Star Trek: Into Darkness

I must start this review with a confession- I have seen this movie 4 times so far (as of 14th June), in both 2D and 3D, as well as on the IMAX screen and standard sized theatre screens. All of this would indicate that I thoroughly enjoy this movie- which hands down I do. But it has made me think of some very interesting points.

Before I go any further I must use the words of one River Song and provide the following warning "spoilers sweetie!"

One of many movie posters for Into Darkness

While I'm by no means an expert Trekker (unlike many others out there), I have noticed that despite J.J. Abrams' stating that he doesn't want to tired to the original Trek lore (as evident with no numeral in the title of this movie), I contend that either intentionally or unintentionally Abrams is actually following in the path of the original movie series

For example, in Star Trek II: The Wraith of Khan, according to Wikipedia (yes, I know not a scientifically accurate website, but hey a remarkable well informed starting point for matters such as this) not only do we see the distraction of the Enterprise, but we also see the passing of our beloved Vulcan-Human Spock. Compare this to Darkness, where not only do we see Kirk heroically "die" saving the Enterprise from a near fatal re-entry to the earth's atmosphere, but we also essentially see the destruction of the Enterprise from it's visually stunning encounter with a psychopathic Starfleet admiral, then the notorious Khan. 

(L-R) Spok, Khan and Kirk.

Speaking of Khan, do I really need to mention the obvious connection between the two films? Don't get me wrong- Cumberbatch was brilliant in his performance and he has a stage presence which is enjoyable (his voice is deliciously evil I must admit), but the fact that the second movies in both series has me asking some questions.

Is there a reason for this, or is it just one big homage to the original series? After all, the nod to Christine Chapel was a nice reference to fans (one that I had to look up, despite the fact it did ring some bells in my head).

Apart from those two connections, what else can I say about this movie?

Not much- except to say that personally, I found it a brilliant movie with an interesting plot, brilliant acting from the cast and the effects amazing as per normal.

I shall end this review by mentioning something Marc Fennel mentioned in his discussion about this movie on The Spoiler Guys podcast- what is up with the camera angles facing towards the actors faces? You very rarely see their tummies.

Until next time  

Batman Begins

Movie Poster

I sadly have to admit I'm a late convert to this new Batman movie franchise, but I'm thankful I was afforded the opportunity to see all 3 of them on the big screen in a row. And all I could keep thinking was "Best! Movie! Franchise! Ever!"

I also have to admit liking the Batman movies of the 80s/90s- I mean yes the George Clooney one was a tad iffy but it was still an enjoyable movie. And yes compared with this trilogy; hell this movie alone; you can see how outdated the previous movies are, but 13 years is a long time and this movie is the start of a new journey, one that cannot be compared to the old one, but rather just admired and respected for a differing direction.

Directed by Christopher Nolan; the first thing noticeable about the movie is the tone and and direction this movie takes. You could tell from the instant the movie starts that it was going to be "gritty" for a lack of a better word and this movie doesn't disappoint. Another noticeable thing  is that apart from the opening studio logo; there is no opening credits.

The most important thing to note about this movie is the casting. Nolan has chosen an impeccable cast with Christian Bale, Katie Holmes (though her role was recast for The Dark Knight), Gary Oldman, Cilian Murphy in leading roles for this movie and all are perfect.

Despite all the fantastic things with this movie; I find it hard to give it an actual rating because it's so damn good! Having said that; I would give it 4 out of 5 evil bats.

Batman Trilogy Snapshot- now spoiler free!

So last night was the book night of the 7 hour (give or take) marathon session of Batman Begins, The Dark Night and the newly released The Dark Knight Rises at the fantastic Sun Theatre in Yarraville. It was a very enjoyable night, very well organised with plenty of drinks, a dinner box and the atmosphere was brilliant (despite the old queen in front of me falling asleep in the FIRST movie and snoring!!!).

But without giving much away in terms of spoilers, I can't say too much about The Dark Knight Rises (sadly I fell asleep for about 20 minute), but I will say it's very enjoyable movie.

As this is just a snapshot of the trilogy I'll keep it short and sweet with detailed reviews to follow over the next week (fingers crossed). Having ever seen any of them, I'm glad I saw it on the big screen. The entire trilogy is an interesting study in both the human condition as well as how fantastic movies can be with great casting, a brilliant director and a story/stories that don't treat the audience like they are mentally defective.

This leads into my next observation about the cinematography. As a whole, the trilogy is very dark in both the storyline as well as the tone, with the majority of the movies taking place in dark lit scenes. However, in The Dark Knight, this is contrasted as Dark Knight starts off in brightly lit scenes before descending into the chaotic dark world that is the Joker.

Heath Ledger. A treasure that went too soon.

Reviews for each movie to come soon.

Post Script- I must ad this last tidbit of information I found online.

Christopher Nolan said that the film's theme deals with "Pain" For Batman Begins, it was on "Fear", while The Dark Knight deals on "Chaos". An extra food for thought for you guys

Snapshot of The Amazing Spiderman (in 3D)

Having seen the Amazing Spider man in 3D today; I have to say my mind isn't made up about this movie.

Honestly- it's an enjoyable movie, great acting by Andrew Garfield et al, and the directing is of good quality, but the bigger question is was a reboot of the Spider Man franchise even necessary, not to mention the "use" of 3D is frankly quite questionable.

I'll go into details a bit later, in the meantime I'm psyching myself up for the Batman movie marathon tomorrow night at the Sun Theatre, Yarraville.

Untill I post again; may you all live long and prosper!

Ted- A Debut That Could

The trouble with hype, success or any variation thereupon is translating it from one medium to the other. Even if the medium is very similar to the original, for some reason the chances of continuing the success is hit or miss. Thankfully we don't have to worry about that with the debut feature film of Seth MacFarlane.

Ted can basically be described as a reverse Peter Pan; about a boy that DID grow up as well as a talking teddy bear that also grew up to become a foul mouthed, bong smoking, drug taking, alcoholic wannabe hipster.

It's hard to describe Ted and give it its kudos as it's a surprisingly well written comedy; a post on The Age website recently even mentioned that a lot of parents are taking their children to it; even as some as 8 (bare in mind that Ted is rated MA15+) so it's obvious the movie is at least somewhat riding on the brand appeal of MacFarlane; who as creator of Family Guy, American Dad! and (somewhat dubiously in my opinion) The Cleveland Show, is responsible for some of the funniest and smartest shows on TV of recent times.

But even with the brand appeal and hype of the MacFarlane brand, Ted stands up as a solid movie that has heaps of laugh out loud moments, as well as a plot that makes sense and doesn't suffer from any "hurry the hell up and get on it with it" moments.

To be honest the biggest "problem"I had with this movie was the casting of Mark Wahlberg as the adult John  Bennett; who as a child wished he had a talking teddy bear. While I can't fault his performance itself, I just didn't see any romantic connection between him and Mila Kunis who played his girlfriend Lori Collins. While they both are brilliant actors; I just didn't find it plausible that these two would be dating. Secondly; what the hell is up with his accent? I know it's supposed to be a Boston accent but for the entire duration of the movie I was wondering if it was meant to be a joke and if it was going to be acknowledge in any way.

Having said that; I could still overlook it and enjoy the movie and apparently so could the sold out session at the Sun Theatre who were consistently laughing out loud for the entire duration of the movie.

Rating 4/5

The Thunder Buddies song!

 

Snapshot of Ted

The hot new movie Ted is out on the 5th July 2012 and on a whole it's a brilliant movie.

Laugh out loud moments from beginning to end, Seth MacFarlanes' feature film debut has something for everyone and most importantly it has a plot line.

I'll post about Ted in depth later, but there really is only one thing I can fault with it.

The casting of Marky Mark.

Other then that; if you're on the fence about Ted, get off said fence and etch it. You won't regret it.

Update

So I've been slack and not posting anything. But this will all change.

Have seen a lot of good movies lately- Promethsus, Titanic 3D and Ted for example, and of course the 2012 MQFF.

I've found inspiration lately- thanks to life, and certain individuals who shall remain nameless and faceless- and thus I shall update more often.

Plan is once or twice a week, obviously dependant on any ideas and any movies I've seen lately. If I haven't seen any lately- I'll post something about a movie I like or just random thoughts on movies in general.