Way late review: Senna

Formula One racing is a mystery to many of us in the US. NASCAR dominates as they drive “stock” cars in an endless loop. Meanwhile Formula One races through twisting tracks in cars that seem like they’re one strong wind away from being blown off the track. After watching the 2011 documentary, Senna, I have an even greater appreciation for those who dare race Formula One.

Ayrton Senna was one of the all time great Formula One drivers. Senna’s story is not one of the poor Brazilian who overcame the rich sport of Formula One. He grew up in a wealthy family, fell in love with racing, had some early success as a youngster and then earned his way onto the Formula One circuit. His fearless driving made for many fans and enemies. As numerous people note throughout, Formula One, like any organization, has its share of politics. Senna didn’t seem to care much for the politics. He raced to win and that was that.

What makes this documentary different from most is that it is completely made up of archival footage. There are no retrospective talking heads praising a man of faith and his zeal for the race track. A cinematic soundtrack makes the true life story always engaging.

I admire director Asif Kapadia’s focus. Most of the movie is spent on or around the race track. That is clearly where the most interesting story takes place and characters reside. Whether it be the rivalry that quickly develops between team mates, Senna and, former world champ, Alain Prost, or the trouble Senna sometimes gets himself into by driving overly aggressive, that is where the heart of the story lies. Even when delving into the type of man Senna is, it stays close to the race. For example, Senna is always proud to represent Brazil. Rather than spend a lot of time delving into this topic, Kapadia stays focused and shows Senna raising the flag on the track, being greeted by mobs of people in his homeland as he arrives after winning yet another world championship. There is mention that other Brazilian athletes and celebrities will distant themselves from Brazil once they achieve fame, but not Senna. Rather than dive into that more, Kapadia maintains the narrative of Senna as one of the greatest Formula One drivers of all time. Some may find this razor sharp focus results in a shallow study of Ayrton Senna. My gut tells me that we’re seeing the most interesting aspect of Senna’s life – racing. And all of it is shown with existing footage. It’s a refreshing approach. An impressive movie overall.

[xrr rating=4/5 label=” “]

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDbyILj7o-w[/youtube]

Way late review: Jurrasic Park

I’m a Spielberg fan, so it should come as little surprise that I enjoy Jurrasic Park. That’s not to say that Spielberg can do no wrong. But, Jurrasic Park does much more right than wrong.

I’m sure there are endless debates all around the Internet about the science behind Jurrasic Park. Finding dinosaur blood in a mosquito from way back in the day to recreate the DNA and clone dinosaurs sounds like a boring debate waiting to happen. Whether the science is solid or not, the setup to explaining how the park came to be is definitely solid. Rather than drone on with needless exposition we’re taken through an amusement park like ride that explains everything in a brief and entertaining manner. From there we launch into what becomes an action packed thriller full of dinosaurs.

The biggest complaint I can lodge against Jurrasic Park is that everyone we want to survive does and everyone we don’t want to survive doesn’t. It’s an easy out and especially hard to accept when you get scenes like the following. Tim, one of the kids trying to make it back to the headquarters, gets 10,000 volts through him as he hangs on one second too long to the electric fence that regains power. Tim survives the fall and shock. The worst part? His first word is to finish his count, “3”. It’s a terrible scene. Fortunately it’s followed up by a classic game of hide and seek in the park’s industrial kitchen with Tim, his sister Lex and a pair of raptors. That still got me jumping a bit, at least once.

Jurrasic Park is a fun and fast paced movie. The main characters are archetypes but serve their purpose. The drama is never melodramatic and the focus stays where it should – the dangerous journey of trying to escape from an island overrun with dinosaurs. Speaking of dinosaurs, they generally hold up on screen 18 years later which is no small feat. Bad CG or animatronics can ruin the suspense of a film. Jurrasic Park was ahead of its time in that regard. Debate can be had on whether we see too much of the dinosaurs too soon, but there is no denying that the action delivers even though we know exactly what is after our human protagonists.

In the end, it’s a fun blockbuster that doesn’t pretend to be more than that. It’s competent in the areas it needs to be (story and characters) and excels in the other areas (action, computer animation, set pieces). Current day blockbusters would do well to take note.

NOTE: I watched the Blu-ray version this time around. A good but not great looking blu. I’m hoping the great remastering is saved for Spielberg’s true classics that have yet to hit the format.

[xrr rating=4/5 label=” “]

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bim7RtKXv90[/youtube]

Way late review: Rocky

I’ve seen Rocky so many times now it’s hard to separate the memories of watching it from the film itself. It’s gotten so bad that I often think scenes from the next two movies were in the original.

The best sports movies are often less about the sport and more about the men and women involved. Rocky is no exception. No doubt, the final match between the underdog Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) and the cocky heavy weight champ, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), is emotionally charged like no other. That bout is also a giant step forward for filming boxing, as it was the first to use what became the steadicam. But to focus on that big showdown is to miss that Rocky is really a character study.

The glamorous life of boxing is not so glamorous as we watch Rocky barely get by. He boxes in small events that earn him little money. He works as an enforcer for a loan shark. He loses his locker at the local boxing gym, as the owner, Mick (Burgess Meredith), is not interested in supporting an athlete who seems content with wasting his potential. The highlight of his day is visiting the pet store where he enjoys checking in on the animals and his friend’s sister, Adrian (Talia Shire). That friend is like no other. Paulie (Burt Young) is an alcoholic who sees himself as the king of his world. He treats everyone around him in anger. Not satisfied with ruining his own life, he goes out of his way to put down his sister and everyone close to him any chance he gets.

The first two thirds of Rocky are filled with a certain sadness. There are laughs mixed in but they come at the expense of characters who seem destined for dead ends. Regardless, there is a kindness in Rocky and others that keeps hope alive. That hope ends up coming in the form of an invite for Rocky to take on the current heavyweight champ, Apollo Creed. The champ is having a hard time finding an interesting opponent. He keeps destroying the competition. He figures he needs to do something different that will capture the imagination of boxing fans so he finds Rocky, an unknown fighter in Philly who has the irresistible nickname, The Italian Stallion.

The transformation of Rocky from the smoking, drinking, seldom motivated individual to the lean and mean boxer is always inspiring. The soundtrack and montage of Rocky training endlessly can take credit for that. With that said, it’s easy to overlook the fact that Rocky is not ready to the win fight. He spends the night before looking at the ring, wondering what he’s got himself into. As he enters the fight he has less the look of a man ready to upset the champ and more the look of one who is about to take the beating of a lifetime. Even in its most emotional moments, the movie tempers those emotions with reality. The ending, as emotionally charged as it is, maintains that reality. And that may be why Rocky is one of the all time great sports movies. We love our sports heros and we love them even more when they have flaws (just like us) and overcome them, even when it means not obtaining the ultimate fairy tale ending.

[xrr rating=5/5 label=” “]

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7YmojUJagk[/youtube]

My top 20 movies of 2010

2010? Yep, 2010. Since chances are I don’t get to see many movies for a given year until well into the following year my list is a year behind. The good news is that if you’re a Netflix streaming subscriber there are quite a few films here to watch instantly.

20. The Way Back

An underrated film seen by too few people. Peter Weir directs this tale of a small group of soldiers from different countries in WWII who escape a Siberian labor camp only to make the long journey through the Himalayas. The acting is superb. The diverse group makes the harrowing journey all the more interesting.

19. Buried

If you can’t take Ryan Reynolds pass on this one. I don’t have strong feelings about him one way or the other. I admired the guts of a movie shot entirely in a coffin buried under the ground. There is no way this should be an entertaining feature length film, yet it is.

18. The Oath

A documentary about two men, brothers in-law, who have ties to Osama bin Laden and the events of 9/11. One, a former bodyguard (Abu Jandal) for bin Laden, goes free while the other, a driver (Salim Handan) for bin Laden, is held in Guantanamo Bay. It’s not a political activist film. It’s a character study, and what a character Abu Jandal is. He’s a man full of contradictions. Out of the two men, he was the only one who once pledged his allegiance to bin Laden and jihad. He now claims he doesn’t, except when he does. He walks free while his brother in-law is imprisoned.

17. Catfish

This is the 2010 movie about Facebook. That other movie was about a lot of things but not necessarily about Facebook. Abby, an 8 year old artist, gets in touch with Nev, a 24 year old photographer, through Facebook. The two develop a long distance friendship. Nev starts to talk to members of Abby’s family over the phone, including Abby’s 19 year old sister who Nev begins to fall for. When things start to not add up, Nev and his friends making the documentary start digging. There are those who question the authenticity and ethics of this doc. I found it a tale for our current day – one quickly becoming dominated by digital gnosticism.

16. Please Give

A small indie flick with a cast of characters who are interesting (though not often “fun”) to hang out with. A mom (Catherine Keener) who feels constant guilt over her wealth and denies her daughter many material things in life as a result. It also drives her to desperately give to those she perceives are poor, whether they actually are or not. Meanwhile, mom and dad (Oliver Platt) do their best to make friends with the cranky elderly lady next door. They covet her apartment so they can expand their space once the neighbor dies.

15. How to Train Your Dragon

I had zero interest in seeing this one but I’m happy I did. The animation is outstanding. The relationship between Toothless the young dragon and a puny adolescent viking is endearing. I could do without most of the other kids but not so much that it ruined those scenes or the movie as a whole. A pleasant surprise and a fun movie to watch with the family.

14. The Book of Eli

I realize I’m likely out on an island by myself with this one. A post-apocalyptic story about Eli (Denzel Washington), a man who is on a journey to protect and deliver the last copy of the Bible. There are those who want the book because they crave the power they’ve heard it holds. A violent film that has a much deeper message at its core, though some may miss it in the spectacle of all the action.

13. The Fighter

A strange yet enjoyable movie about Mickey Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and his family, including Dicky (Christian Bale), a once great fighter who becomes a drug addict. This is not so much a story about the triumphant underdog or the redemption of the addict but rather a dark comedic look at a dysfunctional family. The acting is top notch and carries the film as it weaves its way towards a more typical sports finale.

12. Four Lions

If you are easily offended by the idea of terrorists as comedic fodder do not give Four Lions a look. This is the tale of four British wannabe jihadis who are not unlike Dumb and Dumber’s Lloyd and Harry. The satire is heavy and some scenes bring uncomfortable laughs. There is something to offend both the political left and right.

11. Cyrus

An indie comedy that made me laugh throughout. Struggling after divorce, John C. Reilly finally finds the woman (Marisa Tomei) of his dreams except for one small gotcha – she has a 20-something year old son (Jonah Hill) and mother and son are incredibly attached. The awkward moments abound. John C. Reilly and Jonah Hill battle one another in small and large moments that provoke much laughter.

10. Monsters

Nevermind the fact that the budget for this sci-fi film was $500k, it’s solid all the way through. Granted, the acting is a little weak here and there but I liked the two leads in general. Aliens have inhabited earth for several years and there is an infected zone in Mexico just across from the US. A photographer and his boss’ daughter need to make it out of Mexico but miss the last boat out. Their journey and discovery along the way is engaging. An impressive feat for any sci-film regardless of the budget.

9. The King’s Speech

I wrote a review earlier. The dynamic between the king and an unconventional speech therapist is strong. An enjoyable film (even when predictable) thanks to the excellent cast.

8. 127 Hours

Much like Buried, this film should not be exciting. The true story of Aron Ralston (James Franco) who gets his arm pinned while rock climbing and ends up cutting his arm off. The tension is ramped up knowing the major event is going to happen. Danny Boyle makes a film stuck in one tight spot feel as though it’s frenetic. Franco pulls off the difficult task of carrying this mostly one man act.

7. True Grit

Coen brothers films are hit or miss for me. This one was surprising as it was far less quirky than previous Coen brothers films and has a fairly straightforward narrative. An unbelievable cast makes every moment worth watching, especially the young lead, Hailee Steinfeld, who more than holds her own. Plenty of humor and heart in this one. Heart in a Coen brothers movie? Shocking, I know.

6. Another Year

A small film that spends the year with an older couple and the people who enter and exit their lives. Lesley Manville’s Mary character is both incredibly annoying and oddly irresistible. The film is all about characters and feels so authentic that it makes you squirm at times when confronted with some of the sad realities these folks find themselves facing. Through it all, the central couple keeps things grounded and hopeful, even when it seems everyone and everything around them is hanging by a thread.

5. Winter’s Bone

Not the feel good film of 2010. A backwoods film noir that is as much about the small moments as it is the bigger mystery its lead character, an outstanding performance by Jennifer Lawrence, struggles to solve. One of the best supporting performances can be found here in John Hawkes’ character. A menacing man who is filled with surprises.

4. Inception

There is no way this movie should work. I don’t care that Christopher Nolan wrote and directed it. It’s a sci-fi action flick revolving around the world of dreams. Somehow Nolan and his star studded cast pulls it off. Even when the dialogue is dominated by exposition it delivers by following it up with insane levels of action.

3. The Social Network

The story of how Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook isn’t terribly interesting when you cover the outline. However, when you take that story and combine it with Aaron Sorkin’s rapid fire dialogue and actors with the ability to make you believe they’d be that witty you start to get a good movie. Putting it over the top is Fincher’s meticulous direction and the pitch perfect soundtrack. This could have been a terrible movie. I think it’s important to remember that, as it makes the end result that much more impressive.

2. Toy Story 3

Maybe this is sentimentality taking over but I loved every moment of Toy Story 3. Two of my favorite scenes are the Lotso and Big Baby back story and, of course, the toys heading into the fire. This could have been a simple cash grab, instead it’s full of creativity with both new and old characters.

1. Exit Through the Gift Shop

Whether true, partially true, or a complete hoax, it doesn’t really matter. This documentary hits all the right notes. We get a glimpse at the world of street art, the mystery of Banksy, and a commentary on how silly the commercialization of art can be with the creation of Mr. Brainwash. It tells a complete story, full of intrigue, interesting characters, and many laughs. If it’s all just one big joke by Banksy, so be it.

Way late review: I Am Legend

The most common complaint I recall reading or hearing about when I Am Legend came to theaters was that it did not stick to its source material, Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel of the same name. It’s a good thing I don’t read much. 😉

Will Smith is Robert Neville, a scientist in the armed forces, who is the lone survivor in New York City as a virus has spread that turns humans in to blood thirsty vampire/zombie creatures (Darkseekers). The virus came about as a result of an astonishing cure for cancer. Neville seems immune to the virus and is frantically at work in his lab to find a cure.

For much of the movie we spend time with Neville and his dog Sam as they navigate in a post-apocalyptic New York City. Wild animals are found roaming the streets. It’s never clear why lions and antelope are racing through the streets of New York city after a few years of a terrible virus wiping out man kind. Neville has his routines and we follow him as he hunts for food, looks for useful items from all the abandoned homes and makes notes of where he’s been. The first thirty minutes of the film are not unlike those in Cast Away where Tom Hanks is on the island all by himself. And, much like Hanks’ performance in Cast Away, Smith pulls off a tough task by being the lone presence on the screen for large amounts of time.

The suspense of I Am Legend is solid until we get too much of a long look at the Darkseekers. The computer animated human mutants feel like animations when the camera focuses for too long on any one of them. This is an example of where it would have likely been better to take J.J. Abrams’ approach to monsters and do your best to hide the details as much as possible. It not only adds to the suspense (at least in this case) but also covers up some shoddy animated creatures.

I don’t want to go into spoilers, but I will say that one surprising complaint I heard about this film is the overt religious overtones. There is no doubt, they are there and maybe caused me to think a bit deeper about some of the themes. At its core, I Am Legend is an action thriller film but overcomes some poor special effects and potentially baffling plot lines with a solid lead by Will Smith, a quieter than normal first act, and a story that asks viewers to think a bit more than the usual summer blockbuster flick.

[xrr rating=3.5/5 label=” “]

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewpYq9rgg3w[/youtube]

Way late review: Spirited Away

I’ve never taken LSD. After watching Spirited Away, one of my son’s favorite anime films, I think I know what it’s like to take LSD.

Not that it matters all that much, but here’s the synopsis and a juicy Oscar tidbit:

During her family’s move to the suburbs, Chihiro (voiced by Daveigh Chase) wanders into a magical world where a witch rules — and those who disobey her are turned into animals. When Chihiro’s parents become pigs, she must find a way to help them return to their human form. Adapted from the Japanese original, director Hayao Miyazaki’s adventure tale won the Best Animated Feature Oscar for its enchanting story.

What is left out of that summary are the images that will likely give me strange dreams and nightmares for years to come. A giant baby who morphs into an overweight mouse. Three ugly green bouncing heads morphing into the giant baby, morphing into a giant ugly man baby that finally transforms back to three ugly green bouncing heads. Not one, but two, identical witches with oversized heads that include a wart between the eyes that Uncle Buck would offer a quarter to have a rat gnaw off. A “stink spirit” that causes people to either faint or vomit or both. A boy who becomes a creature not unlike Falkor from Neverending story. Unlike Falkor, this creature bleeds from the mouth half of the time its on screen. Frogs with teeth. Raddish spirits. And those are just the ones I can’t burn from my memory nor am I likely any time soon.

Regardless, there is something hypnotizing about Spirited Away. It’s certainly not a coherent plot, character development, nor decent voice dubbing. Maybe it’s the world Miyazaki created and proceeds to run away with. I do have a certain admiration for the guts to do that. On the other hand, I’ve also seen Miyazaki’s Ponyo, a film that makes Spirited Away seem genius in all areas – storytelling, character development, voice dubbing, and all around coherence. The point is that Miyazaki was rather constrained with Spirited Away in comparison.

If you ever get the urge to eat an odd looking mushroom you find growing in the forest or experimenting with hallucinogens, don’t. Put on Spirited Away instead. I’m pretty sure the end result will be roughly the same.

[xrr rating=2.5/5 label=” “]

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idTt48RCbAc[/youtube]

Way late review: Friday Night Lights

In Texas, there is only one sport that seems to matter, football. And if you’re an athletically gifted male in a Texas high school, I imagine you will play football, whether you enjoy the game or not. At least that is the impression Friday Night Lights leaves.

Right from the start, the film makes it clear that high school football in the small town of Odessa, Texas is bigger than life. Heroic images of young men making their way to the field for the first day of practice fill the screen. The sounds are of talk show callers rattling on about all things Panthers football. Some might think it’s a bit over the top except this is a film based on H.G. Bissinger’s non-fiction book about the 1988 Permian High School football team.

While the music and cinematography of play on the field tend to glamorize the game, coach Gary Gaines (Billy Bob Thornton) subtlety makes his way through a minefield of rabid fans who control the fate of his career. Thornton does not play coach Gaines like Al Pacino does in Any Given Sunday – over the top and then some. Instead, we get glimpses of coach Gaines as one who is just as in awe as we the viewers are of the overly passionate adults who live and die by the play of their local high school football team. He can be as intense as any coach on the field, sometimes caving into the pressures he can’t help but feel as every moment of the fall season is filled with expectations of winning the state football championship.

The parents or guardians of the players we get to spend any time with are dysfunctional. A father who lives in the past through his son and leads to constant abuse as a result. A mother in poverty who is incapable of caring for her son. All her hopes are in the son getting a scholarship to college. An uncle who plays the role of part guardian, part Don King to his nephew, the superstar of the team. And while we see dysfunction abounding in these relationships in addition to the misplaced heightened importance of football across the town, the film never gets quite close enough to any of the people. It’s almost as if the director, Peter Berg, is satisfied with giving us a glimpse at the personal. His focus seems to be more on capturing the feeling of being wrapped up in this alternate world where a loss by the local high school football team means people post “for sale” signs in front of the coach’s home. And Berg does an excellent job of that. The music, the cinematography and overall tone of the film never let you forget just how insanely important every moment, big or small, is in the high stakes game of Texas high school football. It would have been even better if we got to know some of these characters a bit more. The dialogue is sparse throughout the film, minus typical locker room speeches. It grows even sparser in the second half, where it seems we’re watching a music video as much as a movie about real people.

Friday Night Lights fails at telling a complete story with characters we can connect with at a deeper level but succeeds in capturing the insanity that can be sports. In that way it’s a rare sports movie. A pleasant surprise.

[xrr rating=3.5/5 label=” “]

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qzyp4qOW0F0[/youtube]

Way late review: Win Win

Netflix is normally fairly good at predicting which movies I’ll like and how much I’ll like them. Every once in a while it gets it wrong. Occasionally I find a movie I liked more than Netflix thought I would or vice versa. Netflix thought I would nearly love Win Win. Not so much.

A struggling lawyer and high school wrestling coach, Mike (Paul Giamatti), is stressing out over finances. To help pad his wallet, Mike takes guardianship of an elderly man, Leo (Burt Young). Leo discovers he has a grandson, Kyle (Alex Shaffer), which causes a sticky situation for Mike and his wife, Jackie (Amy Ryan). Kyle’s mom is in drug rehab and Kyle came to Leo in hopes of a better living situation. A fairly typical act follows where Jackie is upset about the mess Mike has made by secretly taking guardianship of Leo. Eventually they come to grips with allowing Kyle to stay with them.

One wrestling practice Mike invites Kyle to join. It doesn’t take long for Mike to discover that Kyle is a great wrestler and from there we’re supposed to experience these two lost souls in Mike and Kyle finding strength in one another. Unfortunately, the story goes nowhere fast and everywhere all at the same time. Needless plot twists mire the last third of the film. The triumphant wrestling montages are uninspired and feel disconnected.

If there is anything redeeming about Win Win it’s Giamatti’s performance. It’s not ground breaking but it makes the movie tolerable. There is only so much one can do to overcome a story that lacks a drive, lacks characters worth caring about. Giamatti does his best to make up for the flaws. Credit him for that.

Win Win? Not for me it wasn’t.

[xrr rating=2/5 label=””]

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lixOX9bajIc[/youtube]

Way late review: Super 8

It’s hard to watch Super 8 and not get nostalgic. It’s also hard at times to stomach just how hard J.J. Abrams tries to mimic his producer’s (Steven Spielberg) previous work without a full appreciation for what made those films special. The line between inspiration and cheap imitation can be a fine one.

Super 8 is a throw back to the ’80s where a rag tag bunch of kids set out to shoot their own movie. While sneaking out one night to shoot a scene by the railroad tracks a horrific train wreck takes place that leads to mysterious activities throughout the town. The town’s sheriff disappears, leaving Jackson Lamb (Kyle Chandler) in charge.

Jackson is a recent widow left to take care of his son, Joe (Joel Courtney). From the start, we see that Jackson and Joe are not close. Both are struggling to come to grips with life after losing the love of their lives. Joe finds comfort hanging out with his friends while Jackson buries himself in his work as a deputy sheriff. For much of the movie, their stories only occasionally intertwine. Both father and son become more deeply involved with the after affects of the train wreck, neither sharing in each other’s struggle to make sense of what is going on around or inside of them.

While a good half of the movie focuses mostly on the lives of the kids, their interactions, their making a movie, their budding relationships – the other half of the movie is sci-fi action. It feels like this should be the perfect mix for this type of a movie, but something is off. For instance, the first big action sequence is the train wreck. It must be the most dangerous train wreck ever, as train cars fly for what seems like minutes. The action is over the top and feels out of place when compared to the quiet moments we spend with the kids. All the kids are fine actors. None of them were intolerable to watch but neither were any of them much fun. The tone was overly serious with some lighter moments feeling forced or out of place. And maybe this is where nostalgia backfires. It’s either my nostalgia for films of the ’80s that tainted my feelings for Super 8’s tone or possibly J.J. Abrams’ misplaced nostalgia. Maybe Abrams’ misunderstood what made films like Goonies, Gremlins, Stand by Me, etc. so appealing. Those films were at times serious but never so much that they lost their sense of childlike wonder.

Lens flare - JJ Abrams styleThe production values of Super 8 didn’t help balance the tone of the film. Abrams’ is obsessed with lens flares and some baffling camera work that leaves his mark all over the film. Unfortunately, I often felt like I need to wipe clean those marks. While the lens flares in Abrams’ reinvigoration of the Star Trek film fit the overall look of the movie, with its futuristic gloss and shine, here they feel unnecessary at best. Rather than let the kids’ filmmaking escapade take center stage, we’re left to fend off excessive blue glares. In addition to lens flares there are numerous jump scares that are often followed up by extremely loud sound effects and flashy special effects. It’s in these moments I wonder if the intent is to be more of a sci-fi thriller than an adventure flick with sci-fi elements. The difference between the two is large and floating between them makes for an uneven tone. And, ultimately, the uneven tone made Super 8 feel to me like Abrams was trying to forcefully morph his modern day sensibilities with the nostalgia he and so many of us have for movies from the ’80s.

There are moments in Super 8 that are enjoyable. Moments that capture some of the magic I recall from films of my youth. The scene where the kids scheme to get their friend back and try to save the day in the process was fun and exciting. The small moments where Joe and Alice (Elle Fanning) fall for one another (even as their fathers forbid it) are genuine. The enthusiasm Charles (Riley Griffiths) has for making films is contagious. The ending, which I’m sure left many rolling their eyes, came closest to embracing both the joyous wonder that was missing from so much of the film. There are moments that are special in this film, but they compete with a melancholy and seriousness that overwhelms much of the rest. It’s a shame too, because Super 8 could’ve been great.

[xrr rating=3/5 label=””]

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCRQQCKS7go[/youtube]

Way late review: Edward Scissorhands

Edward Scissorhands. The beginning of a long list of films directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp. What is now becoming a bit tiring was not always so. It’s not hard to see why Burton’s knack for the odd and Depp’s desire to break free of the prison he perceived 21 Jump Street was becoming were a match made in heaven.

Scissorhands opens by painting a dark, isolated world that Edward (Johnny Depp), a boy left with scissors for hands due to his inventor dying before completing the job, lives in and the bright, uniform world where everyone else lives. It’s not long before a persistent, if not outright oblivious, mother and Avon sales lady (Dianne Wiest), Peg Boggs, comes to Edwards gothic castle of a home. Without much fear Peg decides to take Edward home with her and from there the fish out of water story begins.

Burton’s knack for creating an almost cartoon like world is on full display. Even though Edward is clearly an outcast he seems closer to “normal” than those occupying Burton’s portrayal of a typical suburb in the US of A. It’s not that the Boggs family or their neighbors are caricatures, it’s that they live in a reality that is all their own. When the neighbors see Peg driving Edward to her home, they all call one another desperate to see who this strange creature is. It’s not long before they all meet and Edward becomes the town’s landscaper and hair stylist. He shapes every plant possible into all sorts of objects – dinosaurs, teddy bears, people, etc. And the women all get original hairdos thanks to Edward’s fine work with the sheers.

All is good except Edward longs for real acceptance, not just appreciation of his usefulness. His heart is taken by Peg’s daughter, Kim Boggs (Winona Ryder), who has a jealous boyfriend, Jim (Anthony Michael Hall). Kim initially ignores Edward’s awkward pleasantries but as time goes on she sees that he’s a kind hearted guy who is imprisoned by his lack of hands. Jim notices this and gets Edward into trouble. Mr. Boggs and the neighborhood as a whole become suspicious of Edward as a result. Edward begins to realize that even if he does the right thing, he’ll likely never be accepted into the community. Meanwhile Kim’s appreciation for Edward grows greater.

Even though it is only 1 hour and 40 minutes, Scissorhands can feel a bit long in the second act. The story is a simple one and to stretch it beyond ninety minutes is, well, a stretch. Edward is close to a silent film star as he says very little which is fitting for him (especially in his predicament) until the story drags beyond its ability to hold interest. At that point we need the main character to do more than look pathetically in the camera.

Fortunately the last act is surprisingly good. When the world is a fairy tale with a pinch of reality, it can be hard to create tension and suspense, as everything can seem a bit off. The emotional connection with the characters can be hard to feel. The story can end without much oomph. But Burton makes magic happen and sees a story through to the end. He, Depp and the rest of the strong cast turn a simple tale into a mostly enchanting film.

[xrr rating=4/5 label=””]

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWFa8zfWfeA[/youtube]