Archive for January, 2012
Way late review: Rocky IV
Sunday, January 22, 2012
There are so many things to not love about the fourth installment in the series. There is the robot Paulie receives for his birthday. Then there is James Brown and a circus of performers giving the intro to the exhibition fight between Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) and Drago (Dolph Lundgren). Speaking of Drago – there’s him. He’s oiled up more than any boxer ever displayed in a Rocky film. He has about four lines in the entire movie and one could argue (strongly) they were four too many. Possibly the most dreadful part of Rocky IV comes in between Creed’s funeral and Rocky’s match with Drago – a long montage of clips from the past three films. It’s one of the laziest maneuvers a film can make.
With that said, Rocky IV is not a bad movie. It’s so over the top it’s fun. The setup of the USA vs the Soviet Union capitalizes on that particular moment in history. The spectacular display of Soviet technology in Drago’s training contrasted with Rocky’s training in nature is hard to beat. This isn’t even mentioning the introduction of a song, Hearts on Fire, that is nowhere near as good as Eye of the Tiger, but combine it with a surreal montage of Rocky using nature as his Nautilus machine and it’s unbeatable.
It’s highly doubtful I could ever argue that the good in Rocky IV outweighs the bad. Who am I kidding? Much of what I consider “good” in the movie is often quite bad. It’s so bad it’s good. Rocky IV is one of those movies. It takes itself super serious and yet it makes me smile every time I see it. Rocky IV is like Rocky III but on steroids, which is perfectly fitting.
This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.
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Way late review: Midnight in Paris
Friday, January 20, 2012
Gil (Owen Wilson) and Inez (Rachel McAdams) are an engaged couple tagging along with Inez’s mom (Mimi Kennedy) and dad (Kurt Fuller) in Paris. Gil is an author who makes his money writing screenplays for Hollywood films. Gil’s real passion is to become a great writer. He stopped writing Hollywood scripts he wasn’t proud of and started writing a novel centered on a nostalgia store owner. Inez and her parents think this is ridiculous. Gil should go for the money. From early on it’s made clear that Inez and her parents are all about the money. In fact, they’re so much about the money and themselves that it’s hard to believe that Gil would tolerate the trio let alone be engaged to the daughter.
Gil is all about the 1920′s. He not only knows it but he longs for it, so much so that he believes he was born too late. His romantic ideas of Paris in the ’20s cause him to roam the streets at night. He wants to take long walks in the rain and absorb every ounce of the city. All is normal until one evening an antique Peugeot pulls up, an overly friendly gentleman from another era pops out and invites Gil to hop in. Gil no longer dreams of another era, he’s in one. All his heroes from the ’20s are there. Great writers, artists and musicians. He can’t believe it. When he rushes out the door of a pub to get a draft of his novel for Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll), he’s shocked to discover that the pub is no more. In it’s place is a laundry mat.
Gil struggles to convince his fiancée of the previous evening’s events. He himself isn’t completely convinced. He tries taking her to the spot where the car picked him up the night before but no one shows. Inez has little patience for Gil’s escapade so she goes back to the hotel. The clock strikes midnight and the car arrives on cue. Gil is transported back to 1920 again. This repeats every night. Inez tires of Gil’s disappearing acts each evening so she starts going out with an old friend who she still has feelings for. Inez’s father has a private investigator tail Gil. He’s convinced Gil is cheating on his daughter.
Owen Wilson’s performance makes this movie enjoyable. The actors playing the famous icons of yesteryear are also compelling. Inez and her parents however are close to intolerable, intentionally so, but that doesn’t make it any easier to understand why Gil spends a moment with them. There is no need to make these characters so unlikeable. The theme of the movie doesn’t need it and the attempts at humor feeding off the trio’s pompous behavior barely registers. Regardless, the meat of the film is spent with Gil and his time in the ’20s, which saves the film from getting mired in the less interesting dynamics between Gil, his fiancée and her parents.
The lesson Gil learns about the trap that can be nostalgia is a bit obvious but forgivable. After all, if the movies of 2011 are any indication, it’s a lesson that many of us need to be reminded about. Thankfully the lesson only takes a 90 minute runtime. You’ll rarely hear me complain about that.
Overall Midnight in Paris was an enjoyable film. It’s neither a full blown comedy nor is it ever a drama. In other words, it’s a Woody Allen film – with just enough quirkiness to make me like it but not love it.
This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.
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Way late review: Rocky III
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Rocky III is all about taking things to another level. Mr. T…errr…Clubber Lang is one rung on that ladder. Another rung is the death of Mick, the most memorable voice of all time. And, not to be out done, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) makes a return, but this time as friend not foe. Best of all is the introduction of a great new catch phrase and song, Eye of the Tiger.
Despite the blatant attempts to heighten the drama and stay relevant with the times, Rocky III is still an entertaining flick. Mr. T does play a great way over the top villain. Mick’s death isn’t exactly unexpected (the guy looks and sounds about 128 years old) and adds some tender moments. And Apollo Creed’s new found friendship with Rocky is a nice touch.
Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) seems to have learned his lessons from the previous round of his life. He’s successful in and out of the ring. In fact, he has little left to prove. That is until Clubber Lang belittles Rocky. Rocky accepts Clubber’s challenge to a fight. Mick is not on board with this decision. He confesses to Rocky that he’s been protecting the champ by setting up fights that he knew Rocky could win. Mick argues it was to protect Rocky. After receiving this bit of news Rocky is devastated and more than ever wants to prove that he can defend his belt against tough competition. Eventually Mick caves and Rocky enters the fight with Clubber Lang. Things go very wrong for Rocky and Mick. Rocky gets pummeled and Mick dies. Rocky is crushed by the loss of his trainer, mentor, and friend.
Apollo Creed enters the scene. He wants to help Rocky get revenge in the ring with Clubber Lang. Creed offers to be Rocky’s trainer. Rocky’s heart is not in it. The breakthrough needs to come. We have to have a triumphant training montage set to music. WE HAVE TO HAVE THE MONTAGE! Phew. It finally comes and the final bout goes down as one might expect.
In between all that plot is a sense of humor, a sense of camaraderie between Balboa and Creed, and a continued blossoming of Adrian (Talia Shire) as she breaks further out of her shell. All in all, it’s a good movie. The film doesn’t completely capitalize on the setup its predecessor left it with, but it also doesn’t lose its heart.
This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.
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Way late review: Rocky II
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Rocky II finds Rocky Balboa in different circumstances than the original. He came close to beating the champ. That alone has earned him some money. The prospects of cashing in on that success in terms of commercials, endorsements, etc. look promising. Rocky goes from a down and out boxer to skies the limit after one bout. This makes for an an interesting look at the development of our favorite underdog boxer. He’s not rich but it seems he might soon be. He’s not a champ but the odds seem to be swinging in his favor. He has the woman he loves and marries her. He has no shortage of people offering him a chance to invest or be invested in. Yet Rocky struggles to make sense of it all.
The first signs of trouble are the way the Italian Stallion goes on a spending spree, purchasing all sorts of high priced items he previously could only dream of. Not a problem. Rocky will fund all this through commercials. One problem. He’s been hit in the head a few too many times and is barely able to read a few simple lines. Before long we see Rocky stressing financially. To add to the pressure, he discovers Adrian is pregnant. Oh, and he’s retired from boxing. The doctor says he risks losing sight in one of his eyes if he continues fighting. That is all Adrian needs to hear. She’s staunchly against Rocky fighting again. The risks are too high. She believes this so much so that she goes back to work at the pet store part time to help pay the bills. Rocky eventually finds himself work at Mick’s gym. He goes from challenging the champ to changing spit buckets in no time at all.
Apollo Creed is as bombastic as ever. He wants another fight with Balboa. There is too much talk of Creed not winning the last fight. An ego like Creed’s cannot withstand this kind of assault. Creed puts out a media campaign calling Rocky a chicken. He does everything he can to embarrass Rocky back into the ring. After further thought and further provoking, Rocky takes the challenge, though it’s against Adrian’s wishes.
Rocky begins training with Mick, who agrees to train Rocky only after the taunts by Creed became too much for even Mick to ignore. Previously, Mick was in agreement with the doctor, it was too risky for Rocky to keep fighting. We’re all set for a montage of training set to the inspirational music but instead something else happens. Rocky is distracted. He seems unmotivated. Adrian’s lack of support is weighing heavily on him. Never fear, Paulie is here! Ah yes, our favorite creep/funny man Paulie. He figures out that it’s his sister causing trouble. He’ll set her straight.
After Paulie shouts Adrian down, she goes into early labor. Rocky is a proud father of a baby boy but discovers that Adrian is in a coma. He is crushed. Training is set aside and instead he stays by his wife’s side. It’s during this time that we’re reminded that Rocky is often as much about the love between this unlikely couple as it is about Rocky the boxer.
The coma is an added plot device. The original lacked this type of device which is used to increase the drama. While not unbelievable, this twist is a sign of things to come in the films that follow and it’s not a good sign. But I’ll save that for reviews of the next few movies in the series.
Adrian awakes from her coma. She seems to have had time to think about Rocky returning to fighting because some of her first thoughts are to tell Rocky to go win the fight. Say no more. Rocky is back on track. Triumphant training montage kicks in for real this time. It is eerily similar to the original montage except things are ratcheted up a notch. The final scene of Rocky running up the stairs is there and this time half of Philly’s kids follow and cheer in triumph at the top. Again, a sign of things to come in future instalments.
The big battle in the ring is not unlike the first. Rocky may be the worst fighter to ever enter the ring. If he blocks a punch to the head it will be his first. Regardless, we cheer for our hero to take the punches and punch back even harder. In the end we get what we hoped for in the first. But one can’t help but wonder what another round of success, even bigger this time around, will do to the newly crowned champ. He didn’t exactly excel with the last opportunity, which is maybe why Rocky II sets up its sequel even better than the original did for it.
This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.
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Way late review: Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Rather than focus on the human protaganist, Rise takes a fresh approach by making the genetically enhanced, lab born ape, Caesar (Andy Serkis) the center of attention. Will Rodman (James Franco) is a genetic scientist desperately searching for a cure to Alzheimer’s disease. His search is personal, as Will’s dad, Charles (John Lithgow), suffers from the disease. Right away we learn that Will is on to something, as an ape known as “Green Eyes” shows greatly improved intelligence as a result of the proposed cure, ALZ-112. Things turn sour as Green Eyes goes crazy, wrecks havoc on the lab and is shot. The other apes are put down as the company fears ALZ-112 is deeply flawed. Unbeknownst to Will and his co-workers, Green Eyes flipped out trying to protect her newborn. Rather than put the chimp down, Will sneaks him home.
Will quickly learns that Caesar is not an ordinary chimp. Caesar shows signs of incredible intelligence. This leads Will to eventually give his dad ALZ-112 he smuggles from the company. Charles returns to his normal self while Caesar continues to exhibit extraordinary acumen. As years pass Caesar desires to get out of the house, to enjoy life like the children he observes from his attic window. Will takes Caesar to the Redwoods but Caesar soon realizes that he is treated more like a pet than a human. Will breaks down and shows Caesar the building where Caesar was born and his mom died. This moment ultimately leads to Caesar’s descent. He realizes he’s not human yet he’s not just an ape.
Meanwhile, Will notices that his dad’s disease is back with a vengeance. It’s so bad that Charles goes outside one morning, hops in a neighbors running car, and proceeds to smash it into the cars parked in the front and back. The neighbor comes out and freaks out. He yells and gets in Charles’ face. Caesar observes this from the attic window and takes action. This is Caesar’s ticket to the ape sanctuary where Will promises Caesar he’ll be back home soon.
It’s at this point in the film that the ape sanctuary turns into a prison film. Caesar is the new kid on the block. He’s never been around other apes. He doesn’t completely understand apes who are not intelligent like he is. The lessons for him are rough. Caesar is homesick and more confused than ever. The fact that all of this is completely believable with computer animated apes is astonishing. After hearing and reading interviews with cast and production crew members, I’m convinced now more than ever that Andy Serkis should be nominated for a best actor award. His performance mixed with the technology take this movie to new heights.
The ape sanctuary has some of my favorite moments in the film and one of its worst. If Rise is guilty of anything it’s of some over the top archetypes. The most obvious example is Tom Felton playing one of the sanctuary workers. Felton’s performance is so absurd that by the time he utters a famous line from the original movie I simply rolled my eyes. It was completely expected, as Felton proved he was nothing more than the sinister prison guard.
The movie zooms past at an exhilarating speed. There is no time for exposition. The storytelling is precise. Every small moment has a purpose. For example, Caesar draws the attic window on the wall of his cell at the sanctuary only to erase it once he decides he’s going to lead an ape rebellion. Charles’ struggle to play a piano song prior to ALZ-112 and then gracefully playing a composition afterwards. The use of green eyes to show that an ape has been exposed to the cure. All these are small ways that tell the story rather than spend precious time better spent elsewhere.
While Caesar works overtime to put together his plans, Will works overtime to find a new cure for Alzheimer’s and convinces his boss that it’s time to reopen the project. The boss buys in once he learns that Will’s dad showed great improvements for a period of time and Caesar showed increased intelligence. The prospects of a drug that makes you smarter is too much to resist. Will’s boss wants research on apes to return and to go full throttle.
Eventually the big pay off happens. Some of the best action sequences I’ve seen in a long time take place. Awesome action set pieces. One brilliant call back to the original movie. So much good action in the end that we forget that we’re rooting for the end of mankind as we know it.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes may not get a lot of love on people’s top films of 2011 but it should. It’s one of those rare sci-fi action films that is so well paced and executed that you forget the challenge it overcame, following a long line of predecessors, many of which weren’t all that good and some that were simply awful.
This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.
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