Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, the sequel to a film that debuted nine years ago, is the latest feature to debut on both 3d and flat screens. And I’d say that the film would’ve been better without the 3d effects.
The heroes of this film are an organization of secret agent dogs. Their newest recruit is Diggs, a German Shepherd booted out of SFPD for disastrously “resolving” a crisis at a Used Car lot. Lou the Beagle, head of the spy dogs and hero of the first film, recruits Diggs to the objections of his main dog Butch.
Their mission is to thwart the evil rogue cat Kitty Galore, who plots to drive all dogs mad by transmitting a horrendous sound all over the world. It’s all in revenge for her rejection by her former family after being disfigured by hair-removal cream. The heroic dogs are aided by heroic feline agent Catherine, her employers MEOWS, and the pigeon Seamus.
The 3d conversion on this film is the crummiest I’ve seen. It’s not only not that noticeable, but distracting and disorienting. What’s so special about that? Ironically, the 3d is far better in the new Road Runner cartoon that precedes this feature, so maybe it isn’t all that bad.
Strip away the 3d, and the film is actually far better. The Bond inspired credits sequence is a highlight, and a scene with hippy kitties is hilarious. Bette Midler, voice of the titular villain, is clearly having fun, as is former Bond Roger Moore as the head of MEOWS.
This’ll certainly entertain kids, and to some extent, the adults as well. But as I said, you won’t miss much if you see it on flat screen. Except for the Road Runner cartoon, and that is a frustrating dilemma.
About Me
- Jethrotcat
- This is the blog where I talk about the latest movies I've seen. These are my two Schnauzers, Rufus (left) and Marley (right, RIP). As of now, the Double Hollywood Strikes are officially over. May the next strikes not last as long as these ones did.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Salt
In many ways, Salt is the opposite of Inception: a film where big stunts and effects are the stars. However, this film has a few surprises to the point where it can be considered “Inception for non-thinkers.”
The salt of the film is not a condiment, but Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie), a CIA operative with an arachnologist husband and good standing in the agency. One day, she stays late to interrogate Russian agent Orlov (Daniel Olbrychski). Claiming to be dying, Orlov tells Salt of a conspiracy involving KGB sleeper agents to start World War III. One such agent will trigger the conspiracy by assassinating the (fictional) Russian President at the (fictional) U.S. Vice-President’s funeral.
When Orlov names Salt as the aforementioned agent, ONCIX agent Peabody (Chiwetel Ejiofor) immediately pursues her, while agent Ted Winter (Live Schrieber) tries to reason with Peabody. Of course, there’s another reason why Winter’s interested in helping Salt, but that’s a spoiler.
At times, Salt herself is convincingly desperate, while at others, she’s frustratingly chaotic evil. Some last act plot developments provide the surprises that redeem the latter a bit; however, a little more foreshadowing of her true intentions would’ve been nice.
There’s quite a bit of nice action scenes, which director Phillip Noyce (Patriot Games) has effective realized. And they help distract one from any story flaws. Yes, it’s just like the real spice, and that’s what makes it a good summer flick.
The salt of the film is not a condiment, but Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie), a CIA operative with an arachnologist husband and good standing in the agency. One day, she stays late to interrogate Russian agent Orlov (Daniel Olbrychski). Claiming to be dying, Orlov tells Salt of a conspiracy involving KGB sleeper agents to start World War III. One such agent will trigger the conspiracy by assassinating the (fictional) Russian President at the (fictional) U.S. Vice-President’s funeral.
When Orlov names Salt as the aforementioned agent, ONCIX agent Peabody (Chiwetel Ejiofor) immediately pursues her, while agent Ted Winter (Live Schrieber) tries to reason with Peabody. Of course, there’s another reason why Winter’s interested in helping Salt, but that’s a spoiler.
At times, Salt herself is convincingly desperate, while at others, she’s frustratingly chaotic evil. Some last act plot developments provide the surprises that redeem the latter a bit; however, a little more foreshadowing of her true intentions would’ve been nice.
There’s quite a bit of nice action scenes, which director Phillip Noyce (Patriot Games) has effective realized. And they help distract one from any story flaws. Yes, it’s just like the real spice, and that’s what makes it a good summer flick.
Eclipse
This is the story of werewolves, vampires and the teen girls who love them for some reason. The next two films based on Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight novels, based on her fourth, Breaking Dawn, will be directed by Oscar-winner Bill Condon (Dreamgirls). Meanwhile, this third entry, Eclipse, directed by David Slade (30 Days of Night), is what I think the first two should’ve been like.
Bella Swann (Kristen Stewart) and her vampire boyfriend Edward (Robert Patterson) are lovey-dovey as ever. Her werewolf friend, Jacob (Taylor Lautner), broods in the background fuming that she’s dating a bloodsucker.
Meanwhile, vampire villainess Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard) is out to kill Bella in Revenge by Proxy scheme for her mate James’s demise in the first film. That scheme involves raising an army of “Newborns,” freshly minted vampires superior to all others. To fight them, the vampiric Cullen clan must join with Jacob’s shape changing Quillite tribesmen for an old fashioned smack down.
So what has improved from the last two Twilight films? The teen soap operaness is far less over-the-top unlike the last film. The cinematography, by the last film’s Javier Aguirresarobe, suits the film’s dark atmosphere. And there is quite more action on-screen than off-camera or in flashback. Technically, this film does a good effort.
As for the “faces of Twilight,” aka the actors, they do an OK job at conveying their characters. The best one in the cast is Jodelle Ferland as a reluctant and thus, quite convincingly sympathetic Newborn vampire named Bree Tanner. Her final fate in the movie was quite effectively executed.
OK, I admit I’m not remotely in the target audience of the Twilight novels. But I think this’ll satisfy them very much; for everyone else, this film won’t do you any harm by seeing it.
Bella Swann (Kristen Stewart) and her vampire boyfriend Edward (Robert Patterson) are lovey-dovey as ever. Her werewolf friend, Jacob (Taylor Lautner), broods in the background fuming that she’s dating a bloodsucker.
Meanwhile, vampire villainess Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard) is out to kill Bella in Revenge by Proxy scheme for her mate James’s demise in the first film. That scheme involves raising an army of “Newborns,” freshly minted vampires superior to all others. To fight them, the vampiric Cullen clan must join with Jacob’s shape changing Quillite tribesmen for an old fashioned smack down.
So what has improved from the last two Twilight films? The teen soap operaness is far less over-the-top unlike the last film. The cinematography, by the last film’s Javier Aguirresarobe, suits the film’s dark atmosphere. And there is quite more action on-screen than off-camera or in flashback. Technically, this film does a good effort.
As for the “faces of Twilight,” aka the actors, they do an OK job at conveying their characters. The best one in the cast is Jodelle Ferland as a reluctant and thus, quite convincingly sympathetic Newborn vampire named Bree Tanner. Her final fate in the movie was quite effectively executed.
OK, I admit I’m not remotely in the target audience of the Twilight novels. But I think this’ll satisfy them very much; for everyone else, this film won’t do you any harm by seeing it.
Inception
If I were to explain the complete plot of Inception, director, writer and co-producer Christopher Nolan’s new sci-fi caper film, I’d take up too much time and confuse the living daylights out of my readers. So instead, I’ll parse it down in a few paragraphs.
The “heroes” of this film are Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), two thieves who steal ideas from people’s dreams. One day, businessman Saito (Ken Watanabe) proposes a unique idea: rather than swipe an idea from someone’s mind, they instead give someone a bright idea. This is the Inception of the title.
The plan is to give corporate heir Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy) an incentive that would cause his late father’s corporation to disintegrate. The heroes assemble their team and scam their way into Fischer’s trust so easily. But the specter of Cobb’s dead wife (Marion Cotillard) threatens to derail everything.
The film stylistically resembles Nolan’s two Batman features, especially with its cinematographer Wally Pfister filming this one. The best effects have to be either the “Shifting dream city” or the revolving hallway. The snowy fortress visited in the last part is an amazing locale. In short, as far as style goes, Inception is outstanding.
This is a summer film where effects play second fiddle to the story. It’s quite a complicated storyline that is most likely meant to make sense the more you think of it. The same can probably said about any dream, which is likely the point of this film.
Overall, Inception’s complexities help make this summer film quite a memorable one. This is the kind of films that should be coming out this summer; if Christopher Nolan keeps this up, then the inevitable third Batman feature will linger in the pop-cultural osmosis as much as this film.
The “heroes” of this film are Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), two thieves who steal ideas from people’s dreams. One day, businessman Saito (Ken Watanabe) proposes a unique idea: rather than swipe an idea from someone’s mind, they instead give someone a bright idea. This is the Inception of the title.
The plan is to give corporate heir Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy) an incentive that would cause his late father’s corporation to disintegrate. The heroes assemble their team and scam their way into Fischer’s trust so easily. But the specter of Cobb’s dead wife (Marion Cotillard) threatens to derail everything.
The film stylistically resembles Nolan’s two Batman features, especially with its cinematographer Wally Pfister filming this one. The best effects have to be either the “Shifting dream city” or the revolving hallway. The snowy fortress visited in the last part is an amazing locale. In short, as far as style goes, Inception is outstanding.
This is a summer film where effects play second fiddle to the story. It’s quite a complicated storyline that is most likely meant to make sense the more you think of it. The same can probably said about any dream, which is likely the point of this film.
Overall, Inception’s complexities help make this summer film quite a memorable one. This is the kind of films that should be coming out this summer; if Christopher Nolan keeps this up, then the inevitable third Batman feature will linger in the pop-cultural osmosis as much as this film.
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
You know it better as a part of Disney’s Fantasia, but the story of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice was once a poem by Goethe. Anyway, they’ll be remembered far better than this film version, which is directed by Jon Turteltaub, who did the two National Treasure films.
The film dumps its exposition in the beginning, explaining how Horvath (Alfred Molina), apprentice to Merlin himself defected to the side of the evil Morgana le Fey, and how fellow apprentice Balthazar (Nicolas Cage) sealed the villains in a magical matryoshka doll. Years later, in contemporary Manhattan, young Dave (played as an adult by Jay Baruchel) strolls in the now-immortal Balthazar’s shop and accidentally frees Horvath. The two rivals seal themselves in a vase for exactly ten years and then, the plot progresses…
As for the rest of the film, Dave learns from the now-free Balthazar that he’s the “Prime Merlinian,” the chosen one who can thwart le Fey forever. His magic ring is his weapon against Horvath and le Fey’s other servants, but he has to use it properly or else a simple clean-up job becomes a big mess.
Having spent too long on exposition, I’ll cut to the chase. There’s quite a bit of cool CGI effects, including a fight with a dragon and the obligatory walking brooms sequence. Toby Kebbell, as Horvath’s own apprentice, is quite amusing.
But still, producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s not gonna match the cultural longevity of Pirates of the Caribbean with this one. Overall verdict is this: see this one if all you want is a fairly decent afternoon timewaster, for that’s all this is.
The film dumps its exposition in the beginning, explaining how Horvath (Alfred Molina), apprentice to Merlin himself defected to the side of the evil Morgana le Fey, and how fellow apprentice Balthazar (Nicolas Cage) sealed the villains in a magical matryoshka doll. Years later, in contemporary Manhattan, young Dave (played as an adult by Jay Baruchel) strolls in the now-immortal Balthazar’s shop and accidentally frees Horvath. The two rivals seal themselves in a vase for exactly ten years and then, the plot progresses…
As for the rest of the film, Dave learns from the now-free Balthazar that he’s the “Prime Merlinian,” the chosen one who can thwart le Fey forever. His magic ring is his weapon against Horvath and le Fey’s other servants, but he has to use it properly or else a simple clean-up job becomes a big mess.
Having spent too long on exposition, I’ll cut to the chase. There’s quite a bit of cool CGI effects, including a fight with a dragon and the obligatory walking brooms sequence. Toby Kebbell, as Horvath’s own apprentice, is quite amusing.
But still, producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s not gonna match the cultural longevity of Pirates of the Caribbean with this one. Overall verdict is this: see this one if all you want is a fairly decent afternoon timewaster, for that’s all this is.
Predators
Last time we saw Fox’s extraterrestrial hunters, they hunted down Fox’s extraterrestrial terrors in two Alien vs. Predator films. Now, twenty years after they had a film for themselves, the Predators have returned in, drum roll please, Predators!
The brainchild of Producer Robert Rodriguez and realized by director Nimrod Antal, this film drops a whole bunch of soldiers, criminals and even a “pharmacist” (Topher Grace) into the jungle in the first few minutes. Led by Royce (Adrien Brody), our “heroes” quickly discover that wherever they are, they are not on Earth. Just as quickly, Royce realizes their new surroundings are a game preserve with themselves as the prey. And then the real stars of the show come in…
And, that’s it for plot. Then again, all it is supposed to be is an action film.
Yes, the film is gory, but it doesn’t really drown itself in a sea of blood. Instead, the film provides plenty of suspenseful action to go along with the blunt set pieces that highlight the film. In a way, this puts it on similar ground as Ridley Scott’s Alien from 1979.
These characters maybe stereotypical, or at worst, unsympathetic, but somehow, these characters are appealing at best. The cast highlight is Grace, as the pharmacist who starts off a hapless nerd, but is really more than he lets on. And in a cameo role, Laurence Fishburne is a nice surprise.
Unlike a few other summer films, Predators doesn’t flash the latest in visual effects and the loudest of noises. In fact, the titular creatures are effectively created by practical makeup effects. And really, there’s nothing wrong with simplicity. This is why Predators is quite worth the trip to see this summer.
The brainchild of Producer Robert Rodriguez and realized by director Nimrod Antal, this film drops a whole bunch of soldiers, criminals and even a “pharmacist” (Topher Grace) into the jungle in the first few minutes. Led by Royce (Adrien Brody), our “heroes” quickly discover that wherever they are, they are not on Earth. Just as quickly, Royce realizes their new surroundings are a game preserve with themselves as the prey. And then the real stars of the show come in…
And, that’s it for plot. Then again, all it is supposed to be is an action film.
Yes, the film is gory, but it doesn’t really drown itself in a sea of blood. Instead, the film provides plenty of suspenseful action to go along with the blunt set pieces that highlight the film. In a way, this puts it on similar ground as Ridley Scott’s Alien from 1979.
These characters maybe stereotypical, or at worst, unsympathetic, but somehow, these characters are appealing at best. The cast highlight is Grace, as the pharmacist who starts off a hapless nerd, but is really more than he lets on. And in a cameo role, Laurence Fishburne is a nice surprise.
Unlike a few other summer films, Predators doesn’t flash the latest in visual effects and the loudest of noises. In fact, the titular creatures are effectively created by practical makeup effects. And really, there’s nothing wrong with simplicity. This is why Predators is quite worth the trip to see this summer.
Despicable Me
The umpteenth film in this short span of months to come on both 3d and flat screens, Despicable Me actually works wonders in the 3d format. Take away the fancy “throw stuff at the screen” effects and it still works.
Our villainous hero is Gru (Steve Carrel), who’s supposed to be a big time villain, but is more of a wash-up. His grand plan is to shrink and steal the moon itself, but he can’t even get a loan from The Bank of Evil (“Formerly Lehman Brothers,” as its sign proclaims) to secure his plan. When he does get the shrink-ray essential for his plan, it’s swiped from him by up-and-coming baddie Vector (Jason Segal).
Good ol’ Gru fails to steal back the shrink-ray from Vector’s fortress, and that’s when he sees three orphan girls: Margo, Edith and Agnes sell some cookies to Vector. Shameless opportunist he is, Gru adopts the girls as unwitting pawns in his scheme. Despite his efforts, Gru ends up liking becoming a surrogate father for these three.
This film’s use of 3d effects is not despicably inept in the least. Whether in the film’s amusement park scenes, or in its displays of villainous gadgetry, the 3d effects are, simply put, there. Subtlety works great in other effects films, but with a format that eschews subtlety, one shouldn’t ask for anything less.
Without the 3d effects, everything else, as I said before, still works. Gru makes a likeable anti-villain, Vector a capably smug real-villain, while Gru’s harsh mother (Julie Andrews in a Transylvanian accent) and Gru’s yellow “minions” are hilarious highlights.
Whatever the price you pay for this film, Despicable Me is worth it all the way.
Our villainous hero is Gru (Steve Carrel), who’s supposed to be a big time villain, but is more of a wash-up. His grand plan is to shrink and steal the moon itself, but he can’t even get a loan from The Bank of Evil (“Formerly Lehman Brothers,” as its sign proclaims) to secure his plan. When he does get the shrink-ray essential for his plan, it’s swiped from him by up-and-coming baddie Vector (Jason Segal).
Good ol’ Gru fails to steal back the shrink-ray from Vector’s fortress, and that’s when he sees three orphan girls: Margo, Edith and Agnes sell some cookies to Vector. Shameless opportunist he is, Gru adopts the girls as unwitting pawns in his scheme. Despite his efforts, Gru ends up liking becoming a surrogate father for these three.
This film’s use of 3d effects is not despicably inept in the least. Whether in the film’s amusement park scenes, or in its displays of villainous gadgetry, the 3d effects are, simply put, there. Subtlety works great in other effects films, but with a format that eschews subtlety, one shouldn’t ask for anything less.
Without the 3d effects, everything else, as I said before, still works. Gru makes a likeable anti-villain, Vector a capably smug real-villain, while Gru’s harsh mother (Julie Andrews in a Transylvanian accent) and Gru’s yellow “minions” are hilarious highlights.
Whatever the price you pay for this film, Despicable Me is worth it all the way.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
The Last Airbender
I’m sure director, writer and producer M. Night Shyamalan tried, but the film of the cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender isn’t really that great. It has some good spots, but not enough unfortunately.
Simply called The Last Airbender to avoid confusion with the recent blockbuster, this film is available in both flat and 3d screens. With the 3d added at the last minute, you can guess which I saw.
The cartoon and this film concern nations of people who can control, or “bend” the elements of fire, water, earth and air. The Fire Nation, led by Fire Lord Ozai is out to conquer the world. Having reduced the Airbenders to the brink of extinction, they set their sights on the other two nations.
Two kids from the Water Tribe, Sokka and his sister Katara accidentally free young Aang from a century-long slumber in an Iceberg. It turns out Aang is the titular last Airbender and the Avatar, the one bender that controls them all and thus, the one who can thwart Ozai. But since Aang’s skills in the other three elements are nil, our heroes must get him trained immediately.
This film’s fatal flaw is that it plays out as a plot summary of the first season of the cartoon. It skims through important events and leaves character development second. It’s mainly the secondary characters that ultimately suffer, although the leads get their share of it.
This film also violates the rule of show, don’t tell. Instead of showing, for instance, how Aang got frozen, Katara’s narration simply states, paraphrased, “Aang ran away and got frozen.” Those two aren’t the same.
Among the bright spots in the film is the score, provided by James Newton Howard, which helps the battle scenes. The production and costume designs should also be mentioned for their fine use of color. And the elementally-aided fight scenes are also nicely done.
In the cartoon, the Avatar is continuously reborn after death into newer lives. Let’s just hope the next incarnation is better thought out.
Simply called The Last Airbender to avoid confusion with the recent blockbuster, this film is available in both flat and 3d screens. With the 3d added at the last minute, you can guess which I saw.
The cartoon and this film concern nations of people who can control, or “bend” the elements of fire, water, earth and air. The Fire Nation, led by Fire Lord Ozai is out to conquer the world. Having reduced the Airbenders to the brink of extinction, they set their sights on the other two nations.
Two kids from the Water Tribe, Sokka and his sister Katara accidentally free young Aang from a century-long slumber in an Iceberg. It turns out Aang is the titular last Airbender and the Avatar, the one bender that controls them all and thus, the one who can thwart Ozai. But since Aang’s skills in the other three elements are nil, our heroes must get him trained immediately.
This film’s fatal flaw is that it plays out as a plot summary of the first season of the cartoon. It skims through important events and leaves character development second. It’s mainly the secondary characters that ultimately suffer, although the leads get their share of it.
This film also violates the rule of show, don’t tell. Instead of showing, for instance, how Aang got frozen, Katara’s narration simply states, paraphrased, “Aang ran away and got frozen.” Those two aren’t the same.
Among the bright spots in the film is the score, provided by James Newton Howard, which helps the battle scenes. The production and costume designs should also be mentioned for their fine use of color. And the elementally-aided fight scenes are also nicely done.
In the cartoon, the Avatar is continuously reborn after death into newer lives. Let’s just hope the next incarnation is better thought out.
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