The 80's movie superhero has returned.
This new RoboCop, from director José Padilha, replaces the bleak satire of Paul Verhoeven's original blockbuster with more "grounded" super-heroics. It's a different entity, but this new one is still worth it.
In the somewhat distant future, the US Military patrols the world with its drone army supplied by the diabolical OmniCorp. But a Senate Bill prevents the drone army from coming to the homefront. OmniCorp CEO Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton) decides to get around it by making a cyborg warrior. After all, that would make it somewhat human.
Detroit Officer Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) discovers corruption within his bureau. He's then blown up by a car bomb from the crooked cops. Dr. Norton (Gary Oldman) of OmniCorp rebuilds Murphy into the company's new crime-fighting cyborg. "RoboCop" proves so good at his job that the pesky Senate Bill's days might be numbered. But Murphy becomes a liability to OmniCorp when he decides to investigate the incident that changed him.
I must emphasize again that this is a different entity than the 1987 movie. And never is this difference more obvious than the eponymous character's suit, which goes from the original film's silver-and-white color scheme to an all-black one. It may take some time to get used to the latter suit colors; still, they look great in the film's nighttime scenes. A few fans may be happy to know that the original colors aren't forgotten about by the end.
Like the original film, this new one does take aim at today's most political topics. This is mainly done in the show-within-the-show, "The Novak Element," whose host is played by Samuel L. Jackson. Amongst the highlights: "Illegal American Immigrants in Mexico." Jackson, as Novak, is entertaining, even if his character is unhinged.
There's plenty of good visual effects to speak of. Among them include the CGI update of the original "ED-209," whose movement might satisfy those who found the original's stop-motion too lackluster. Another good, yet shocking effect, was the reveal of what's just underneath Murphy's suit (not much). More optimistically, the film's use of holographic flashbacks was great. They're amazing for a film from so early this year.
RoboCop may be different from the original; but then again, a beat-by-beat take on the original would have been pointless. For what it's trying to be, this new Robo greatly succeeds. Only time will tell if it will be as respected as its cult classic originator.
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.
Monday, February 17, 2014
Friday, February 14, 2014
The Lego Movie
Yeah, they made one of those.
And it's cool.
The Lego Movie stars Emmet (Chris Pratt), a generic construction worker in Lego World. He's so generic that none of his "friends" know him. One day, after hours, he spots the mysterious Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks) sniffing around for something. Emmet finds the something that the evil Lord/President Business (Will Ferrell) wants.
The something is the "Piece of Resistance" that can plug up the mysterious "Kragle." Lord President Business wants to use it to glue the Lego folks into place so that they'll be as "they should be."
Only the Master Builders, able to quickly build anything without instruction manuals, can oppose Business. And Emmet is the prophesied "the Special," the greatest Master Builder ever. Or, at least that's what they all think. But Emmet is so un-original that one might think the prophecy made a mistake. Or did it?
The incredibly silly story by directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller (with Dan and Kevin Hageman) is no detriment at all. Adults will have a good time laughing at the cliches thrown around and spoofed. Kids will have a good time laughing at the silliness of all the characters. And of course, there's a twist that changes the whole nature of the movie.
Lord Business's henchman, Bad Cop/Good Cop, is a real stand out. That's because the alternatively cheery/gruff villain is the last character you'd expect to be played by Liam Neeson. The passive aggressive Uni-Kitty (Alison Brie) is also a fun character.
The Lego Movie may be a toy commercial, but it's a good looking one. The CGI makes the characters so Lego-like that you'd think it was real Lego. And it was fun to see normally serious characters getting spoofed light-heartedly.
Last year, I waited all year before a great animated movie showed up (that was Frozen). This year, that great animated movie has come already. The Lego Movie wants its audience to have fun and it succeeds. Hope there's more great animated movies after this.
And it's cool.
The Lego Movie stars Emmet (Chris Pratt), a generic construction worker in Lego World. He's so generic that none of his "friends" know him. One day, after hours, he spots the mysterious Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks) sniffing around for something. Emmet finds the something that the evil Lord/President Business (Will Ferrell) wants.
The something is the "Piece of Resistance" that can plug up the mysterious "Kragle." Lord President Business wants to use it to glue the Lego folks into place so that they'll be as "they should be."
Only the Master Builders, able to quickly build anything without instruction manuals, can oppose Business. And Emmet is the prophesied "the Special," the greatest Master Builder ever. Or, at least that's what they all think. But Emmet is so un-original that one might think the prophecy made a mistake. Or did it?
The incredibly silly story by directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller (with Dan and Kevin Hageman) is no detriment at all. Adults will have a good time laughing at the cliches thrown around and spoofed. Kids will have a good time laughing at the silliness of all the characters. And of course, there's a twist that changes the whole nature of the movie.
Lord Business's henchman, Bad Cop/Good Cop, is a real stand out. That's because the alternatively cheery/gruff villain is the last character you'd expect to be played by Liam Neeson. The passive aggressive Uni-Kitty (Alison Brie) is also a fun character.
The Lego Movie may be a toy commercial, but it's a good looking one. The CGI makes the characters so Lego-like that you'd think it was real Lego. And it was fun to see normally serious characters getting spoofed light-heartedly.
Last year, I waited all year before a great animated movie showed up (that was Frozen). This year, that great animated movie has come already. The Lego Movie wants its audience to have fun and it succeeds. Hope there's more great animated movies after this.
Friday, February 7, 2014
The Monuments Men
The Monuments Men was supposed to be one of this year's Oscar contenders. But when production hit a snag, it got deployed over here. Now, it remains to be seen if voters will remember it next year.
Director/Star/Co-Writer George Clooney's latest film documents the formation of the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Program during World War II. The program, whose members were nicknamed The Monuments Men, hunted down artwork that the Nazis had purloined. It was the subject of a book by Robert M. Edsel, from which the screenplay was derived.
In this movie, Clooney is Art Professor Frank Stokes, leader of the band. His fellow Monuments Men are art experts, including curators and architects. They go into Axis territory during the last year of the war to steal the stolen art.
They're not the only ones with an investment in the artwork. The Soviets want the art as restitution for their loses. The Nazis want to destroy it all should the Third Reich fall. The Allied superiors wonder what's so important about the mission. As it turns out, preserving the history of entire civilizations is very important.
The film has some lively production design from James D. Bissell. But its plot is rather stiff. We know that the Nazis and Soviets have plans for the art. But the film moves along so leisurely that it diminishes the narrative tension. A few individual scenes, such as one with a broken landmine, do not have this problem.
Composer Alexander Desplat's score is a great contribution to the picture. It gives the film the suitably heroic mood that it wanted to invoke. You'll remember it even if your attention starts to wane. It's truly the film's best quality.
The film's casting is good. Asides from Clooney, there's the likes of Matt Damon, John Goodman, Bill Murray and Cate Blanchett. They're all good fits for the character types they're playing. Especially Murray as the deadpan Chicago architect. None are miscast.
It's a respectable effort from this cast. But The Monuments Men isn't that much of a lively history tour. It's watchable, but not above-and-beyond memorable. Instead, it lands in the middle-ground of World War II pictures.
Director/Star/Co-Writer George Clooney's latest film documents the formation of the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Program during World War II. The program, whose members were nicknamed The Monuments Men, hunted down artwork that the Nazis had purloined. It was the subject of a book by Robert M. Edsel, from which the screenplay was derived.
In this movie, Clooney is Art Professor Frank Stokes, leader of the band. His fellow Monuments Men are art experts, including curators and architects. They go into Axis territory during the last year of the war to steal the stolen art.
They're not the only ones with an investment in the artwork. The Soviets want the art as restitution for their loses. The Nazis want to destroy it all should the Third Reich fall. The Allied superiors wonder what's so important about the mission. As it turns out, preserving the history of entire civilizations is very important.
The film has some lively production design from James D. Bissell. But its plot is rather stiff. We know that the Nazis and Soviets have plans for the art. But the film moves along so leisurely that it diminishes the narrative tension. A few individual scenes, such as one with a broken landmine, do not have this problem.
Composer Alexander Desplat's score is a great contribution to the picture. It gives the film the suitably heroic mood that it wanted to invoke. You'll remember it even if your attention starts to wane. It's truly the film's best quality.
The film's casting is good. Asides from Clooney, there's the likes of Matt Damon, John Goodman, Bill Murray and Cate Blanchett. They're all good fits for the character types they're playing. Especially Murray as the deadpan Chicago architect. None are miscast.
It's a respectable effort from this cast. But The Monuments Men isn't that much of a lively history tour. It's watchable, but not above-and-beyond memorable. Instead, it lands in the middle-ground of World War II pictures.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
August: Osage County
A cast of big names brings Tracy Letts' prize-winning play August: Osage County to the big screen. The end result is like watching the play on screen. For better and worse.
Beverly Weston (Sam Shepard) used to be a well respected poet. His career long in decline, Beverly's taken to the bottle. He opens the story by interviewing a live-in nanny, Johnna (Misty Upham). Almost immediately, he jumps in a lake and drowns. His wife, Violet (Meryl Streep), is supposed to bring the family together in this time of need. But she's suffering from cancer of the mouth and is utterly insane and bitter with the world.
Some of the other family members aren't better.
Eldest daughter Barbara (Julia Roberts) tries to bring the family together. But her sinking ship of a marriage makes her just as bitter as her mother. Violet's sister Mattie Fae (Margo Martindale) seems like a nice woman. But she's uncharacteristically harsh towards her son, "Little Charles" (Benedict Cumberbatch) for reasons later explained. Middle daughter Ivy (Julianne Nicholson) plans to elope with Little Charles. And youngest daughter Karen (Juliette Lewis) has a fiancé, Steve (Dermot Mulroney), who has designs on Barbara's daughter Jean (Abigail Breslin).
(Excuse me while I catch my breath.)
The secret word of the day is "BLUNT." That word describes director John Wells' rendition of the play, whose screenplay was written by Letts himself. When people get yell, they REALLY YELL. When they're sad, they're REALLY SAD. And when Meryl Streep, as Violet, acts insane, she's REALLY INSANE. It's like the play itself was performed right next to the screen. Not on the screen. Next to it.
It's been described as a Dark Comedy. But the presentation makes it just too dark to be darkly funny. I was just wondering many times what was supposed to be funny. The only thing I honestly laughed at was the climactic lunch scene, if only because it was overacted kind of stupid.
The only saving grace was Chris Cooper as Charles Sr., the nicest and sanest man in the movie. At first, he lacks the power to stop his wife's treatment of his son. But when he gets it, he rightfully calls her out on it. His performance was the best because it was the quietest of the movie.
Is this a work that only works on stage? No. I think this work should have been executed better on film. If it was, August: Osage County would have been a great family dramedy. Oh well.
Beverly Weston (Sam Shepard) used to be a well respected poet. His career long in decline, Beverly's taken to the bottle. He opens the story by interviewing a live-in nanny, Johnna (Misty Upham). Almost immediately, he jumps in a lake and drowns. His wife, Violet (Meryl Streep), is supposed to bring the family together in this time of need. But she's suffering from cancer of the mouth and is utterly insane and bitter with the world.
Some of the other family members aren't better.
Eldest daughter Barbara (Julia Roberts) tries to bring the family together. But her sinking ship of a marriage makes her just as bitter as her mother. Violet's sister Mattie Fae (Margo Martindale) seems like a nice woman. But she's uncharacteristically harsh towards her son, "Little Charles" (Benedict Cumberbatch) for reasons later explained. Middle daughter Ivy (Julianne Nicholson) plans to elope with Little Charles. And youngest daughter Karen (Juliette Lewis) has a fiancé, Steve (Dermot Mulroney), who has designs on Barbara's daughter Jean (Abigail Breslin).
(Excuse me while I catch my breath.)
The secret word of the day is "BLUNT." That word describes director John Wells' rendition of the play, whose screenplay was written by Letts himself. When people get yell, they REALLY YELL. When they're sad, they're REALLY SAD. And when Meryl Streep, as Violet, acts insane, she's REALLY INSANE. It's like the play itself was performed right next to the screen. Not on the screen. Next to it.
It's been described as a Dark Comedy. But the presentation makes it just too dark to be darkly funny. I was just wondering many times what was supposed to be funny. The only thing I honestly laughed at was the climactic lunch scene, if only because it was overacted kind of stupid.
The only saving grace was Chris Cooper as Charles Sr., the nicest and sanest man in the movie. At first, he lacks the power to stop his wife's treatment of his son. But when he gets it, he rightfully calls her out on it. His performance was the best because it was the quietest of the movie.
Is this a work that only works on stage? No. I think this work should have been executed better on film. If it was, August: Osage County would have been a great family dramedy. Oh well.
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