Seems like an awful lot of water for a title like that...
Hunger Games is an interesting series. It's taken a lot of flack for appearing to be little more than a knockoff of a Japanese thriller, but regardless the books have garnered enough success to enlist the acting talents of the incomparable Jennifer Lawrence, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, and Josh Hutcherson. I have not written a formal review of the first Hunger Games movie, but personally I found it to be remarkably average. Nothing really stood out to me about this relatively faithful, plain-Jane adaptation of an interesting book series. I enjoyed the series myself, but the movie failed to deliver on the premise of the book, partially by its unwillingness to be bloody enough to make even the most weak-hearted of preteens cringe.
"Catching Fire" is a different story. It seemed to broach most of the conflicts of the book with the subtlety and tenderness of a freight train, showing the truly torrid love triangle of Katniss, Peeta, and Gale in a way that the first movie fell short of accomplishing. Katniss is recovering from the trauma of the Hunger Games in her home town when she is forced back into the spotlight with Peeta on their tour around Panem. Katniss, like every "victor" that survives the Games, has severe PTSD from the whole ordeal and finds comfort in sharing her struggle with Peeta. Katniss is also forced to continue her fake romance with Peeta in order to convince the country that her defiance of the Capital at the last Hunger Games was prompted by love rather than rebellion. All this makes her relationship with Gale strained to say the least.Despite their best efforts to convince the world that their love is real and the Capital is the rightful governing body, the country begins falling into rebellion. To stop the spread of Katniss' symbol of rebellion, President Snow has the surviving victors thrown back into the arena for the 75th Hunger Games.
I'm starting to become worried for Lawrence, as she seems to thrive in the role of emotionally damaged yet dangerous woman caught in bizarre relationships, as she has already shown in "Silver Linings Playbook." Lawrence has truly come into her own with Katniss, and every scene that doesn't involve the character's customary stony stare is a powerhouse of emotion. Woody Harrelson is fantastic as always in delivering on the comic relief that a story this depressing desperately needs. In addition to the acting, the visual effects of this film elevate it even further, though the classic orange/blue contrast is starting to become a little tired.
My only issue with this movie would have to be the same that I had with the new "Les Miserables" movie. My issue is that I do not understand the appeal of a close-up so close that I can look up the nostrils of an A-list Hollywood actress. Yes, Ms. Lawrence is quite beautiful, but I'm pretty sure that I would be able to distinguish her emotions from a distance of several feet instead of inches. Close-ups can be nice, but when the actor's entire head no longer fits on the screen it seems excessive. The film even ends on an extreme close-up and cuts to black, and I think it might have been a bit more intriguing had I not seen the same camera angles of the same actors a dozen times previously.
"Catching Fire" earns a See It for great acting, visual effects, and a story with twists and turns that will keep anyone who hasn't already read the books wondering what will happen next for the entire run time.
Until next time, what are your thoughts on the movie? I love to hear the opinions!
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World-So Many Numbers...
Saying "stylized Edgar Wright movie" is like saying "violent Quentin Tarantino movie," but "Scott Pilgrim" takes it to a whole new level. Pun intended.
Our story follows the daily life of slacker bassist and "lady-killer jerky jerk face" Scott Pilgrim as he struggles with life, love, and insane, over the top visual effects. Scott was dumped by his girlfriend a year earlier and is still struggling to cope with the loss through dating and cruelly dumping women, including a seventeen year-old Chinese high school student. Scott meets Ramona Flowers, edgy-hipster-girl-with-dyed-hair-and-a-dark-past extraordinaire and falls head over heels. Unfortunately he must fight her seven evil exes to earn the right to date her. So, you know standard stuff.
From the beginning of the movie, I felt a little left out because I have never read the graphic novel series that the movie was based on. I am a strong advocate that movies should be able to establish their own world without the crutch of any source material, and "Scott Pilgrim" accomplishes this admirably. My issue, however, was with the character of Scott. Is he really this much of a whiny piece of shit in the books? I usually find it easy to separate actor from character, but all I could see for the first hour was Michael Cera being Michael Cera: seemingly soft-spoken and intelligent with a bit of wit and sarcasm, undercut by deep psychological trauma that makes him an insufferable asshole. I can only assume that they picked Cera because he matched the character perfectly but damn it if it doesn't seem like he didn't have to put in an hour of work on this one.
Aside from the pitiful character of Pilgrim for the first half of the movie, the rest of the cast and characters form a delightfully tangential world among themselves. Every character seems to have their own desires and emotions rather than being a uniform backdrop to the kitschy nightmare that I feared at the movie's start. Many noteworthy and entertaining actors jump in and out of the narrative at will but few of them can exit a room without tossing a quip over their shoulder. The humor is spot-on, the acting is great, and the entire atmosphere, as in many of Wright's films, is fast-paced and fun enough that we, the audience, can disregard some of the bat shit insanity. Though I wouldn't put the film on the same level as "Shaun of the Dead," Edgar Wright's brilliant directing is still very apparent throughout the film.
The visual effects can be jarring and unsettling, but I found myself right at home. That being said, I have strange sensibilities such that tossing around a few Zelda sound bites can bring me to the edge of my seat. That being said, Edgar Wright does a fantastic job engrossing the viewer into the manic world of Scott Pilgrim. It begins subtly, with just a dash comic book-esque onomatopoeia thrown in for flavor, but this rapidly changes after the first battle. As Scott begins to fight with a strength and speed that seem unlikely for a twenty-something Canadian bassist, surrounded by enormous glowing hit counters and high scores, reaction shots of the audience looking around in disbelief help keep the world in check. Fighting like Greek gods hurling lightning bolts at each other is not normal in this world, but that doesn't prevent it from happening shockingly often. After the first fight, the video game styled effects come fast and loose, popping up at every opportunity, but by this point I was hooked. The style is charming and flashy and, as I mentioned before, I'm a sucker for video game references.
I'm having trouble quantifying my feelings for "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" but, being the reviewer, it is my solemn duty to soldier on through all adversity. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie because I have an unusually high tolerance for Michael Cera and a Pavlovian response to pixel art and big, glowing numbers. Many people, however, are not as easily charmed by these things as I and I must make my decision for the masses...or at least the masses of fans and friends of fans and average moviegoers who have already seen it. "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" earns a "Watch It" for excellent acting, well-paced action, and the pure style, humor, and brilliant editing that we have come to expect from Edgar Wright.
Until next time, what are your thoughts on the movie? I love hearing the opinions!
Our story follows the daily life of slacker bassist and "lady-killer jerky jerk face" Scott Pilgrim as he struggles with life, love, and insane, over the top visual effects. Scott was dumped by his girlfriend a year earlier and is still struggling to cope with the loss through dating and cruelly dumping women, including a seventeen year-old Chinese high school student. Scott meets Ramona Flowers, edgy-hipster-girl-with-dyed-hair-and-a-dark-past extraordinaire and falls head over heels. Unfortunately he must fight her seven evil exes to earn the right to date her. So, you know standard stuff.
From the beginning of the movie, I felt a little left out because I have never read the graphic novel series that the movie was based on. I am a strong advocate that movies should be able to establish their own world without the crutch of any source material, and "Scott Pilgrim" accomplishes this admirably. My issue, however, was with the character of Scott. Is he really this much of a whiny piece of shit in the books? I usually find it easy to separate actor from character, but all I could see for the first hour was Michael Cera being Michael Cera: seemingly soft-spoken and intelligent with a bit of wit and sarcasm, undercut by deep psychological trauma that makes him an insufferable asshole. I can only assume that they picked Cera because he matched the character perfectly but damn it if it doesn't seem like he didn't have to put in an hour of work on this one.
Aside from the pitiful character of Pilgrim for the first half of the movie, the rest of the cast and characters form a delightfully tangential world among themselves. Every character seems to have their own desires and emotions rather than being a uniform backdrop to the kitschy nightmare that I feared at the movie's start. Many noteworthy and entertaining actors jump in and out of the narrative at will but few of them can exit a room without tossing a quip over their shoulder. The humor is spot-on, the acting is great, and the entire atmosphere, as in many of Wright's films, is fast-paced and fun enough that we, the audience, can disregard some of the bat shit insanity. Though I wouldn't put the film on the same level as "Shaun of the Dead," Edgar Wright's brilliant directing is still very apparent throughout the film.
The visual effects can be jarring and unsettling, but I found myself right at home. That being said, I have strange sensibilities such that tossing around a few Zelda sound bites can bring me to the edge of my seat. That being said, Edgar Wright does a fantastic job engrossing the viewer into the manic world of Scott Pilgrim. It begins subtly, with just a dash comic book-esque onomatopoeia thrown in for flavor, but this rapidly changes after the first battle. As Scott begins to fight with a strength and speed that seem unlikely for a twenty-something Canadian bassist, surrounded by enormous glowing hit counters and high scores, reaction shots of the audience looking around in disbelief help keep the world in check. Fighting like Greek gods hurling lightning bolts at each other is not normal in this world, but that doesn't prevent it from happening shockingly often. After the first fight, the video game styled effects come fast and loose, popping up at every opportunity, but by this point I was hooked. The style is charming and flashy and, as I mentioned before, I'm a sucker for video game references.
I'm having trouble quantifying my feelings for "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" but, being the reviewer, it is my solemn duty to soldier on through all adversity. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie because I have an unusually high tolerance for Michael Cera and a Pavlovian response to pixel art and big, glowing numbers. Many people, however, are not as easily charmed by these things as I and I must make my decision for the masses...or at least the masses of fans and friends of fans and average moviegoers who have already seen it. "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" earns a "Watch It" for excellent acting, well-paced action, and the pure style, humor, and brilliant editing that we have come to expect from Edgar Wright.
Until next time, what are your thoughts on the movie? I love hearing the opinions!
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