, and borders on amateurish. Mature audiences (like my parents) will likely be bored by these antics, but the target teenage audience will likely gobble it up.

Most sentimentally, The Hobbit is a welcome reunion to Middle Earth for characters that were originally introduced in the series, and then some. I doubt it will win serious artistic accolades, but as a technical powerhouse, it is a force to be reckoned with.

7/10

Peace,
- Jon

MOVIE REVIEW: Argo (2012)

I'm really excited for the way this year has been shaping up, so far as film goes. And while this year has been punctuated by some good political works and thrillers, Argo is a successful combination of the two, with an even more unique plot. Being a true story, makes this one icing on the cake.

After being treated to a retro, WB-logo opening, the audience is briefed on the global political situation in 1979: The cancer-ridden Shah of Iran is controversially granted asylum in the United States, leaving his country behind poor, and his people bitter; all allegedly due to his excessive lifestyle and forced Westernization. Later that year, angry Iranians storm the American embassy, taking hostages while six manage to escape, taking sanctuary in the Canadian embassy. In 1980, knowing the foreign-servicemen and women's time in Iran is short, CIA agent Tony Mendez plans an extradition involving a false Canadian film production for a sci-fi sleazefest called "Argo." Once in Iran, Mendez needs to appease both the government and his countrymen that he needs to rescue, before executing the operation itself.

Argo is a caper film that feels very much like a product of it's time, and that's a good thing. Thrillers were among the top of their game around this point in time, at least what I've seen on an international scale. There's not a whole lot of action, but instead replaced by tense moments, human drama, and skilled attempts at making documentary/news footage relevant with what's happening. Essentially, the film is broken down into three tangible acts where the rescue operation is chronicled. By the time the film reaches the third act, you know how it's going to go down, but you're just as scared as the Americans as director Ben Affleck jumps us through Hitchcockian-hoops of tension that had my audience audibly gasping for air after these moments passed.

So then, the one area where Argo does feel a little strange is during the Hollywood sequence, where Mendez needs to find a pitch for the film. It's highly comical, lighthearted, and entertaining (with a hilarious performance by Alan Arkin, as a cantankerous producer), but felt a little out of place with the cold sincerity of the rest of the film. It's really hard to fault one part that happens to be highly entertaining, it's just a litte inconsistent with the tone of everything else.

Nonetheless, Argo is a tense, character-driven thriller that is definitely worth your time, and possibly one of the better films that you'll see all year. I won't be surprised if it picks up a few nods over the course of next year.

9/10

Peace,
- Jon

MOVIE REVIEW: Lincoln (2012)

Steven Spielberg, ever the consummate filmmaker, delivers a pensive, and thought-provoking account of President Abraham Lincoln's last four months in office. As with most films who's subject is a non-fictional character, I entered Lincoln with a sense of open-mindedness in considering which direction the story will go in. Although I would have liked to have seen some other areas of Lincoln's story elaborated on, as a film on his greatest achievement, this is a fine work, indeed.

Written by acclaimed playwright Tony Kushner, the story deals with the battles Lincoln undertook from within his cabinet to get the 13th Amendment, the Emancipation Proclamation, ratified in an attempt to end the Civil War. By abolishing slavery in the Union, Lincoln was convinced this amendment would make the Union look more sympathetic to abolitionists and slaves alike. Along with the ensuing political gridlock, he audience also gets a glimpse into his family life, detailing his strained marriage to his wife, and struggle with his eldest son's choice to join the army.

This film, in general, is a treat for history buffs. Those who revel in production aesthetics will be overjoyed by the 1860s costumes, Colonial architecture, and the detail Kushner and the actors have paid towards the speech and dialogue. The acting is outstanding, and I wouldn't be surprised if Lincoln collects the SAG award for Best Ensemble this year. It's no surprise that the biggest stars deliver the most notable performances. Tommy Lee Jones steals every scene he's in as the curmudgeonous Thaddeus Stevens. Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln does not get a lot of screen time, but portrays Mrs. Lincoln's fragility and mercurial personality perfectly. Daniel Day-Lewis...words alone will not do justice for the talent he brings as our 16th president, right down to the distinct inflection of his voice he brings Lincoln to life. I expect to see much news of him, come awards season.

So my criticisms of Lincoln relate mainly to the execution of the story itself. The title implies a biography, but Lincoln is nothing of the sort; just a chronicle of the man's most important moment of his entire presidency. The title's basically a draw-in; it would've been more appropriate and honest to call it something more related to the subject matter. Speaking of which, the glimpses and melodrama we observe of Lincoln's family are some of the most dramatic moments from a theatrical perspective. It's not to say Spielberg wasted some fine opportunities to explore these areas, but when one looks at something like The Godfather and says there can't be an argument made for great character drama in a contrasting story, I become skeptical.

Nonetheless, I still consider Lincoln one of the best films, albeit a flawed one, that 2012 had to offer.

8/10

Peace,
- Jon

MOVIE REVIEW: Skyfall (2012)

Skyfall is, in my opinion, without a doubt, the best of Daniel Craig's James Bond films. It's the perfect storm of the series' capable present roster of actors, renowned director Sam Mendes (who's responsible for one of my favorites, American Beauty), and a crew of reputable technicians with equally impressive resumes (I'm not kidding, there's at least 10 Oscar nods among the principals in the main credits). After a solid, but thematically jarring debut with Casino Royale and the underwhelmingly perfunctory Quantum of Solace, Skyfall is a welcome entry in the series that achieves something rare in James Bond films: It functions perfectly well as a stand-alone-film.

Of course, it would be a travesty not to mention Adele's exceptional eponymous title song that almost makes up for the trauma my ears endured from Alicia Keys and Jack White's "Another Way to Die." Adele, like the film itself, belts a tune that harkens back to James Bond's jazzy 1960s roots. It's a tragically romantic torch song with an incendiary beat that underlies the doom-and-gloom tone of the film, while still achieving a refined sound and infectious melody.

The film begins with Bond and his attractive female colleague Eve pursuing a terrorist in Turkey. Whilst fighting him atop a train, Bond is hit by friendly fire from Eve's sniper rifle and plummets into the ocean. Although Bond survives and lays low; taking a much-needed sabbatical filled with women and booze, his boss M starts taking heat from the British government (in the form of the Intelligence Committee Chairman, played by Ralph Fiennes) after a mysterious computer glitch outs the MI6 roster of "00 agents." Determined to unmask the culprit, M takes MI6 "underground," rehabilitates Bond, and hires a young hacker (who later beomes Q) to design new gadgetry for Bond. After identifying the culprit, the tables begin to turn as this cyberterrorist not only turns out to be crazy, but is out for revenge against MI6. 007 himself will need to get in touch with his past, in order to defeat this madman.

I thouroughly enjoyed everything about Skyfall in that it was such a fresh approach to a medium that has become long in the tooth. The best way I could describe this film can't even be with one adjective. It's a lot like The Dark Knight in that the film has a foreboding atmosphere and build-up towards very violent or tense conclusions. Since the series has reached it's 50th birthday, there are a lot of fun references thrown in to prior works; it's done in a refreshingly subtle way, and considerably less in-your-face than the last "anniversary Bond film," the over-the-top Die Another Day. Javier Bardem also gives a chilling performance as the villain, whose behavior strikingly resembles that of Heath Ledger's immortal rendition of The Joker. The rest of the main cast does well with the story, which does an interesting job of exploring more of Bond's past, all of which leads up to a gripping conclusion that opens the door to a more familiar direction for the series that Bond fans will likely be more comfortable with.

If there is any complaint to be had, it's that the film is very atypical-Bond when it comes to the more decadent aspects of the series. This is not one of those films where Bond gets to shmooze around with beautiful women and nice hotels (in fact, we only get one of those moments in Shanghai. His earlier escapades are sleazy, but not that explicit). Skyfall tones down these elements in order to put more focus on the main story. Even the main Bond girls are somewhat underplayed; Judi Dench, for the most part, is the film's "Bond girl" based on the amount of screen-time she shares with Bond, as well as her larger role in the story. It may be a bit disappointing for some fans, but more likely than not, something they will complain hinders the film, too much.

It's hard to say whether or not Skyfall is the best James Bond film ever made. To call one film in the series "the best" is arguably an objective notion when six different actors have played the same role in 23 films. Fans have their loyalties, and sentimentalities, as I have mine with GoldenEye. I would certainly argue that at this point in the canon of Daniel Craig's Bond films, Skyfall is the bloke's magnum opus. His tenure and the series will most likely take a different turn in the subsequent installment, but as the final chapter in his unofficial introductory "trilogy" as Bond, Skyfall takes chances, maintains a tense pace, and is simply an excellent spy/thriller in the vein of it's contemporaries that happens to masquerade as a "Bond film."

Until Christopher Nolan directs a James Bond film, well...this will just have to do for now.

9/10

Peace,
- Jon