(500) Days of Summer

(500) Days of Summer
starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zoey Deschanel
written by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber
directed by Marc Webb
release: 07 August 2009 (wide)
Fox Searchlight, 95 mins, Rated R

Frakktacular!

“You should know upfront, this isn’t a love story. This is a story about love.”

Quite a brilliant summation of the movie, indeed. And you should know upfront that I dearly, head over inexpensive shoes in love with this movie, a flick that I would call about the next best thing since Love Actually (2003) made my jaw drop in its awesomeness. Phenomenal performances, a freakin’ brilliant script with honest and appropriately humorous dialog that could very well surpass Diablo Cody’s Juno screenplay, and of course – a wide selection of indie music that will probably make the CD a top seller. I could very well end this review right here and not gush on and on about how great of a movie this is, but I sorta wanna continue…

The basic gist (aka plot) is greeting card writer Tom (Gordon-Levitt) is introduced to the bosses’ new secretary, Summer (Deschanel) and pretty much instantly falls for the girl. Through a mutual attraction, a trip to a bar, and a common affection for the band the Smiths, Summer and Tom become, well, a “thing” for lack of a better term. You see, Summer doesn’t want to put labels on whatever’s going on between them, which off puts Tom a bit, a tad uncertain as to what they really are – boyfriend, girlfriend, what? Everything’s going good, though there’s a few bumps in the road, and then…WHAM: it’s over; Summer breaks up with him, leaving Tom in a state of anger, bitterness, and sorrow, which doesn’t bode well for his job that heavily involves happy messages to cheer a person’s day!

The movie doesn’t end at the break-up because it’s not solely about this relationship, this lost love. The relationship isn’t the important part, what it does and how it affects Tom is the thing that matters. We see Tom wallow in his grief and anger, we see the good times and the bad times, and we even get to watch Tom receive counseling from his twelve-year old sister as he tries to deal with his crumbling life (in about four humorous scenes). (500) Days is about love and life. The search for the ‘right one’, and the question whether or not you actually are destined to be with that particular person, and the devastating effect of a breakup (though let’s look on the bright side of things…LOVE!).

As you’ve no doubt heard by now, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (who took a break from brilliant performances to go all-out zany in this month’s action extravaganza G.I. Joe) gives a phenomenal performance as Tom. Hell, even when Tom’s moody and angry at the world Joseph’s performance is riveting, hilarious, and captivating all at the same time, an ability not often found in even the most seasoned actors. Zoey Deschanel (Elf) is absolutely adorable and lovable, but gotta admit, I didn’t quite care for her character, either it being the way it was written or her performance, though I have troubling feeling it might be Zoey. Adorable, yes, but it was difficult at times to get a hold of her character and to like her enough to understand Tom’s nutty infatuation outside of her undeniable gorgeousness and favoritism towards the Smiths. Eh, well, love is blind.

I especially loved the brilliant use of its non-chronological set-up. For example, a particular shared moment of fun on day 120 (give or take) becomes a redundant, ‘yeah whatever’ moment of boredom and tediousness by day 274. Just watching these scenes of different days and different moments of emotions is quite fun and interesting to watch, a device that isn’t often used in romantic flicks. It’s a nice way of showing the development of a relationship without the two plus hours running time that filmmakers seem quite fond of these days. I am simply in love with the movie's structure, basically.

The script deserves high praise as well. There’s definitely several lines that I’ll be quoting for quite a while (including my favorite happy-go-lucky card yet: “roses are red, violets are blue, you’re a whore. Bitch.” You can sorta tell when in the relationship this takes place). Aside from the brilliant, quirky, sometimes self-referential dialog, I love that the script doesn't dumb itself down for cheap laughs or dumb jokes; I love the completely bizarre but freakishly not out-of-place dance sequence "the morning after" which includes a blue cartoon bird landing on Tom's finger; I love Tom's friends 'discussing' their 'love' life to hilarious effect; I love the exchanges between Tom and Summer and the very real, very honest relationship between them and how it never feels forced. A great, great script with wonderfulness in every page.

When the movie ended, I sat there a completely satisfied audience member who just watched a great movie that I rather wanted to watch again right away. Joseph and Zoey are great together, and the script is witty and intelligent, and I can’t think of a reason not to recommend the movie. Sure as day and night, I will definitely be picking up the DVD and will see it before it leaves theaters. Much to my absolute surprise, August is thus far boasting more treasures than most of the summer season (Star Trek, obviously, excluded), and I’m quite enjoying seeing one recommendable movie after another (and watch as soon as I write this, I see a movie so horrible I barf out of obliterating brain cells). Anywhoot, see (500) Days of Summer!

District 9

District 9
starring Sharlto Copley, Robert Hobbs, Jason Cope
written by Neil Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell
directed by Neil Blomkamp
release: 14 August 2009
Columbia TriStar, 113 mins., Rated R

Frakktacular!

Oh my god.
Nifty.
Oh my God (!!!)...
Woah...
OH MY GOD!!!
Double Woah!

That, in a nutshell, was my experience watching District 9, basically one of the most visually stunning, brilliantly crafted science fiction/adventure stories ever put to film. Granted, I haven’t seen as many alien movies as I’d really like to, so I probably should judge this movie in accordance to what has come before it, but this flick is so damn fun, interesting, and gripping that any sort of comparisons I’d make, we’ll, I really don’t give a damn. I love District 9. Yippie for the influences of the alien epics that came before it, but this really is its own little beastie.

A giant spacecraft suddenly hovers over Johannesburg, South Africa. Upon landing, the parts that make the craft function apparently broke off and couldn’t be found, leaving the alien beings stranded on earth. Dubbed “prawns” as low-level life forms, the South African government created a zone for the aliens to inhabit. With no way get back home, the aliens prawns make the most of their time on earth: erecting housing, attempting a friendly co-existence with the humans, etc., etc. After twenty years of suffering through the troubles of the prawns, the South African people become a bit tired and want them out. Here we meet the films central character, Wikus Van De Merwe (Copley), a recently promoted employee at MNU, a government-sanctioned division existing to ensure continued peace with the aliens. Heeding the public’s outcry to move the aliens, the government sanctions a raid to District 9 to hand the aliens eviction notices. During this raid on the 1.5 million alien inhabitants, Wikus is exposed to a black alien fluid of some sort. Gradually, the fluid begins to show drastic side effects. From there, things just go horribly, horribly wrong.

Right off the bat, the story is very enticing. From the moment Wikus is exposed all the way to the movie’s climax, which leaves it open for a sequel but also gives enough closure to be a sufficient stand-alone experience (which I hope isn’t the case), the movie holds your attention with 100% rich and realistic characters acting precisely how a person matching their particular personality would act or react (not to mention the nifty aliens). Nothing seems contrived or directed simply to arrive at this next plot point. Everything is completely believable and makes sense. Wikus turns from a happy-go-lucky guy to a man looking out for himself, even nearly betraying a comrade in the name of self-preservation. [Reminds me of Gaius Baltar of BSG fame] The script is intelligent, the characters and aliens completely three-dimensional and never wavering in their believability and actions. And even with the spoiler-ish trailer and massive marketing campaign, I was surprised as hell as to what exactly this movie was about, and many of the developments took me aback.

These aliens aren’t just aliens in the vaguest sense; they all have an individual personality and feel so completely real, and not just because of the CG (although that’s a pretty big component). They have their own identity and life, never feeling like...well, an alien. The two prawns that Wikus interacts with for most of the movie are especially gripping and three-dimensional, their plights and desire to get home pretty much heart-breaking.

D9's first twenty minutes is all newscast & interview footage. The interviewees discuss the rumors of District 9, how the prawns were treated, the reaction of the people and government of the aliens' new home. Normally, I'd find this gimmick to be a cheat, but it's used so effectively here I nearly don't care. And the newscast footage of the aliens living in their environment day in and day out - outstanding. I know I talk about it a lot, but when you see these prawns onscreen (especially in the first twenty), you won't feel like you're watching digital pixels.

Cinematography is just like Children of Men, but less intense and with absolutely believable aliens onscreen. And no Clive Owen. Part of me wishes Blomkamp handled Cloverfield after seeing how splendidly real the camcorder hand-held shots are. Thankfully, the hand-held never gets in the way of the drama or the action, never interfering or being buggy-ish. And on an unrelated although absolutely-need-to-be-mentioned note, the score by Clinton Shorter is, well, brilliant. If there's a CD available, it'll be mind before weekend's end. [Note: apparently a deal has been brokered with Sony Music, and a pre-order for Amazon will be forthcoming; so, no CD available yet]

Any review of District 9 will not be complete without specific mention of the movie’s special visual effects, which I would pretty much call groundbreaking. Granted, what’s been accomplished here has been done by the likes of Gollum and King Kong, but there has never, ever been completely digital creatures that felt truly and completely real. In the news cast footage – absolutely real. The spacecraft – absolutely real. These creatures feel like they live and breath in the same atmosphere as our main cast, them never sharing a scene with an invisible object later put in digitally. Even the robot thingy that shows up in the climax – absolutely beautiful to behold, and all the more impressive considering its level of realism in broad daylight, usually the death stroke for heavy CG flicks. Even more, the prawns are able to elicit an emotional response from this viewer, which I wager it'll accomplish with many others: one particular scene sees a prawn looking upon the remains of another of its species, and even amidst a shoot-out, it just stands there, eyes fixed on its blood and organs on the operating table, distraught and angry. These are real creatures inhabiting the screen, ladies and gents.

I love District 9. I think it’s a beautiful movie to look at, unquestionably; the performances from every single person involved were exceptional; the music was simply marvelous and (sorry to use this word so often) strikingly beautiful; and the film grabs you in literally within the first seconds and doesn’t let up. I do sadly ponder if I will feel this same overwhelming feeling with a second or third viewing, if the movie’s success is based solely on the emotion of a given scene, or if it has some dodgy editing and thus doesn’t flow well. But mostly, I know that I love this movie, and I know that I haven’t been this into a movie in a while. Splendid, splendid job, everyone involved. I honestly will be one of the first in line for a (hopefully) sequel.

Blomkempt stated in a recent Entertainment Weekly that he wanted D9 to be as "un-Hollywood" as he could make it. He succeeded. There's not the typical Hollywood happy ending, things don't happen just for the conveinence to the script, and even what I wager we can call our protagonist shows signs of not being very heroic, being instead rather self-centered and looking only to reunite with his family. The much-talked about visual effects is one thing, but it really is secondary to the story of opportunity and hope for the prawns (and even social invasion, as per the military collective eviction).

I can’t recommend District 9 enough. Don’t bother with Funny People or G-Force or G.I. Joe, this is the movie to see.

Outlander

Outlander
starring Jim Cavizel, Sophia Myles, Jack Huston, Ron Pearlman, John Hurt
written by Howard McCain & Dirk Blackman
directed by Howard McCain
dvd release date: 19 May 2009
Weinstein Company, 2008,

Frakktacular!



Monster movies are a dying genre. I remember the good ol' days when I flipped on the Sci-Fi Channel and there was a Godzilla marathon from morning all the way into the late afternoon, and now-a-days you'll find either old Twilight Zone repeats or WWE crap. Sure, it could be argued that monster fans don't have any reason to complain with such awesome flicks like Cloverfield (2008) and Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus (2009) being released, but it's not the same. As a monster fan, I just want to watch mankind fight giant monsters with everything they got. It's a little unfortunate that monster flicks aren't all that mainstream, or at least get a bit more respectability than a new Saturday Sci-Fi Channel Original Movie, which are nearly always horrible (with the possible exception of Loch Ness Horror, aka Beyond Loch Ness, though I'm not entirely sure Sci-Fi's involvement with the project). Anyway, point is, it's disappointing there's so few monster movies being made these days, so when one comes floating my way, I might be a little biased and overcome with joy that I may not be thinking rationally.

Luckily, in the case of Outlander, the movie's damn good enough that I don't feel bad for going all geeky giddy on it. It's like Beowulf, but with more emphasis on the monster of the story.

Spaceman Kainan (Cavizel) crash lands in 1705 A.D. Norway and is captured by a local Viking tribe, blamed for the decimation of a nearby town, which is actually the handiwork of a Morween, a sadistic little beastie Kanin brought with him on his battered up ship. His pleas to the townsfolk to let him fight this monster goes unheard, as King Rothgar (Hurt) is convinced this is a ploy to help his nemesis Gunnar (Pearlman). However, once the Moorwen attacks Rothgar's own village, he allows Kainan's guidance in attacking and destroying this beast that has claimed many lives.

Jesus himself, Jim Cavizel (Passion of the Christ), heads the cast as Kanin, the future warrior who barely speaks and does what must be done for the greater good. Despite a short backstory sequence featuring not only Kanin and how he turns out to be the rugged, lost individual he is now, but also exploring the home world of the Moorwen, I felt we didn't get a good enough grasp of who Kanin was or how he felt sometimes. I sort of made up stuff as it went along. Not like I'm complaining...much...but it's a good heroic performance, and I wouldn't mind a sequel even if it had a crappy plot because Kanin is a interesting character to explore. His 'Hero' competition is Wulfric, played by Jack Huston (Factory Girl), and he's quite likable. Going the course of initially enemies and ending up friends, Huston and Cavizel play off each other well, and Huston's character is surprisingly interesting enough to case the audience to not only root for Kanin, but also Wulfric, which makes it a little complicated when it comes to a particular girl they both fancy...

The beautiful Sophia Myles (TV: Doctor Who) plays the strong female lead, Freya, who of course falls for the bad boys. Absolutely believable as a woman who kicks ass and takes name, Myles gives a great performance, it's just a pity her presence isn't more prominent. John Hurt, leader of the Viking clan as King Rothgar, is simply awesome. Aside from finding it difficult on my part to differentiate him from Chancellor Sutler in V for Vendetta, a movie that I have an unhealthy obsession with, Hurt's Rothgar is a man who is worn down but forced to keep fighting the good fight, unsure of who to trust or (sometimes) what to do; a stellar performance that echos the King of Rohan in The Two Towers and Return of the King. In an all-too-brief appearance, Ron Pearlman (Hellboy II: The Golden Army) shows his bald head and long grey beard as Rothgar's advisory Gunnar; a good but unspectacular cameo.

Concerning the evil beastie the Moorwen, its design is a cross between the monster in The Host (2005) and GODZILLA (1998). So, in other words, it's really cool. Its body has the Host similarities, while its face has remarkable resemblance to the Patrick Tatopolus-designed Americanized Godzilla, which may not be too much of an coincidence as Tatopolus created the Moorwen for McCain for free. The Moorwen is vicious, quick, merciless, and revenge-driven: a perfect enemy to face with primitive weapons. The battle sequences between the warriors and the Moorwen are simply awesome; there's a real sense of jeopardy, surprisingly enough. Although the end of the movie should already have been guessed before the 5-minute mark, there still was the sense that anyone could go at any time.

The script keeps everything grounded, realistically-speaking, and does a fine job making the audience hold onto the characters and give a damn. For a monster movie, the monster is sorta kinda the main attraction, and whenever human scenes are on, our 'Boring' pedometer is reaching 100%. But here, the characters and their interactions with each other - even their damn O.C. level drama - is enticing. There's one particular sequence which is sort of a bonding moment for Kanin and Wulfric as they basically compare dick sizes by playing a game called 'Shields' is extremely entertaining to watch, and actually kinda smart. It reminded me of the TV series' Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess for some reason...

Outlander is a good movie that has a stellar cast that makes these characters they inhabit interesting enough to hold ones attention until the monster shows up to cause some mayhem. It's a pity the Weinstein Company didn't think the movie was fit for wide distribution, which it more than qualifies for, and yet 'brilliant' and 'visionary' material like Babylon A.D. (2008) gets a big summer release; it's an unfair world. For those with Netflix and like monster, action, or period pieces, Outlander is a must-add. For anyone who blindly buys monster or action movies, this is a near-guaranteed hit.

Star Trek

Star Trek
starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, John Cho,
Anton Yelchin,Bruce Greenwood, Ben Cross, Winona Ryder, Leonard Nimoy, Eric Bana written by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman
based on "Star Trek" created by Gene Roddenberry
directed by J.J. Abrams
Paramount, 120 mins., 2009

Frakktacular!

OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!! !OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!!OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!!OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!!OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!!OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!!OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!!OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!!OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!!OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!!OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!!

Star Trek is awesome! Outstanding! Perfect! Fantastic! Fun! Witty! Brilliant! Amazing! Pretty! Majestic! Glamorous!

By the time I have finally sat down to write this full review, I've seen Star Trek three times; it's impossible for the movie to get old. In fact, this sci-fi epic may very well surpass my 'theatrical movie quota' of seven viewings awarded to Star Wars - Episode III: Revenge of the Sith in 2005, it's THAT damn good. The movie is exciting and wonderfully acted. Quite simply, it's perfect in my eyes. And because of my uber-love for the movie and my nutty state of 'Woah', I find it difficult to write anything of actual substance, so I've thus decided to go the '5 Reasons Why' route in my review. As follows:

- The cast. Pitch perfect. Chris Pine (Smokin's Aces) as James T. Kirk was simply brilliant; he personifies Kirk perfectly. Equally awesome is Karl Urban (The Bourne Supremacy) as Leonard McCoy - I would honestly purchase a $10 DVD that has his scenes alone and wouldn't call it a waste of money. Zachary Quinto (TV: Heroes) is basically the only choice for our Vulcan friend Spock, and he performs above expectations (that's a good thing); completely channeling Nimoy but making the character his own, Quinto's Spock is a highlight. Bruce Greenwood's Captain Pike is awesome, and delivers some of the best lines from the movie. Simon Pegg (Hot Fuzz), John Cho (Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay), and Anton Yelchin (Terminator Salvation) are all terrific in their respective roles of Soctty, Sulu and Chekov; I'm especially fond of Cho's Sulu, kinda iffy on Yelchin's Chekov as it's the only one of the lot that doesn't feel completely 100% true to form, and Pegg's Scotty is a delight every second onscreen. Zoe Saldana's Uhura definitely deserved more screentime (though the same thing could be said for Scotty). Last but certainly not least, Eric Bana as the vengeance-driven Nero: completely unstable and consumed with hatred towards Spock and all of Starfleet, Nero is a frighting force to be reckoned with, and Bana's performance is nothing less than extraordinary. Not persuaded? Just off the top of my head, Bana's delivery of: "Hello Christopher, I'm Nero." Priceless.

- A perfect movie deserves a perfect score; a year ago, I probably would have recommended [John] Williams or [Hans] Zimmer without hesitation, but since encountering Michael Giacchino's music in Speed Racer, Cloverfield, and the TV series Lost, there really was no better choice. (OK, maybe Steve Jablonsky would be a runner-up, but he was probably busy with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen) Giacchino's music is marvelous; for evidence of this, I present to you Exhibit A and Exhibit B: A) The destruction of the U.S.S. Kelvin and birth of James T. Kirk; the entire sequence is devoid of sound effects, with only George Kirk and his wife communicating via their nifty space phone thingies, and Giacchino's haunting composition conveying every emotion within the sequence. B) When the Romulan ship started going kablooie, Giacchino's score takes center stage as the choirs goes all choirs-y and creates a chilling, epic sensation to the death of the baddies. For anyone who even remotely enjoyed the score, I implore you to find the soundtrack and buy it - you won't be disappointed. To this point, it's the best soundtrack of the year, although I fear Jablonsky might take the mantle with his Revenge of the Fallen score. Point is, it's wonderful.

- Quite simply, the special effects in Star Trek is, well, even more perfect. Realistically rendered, and never actually 'feeling' like CGI properties, and isn't that a good definition of perfectly crafted visual effects? The CGI didn't over-step its bounds, never making it more important than the characters or the story, unlike Lucas and his Prequel Trilogy which was nearly all spectacle. And speaking about spectacle, the U.S.S. Enterprise has never looked better, nor has Warp Speed ever been so stunning. One scene that particularly left my tongue drooling on the floor was when the Enterprise emerges from the dust clouds around Saturn - that was b-e-a-utiful.

- J.J. Abrams. That man is a friggin' genius with a camera. I wouldn't feel out of place relating his visionary style to Spielberg. And I also seem to be one of the few people who absolutely LOVE the lens flares; if it were up to me, I'd incorporate it into as many movies as deemed appropriate. If I'd have to choose between flares or shaky cam, I'd choose the flares. But aside from that nifty trick, Abrams keeps the camera in constant motion, and there's some truly interesting shots, primarily the crooked ones like during Spock's hearing about joining this Vulcan Academy club/group/whatev, or when Kirk, Uhura and McCoy are running to command center to tell Pike about the "lightning storm." Abrams' visual style adds another fantastic layer of awesomeness to an already stellar movie. The nifty thing is that it seems effortless.

- Writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (Transformers) have got to be one of the more intelligent but yet witty and fun screenwriters in the field today. They managed to craft a phenomenal story that works as a sequel/prequel/re-imagining, and it actually has some brain cells. Sure, if I had a more sophisticated mind, I would probably be able to spot time travel/alternate dimension/whatever inconsistencies, but as it stands, I find everything to match perfectly. I loved how they handled it all, and how they left it allows Abrams & Crew. to go in any direction they want without being burdened by continuity. And how they integrated the original Spock, Leonard Nimoy, into the equation was a stroke of pure genius. Simply said, if I see Orci and Kurtzman's names on a title, I know I'm heading into a movie that has some brains, but can simultaneously be an excellent summer blockbuster flick, and that's a difficult thing to balance. I also love how they integrated original lines of dialog into this new installment, such as the two most obvious and commonly quoted ones: McCoy's "Dammit, Jim!" and Scotty's "I'm giving her all she's got!"

- (Alright, here's a sixth) Editing is tight, but not too tight. Even at past two hours, the movie moves briskly and without dodgy areas - in fact, the movie seems to go by too fast. By the time Kirk, Spock and the Enterprise save the day, and it cuts to Starfleet Academy, I didn't want the movie to end. And/or if it had to end, at least have the decently to have the sequel ready to project on the screen! And is this not a sign of a damn good movie? The re-watch value for Star Trek is super duper supremely high, in case you can't tell. I demand sequel now! Or at least a 4 hour extended edition!

In review - I loved the writing, the performances, the direction, the editing, and the score. Hell, I even friggn' LOVED the 5-minute monster segment on the Hoth planet! (yes, I realize that wasn't officially Hoth, but it was never disputed, right?) Star Trek has all the ingredients of a successful summer blockbuster movie in spades, and I'm in such a state of euphoria that I'd say it really has no faults to speak of.

When Star Trek hits DVD on a 2-Disc Special Edition, I'll buy it; and five months later, when Paramount is in the need for another cash cow and they release a 3-Disc Edition, I'll buy it. Hell, if a 4-Disc gets released later next year, I'll buy it. Why would I waste all this bloody money on a movie that I would already have in my collection one or two times over? Because dammit Jim, I love this movie! (in case you couldn't tell already) My love for this movie only intensifies with each successive viewing.

J.J. & Co. have crafted a goldmine, a perfectly accessible popcorn movie with intelligence that anyone from a Trek devotee to a random audience member will enjoy to the fullest. Go see Trek, I'm pretty darn tootin' sure you're not gong to regret it. At the very least, you got some pretty space battles.