Film Trailers: OLDBOY (2013)

     Wednesday film trailers is back with Spike Lee's new remake of Chan-wook Park's cult favorite Oldboy. The film stars Josh Brolin as the kidnapped father who, once is released, must uncover the reasons why he was held against his will, while still being trapped in a series of unsettling circumstances and deceit. The trailer looks faithful to the original, which is pretty much a classic in mood, style and intensity in my mind, but can Spike Lee pull it off by putting his own stamp on the material. Some of the visuals look so similar but Brolin looks to be on point with his performance while Samuel L. Jackson might bring to much cheesiness to the film. Hopefully not. This film will divide the die hard fans of Park's 2003 classic since some wonder why is it being remade at all but I am willing to give it a shot. The material and look of the trailer is showing that Lee and the writers have not shied away from a hard R-rating which is good news. Enjoy.

THE LONE RANGER

The Lone Ranger

Directed by Gore Verbinski

Written by Justin Haythe, Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio

     Disney's big budget blockbuster The Lone Ranger is a failed, formulaic film that is void of any depth in storytelling and a Johnny Depp performance that has just about run its course. The film is a mess. It is textbook in the making of a film that has little appreciation for the value of a good narrative and dialogue and focuses on supposed crowd pleasing explosions and ridiculous, fantastical feats of action and lame humor. The film does not work as a western or an action-comedy and thoroughly annoys as the two and a half hour run time seems to take forever to reach.
     Directed by Gore Verbinski, who also directed the first three Pirates of the Caribbean films, has fallen off course with this bloated, $200 million plus budgeted summer blockbuster. The main issue, besides the long running time, is the fiscal way of attempting to balance the western genre and appreciation for the original television program of the same name, with the audience friendly comedy and over-the-top action. There are scenes in the big climatic train chase that are just funny in the absurd way. The idea that any of these outlandish sequences would actually happen, the Lone Ranger (Armie Hammer) jumping his horse onto a moving train and Tonto (Johnny Depp) crossing trains with a wooden ladder are too stupid and boring for me to appreciate. It is definitely not John Ford's Stagecoach or Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch. The film is not meant to be though and it is suppose to please the masses and bring in the money.
     The problem is also that there is no appreciation for quality filmmaking but just silly attempts at humor and massive set piece driven action sequences to appease a movie going audience that is void of anything that has importance in cinema. It is not cinema, it is blockbuster mania where we do not have to think or draw your own conclusions. Film in America is getting to low place where dollar signs are more important than quality and Disney's The Lone Ranger is a prime example of this steady machine that does not seem to slowing down.
     The film has themes of revenge and justice, which ring true in any classic western. Armie Hammer plays John Reid, who becomes the Lone Ranger, an educated man of the law who is seeking justice for the murder of his Texas Ranger brother Dan Reid (James Badge Dale). He encounters is estranged ex-girlfriend Rebecca Reid (Ruth Wilson), who is married to Dan and her young son Danny (Bryant Prince). The ruthless, cannibalistic killer Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner) is the man they are in pursuit of and is the murderer of Dan. The search for justice is aided with the help of a Native American Tonto (Johnny Depp) who creates the buddy duo with John and also has his own personal reasons for hunting down Cavendish. The story goes from there with weak twists and horrible flashbacks where an over 100 year-old Tonto retells the story of himself and The Lone Ranger's adventures in San Francisco as part of a carnival. This retelling of the story adds little to the film in that it just makes the film much longer then it needed to be.
     Leading into the performances in the film, casting Johnny Depp as Tonto gave the sense that Disney was already putting him front and center ahead of the Lone Ranger. He evidently is in a good financial relationship with Disney. Armie Hammer, who was excellent in David Fincher's The Social Network, is a bit boring and way to clean cut to be a character in the Old West. He just does not bring the comedic balance that the film was going for with Johnny Depp and he just felt out of place and unbelievable throughout the whole film. Johnny Depp's stick of quirky, off-beat likable heroes has run out of fun and desire. He plays Tonto with the same wit and humor as his Jack Sparrow in the Pirates films but something else needs to be in there. It is very much as I had seen this too many times before. I miss the Depp of Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, not a great film but visually amazing and a guilty pleasure film, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. The range is still there but this blockbuster, Disney binge he is on has taken him away from quality films that matter. Money speaks.
     In the end, The Lone Ranger is another in a long line of action packed, Joe Popcorn escapist filmmaking. The characters are not written with any depth or concern, but instead the focus is on silly plot twists that are completely redone over and over and explosions and ridiculous action set pieces. The film is a boring mess and contains Johnny Depp in a performance that is at times funny but has just been seen too many times since he first went to mega blockbuster status as Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Disney, Depp and Verbinski seem more concerned with dollar signs then anything else.
     

Film Trailers: BLUE JASMINE

    I have to post this one real quick. Woody Allen is my favorite director of all time. Allen's films revolve around the allure and possibility of cinema. Funny, dark, neurotic, suspenseful and speaks to the heart, and mind, of ups and downs of relationships. Blue Jasmine is his new film and it revolves around the after effects of the economic downfall of the late 2000s. The tone feels like that of another serious drama from Woody Match Point. The film stars Cate Blanchett, always great, Alec Baldwin, Peter Sarsgaard, Sally Hawkins, Andrew Dice Clay, Louis C.K. and Michael Stuhlbarg. It feels and looks like it is going to be really good. Enjoy.

Mini-blog Hiatus

     I have not stopped writing or coming up with ideas for the future of my film blog. I am currently working so many hours and have to find time for family and sleep. My passion for film and writing is not going anywhere and I just have not had the time to watch hardly any films, new releases or films at home, in over a couple of weeks. I am coming back with more posts, concepts and constantly reviewing new films every week. It is going to be great and I am going to be able to devote so much more time to this endeavor. The hours of my other jobs will calm down soon and I am going fulll speed into this blog in a little over two weeks. I am going to make the most of it, grow it and find my passion with my writing and love of film and film history. Go after your dreams and passions.

IRON MAN 3

Iron Man 3

Directed by Shane Black

Written by Shane Black & Drew Pearce

     The Iron Man franchise from Marvel keeps trucking along with another mega blockbuster actioneer with Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man in Iron Man 3. It is just another big budget film. There was nothing ground breaking or substantial from a cinematic standpoint at all. I have not read or followed the comics, so there might be more or less there than I am aware of but this is just more escapist, CGI filled summer entertainment to feed the masses. Keep the money rolling in and the fans satisfied with enjoyable flying heroes and long action set pieces and all will be fine in Hollywood.
     I have never really been blown away by any of these films and never felt like I was seeing anything new. They are just films that sell an enormous amount of tickets and contain numerous amounts of action and battles. So what else to say about Iron Man 3. It was too long, boring and that ending seemed like it was never going to end. Nothing new about a battle between good and evil in a shipyard and loading dock. Disappoint ensues. Robert Downey, Jr., who is a very talented and acutely timed comedic actor is good but his talents would be better served in meaningful films. Wait, like is great turn in Shane Black's good film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and the wonderful Zodiac from the equally wonderful David Fincher.
     The third, and even though rumors suggest this will be the last Iron Man film, I'm sure Marvel will flash those dollars signs in front of Downey and try and get him to return for a fourth installment, has Tony Stark/Iron Man going through a rough patch with his main girl Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and humorous bouts of anxiety. The story occurs after the events in The Avengers and Stark realizes  there are greater forces in the universe and he is only a man in an expensive suit. To avoid the ups and downs of love and the realities of life, he fills his time in his workshop until a new villain is upon him and the world, The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley). As the film goes on you do not have to be a rocket scientist to see where the story is going. Nothing new or original. Oh yeah. Downey I can see coming back for a fourth. That's too much money to pass up and that's pretty much all Hollywood is worried about right now. Thats completely evident with this film and series.
     Yes, yes. I am ranting a bit and Downey is still wonderful with his sarcastic wit and humor. There are some enjoyable, funny scenes with a younger kid played by Ty Simpkins. The timing is perfect and Simpkins goes word for word with the fast talking Downey when they are attempting to get through some small town moments. Ben Kingsley plays it well with a sinister tone and has a silly twist towards the end. Guy Pearce, who plays Aldrich Killian, is good in his role as a developer of an enhanced form of genetics that can grow body parts back. Actually, he works alongside Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall) in creating and using this new technology that The Mandarin will use at his will. Blah, blah, blah.
     I never could get involved or cared for any of the characters in Iron Man 3. It felt basically boring and stupid. I am not at all familiar with the comics so I have no idea of how these plot lines and characters play out in some of the stories but this was just an over bloated Hollywood film that was strictly made to grow the bank accounts of its star and the studio, and keep eyes visually satisfied without thinking too much. I do not want to devalue the fact that there is anything wrong with action, CGI filled films that are mainly made for the masses and escapist cinema. Go and watch it if you like films that do not make you think and do not give any sense of the growth of cinema. It is just not my cup of tea, but it is what it is and nothing more. To each there own.
     

Film Trailers: A SERIOUS MAN

     Wednesday Film Trailers presents the Coen Brothers brilliant comedy A Serious Man. Coming off the huge critical success of the also fantastic No Country For Old Men, the brothers delivered a witty, somewhat autobiographical tale of growing up Minnesota. Parents are going through difficult emotional times, husband Larry Gopnik, played unbelievably well by Micahel Stuhlbarg, who is merely a mediocre, miserable college professor and the dead pan sophistication of what true comedy is and should be. This was considered minor work by many upon its release. It was not the swift thriller like the aforementioned No Country or Fargo but this is some of the brothers best work, right up there with Barton Fink, Miller's Crossing and The Big Lebowski. A personal story about an under achiever and all the misery that comes along with a mid-life crisis. The Coen's, who have another film that is gaining widespread praise at the current Cannes Film Festival called Inside Llewyn Davis, seem so perfectly adept at pinpointing place, time and moods of the lives of there characters better than any other filmmakers working right now. Excellent filmmakers. Watch the film and enjoy the trailer!

PAIN & GAIN

Pain & Gain

Directed by Michael Bay

Written by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely

     Pain & Gain is based on a true story. A ridiculously, over-the-top true story of weightlifters who desire more out of life and are willing to do whatever it takes to achieve notoriety and success. As I was watching this film, which is one of Micheal Bay's better films, even though there are not many, I could not believe that this actually happened. I know films embellish and over-dramatize true life stories but the fact these ignorant men pulled the robberies and murders off is quite ludicrous. It contains very serious acts of violence but the film is a full on action-comedy that contains some serviceable, comedic performances from Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson and Anthony Mackie.

     Now, this film is about dumb people doing dumb things. There is little to no humanity or remorse on display and the main culprits are truly ignorant human beings. Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg) is a trainer at a gym in Miami, Florida. He is down on his lack of growth and wants to be successful. Financially successful. He vies for attending a self-help seminar, one delivered by Johnny Wu, played by the increasingly annoying Ken Jeong, and decides, with the assistance of fellow trainer Adrian Doorbal (Anthony Mackie) and the new member to the gym, an ex-con Paul Doyle (Dwayne Johnson) to achieve success through unsavory actions. The madness ensues and these three play out in the film like a pumped up, nineties version of the three stooges. There ambition has no intelligence in sight. It is all about the all mighty dollar and seeking the "American Dream" by not working for it at all.

    The trio kidnap, extort from business owner Victor Kershaw (Tony Shalhoub), he owns a sandwich shop, and audaciously spend all there stolen money which leads them down an absurd path to murder. They attempt to extort money from a Miami porn king Frank Griga (Michael Rispoli) and in this most ridiculous of scenes, they end up killing him with, ironically weights. All about that pain and gain.  I can't go on any further. That is the brunt of the story. These men are flat-out stupid and have no idea how deep and in trouble they are getting into. They want that mythical "American Dream" that, in their mind consists of money, women, a fancy house in a fancy neighborhood and being doer. Unfortunately, they do not have the intellect to achieve these on their own through education and patience. They are examples of Americans that are despicable and without any integrity or respect for other human beings. 

     Pain & Gain is your typical Michael Bay film. Low, slow motion pan shots circling the actors, beautiful girls wearing next to nothing and an extremely dark palette with shots of neon colors that fit the Miami vibe. It is a decent film coming from the director of those awful, mega blockbuster Transformer films and harkens back to the silly action-comedy ways of his Bad Boys films. Light on the heavy explosions and noise, and focused more on the dark humor and, in this case, archaic ways of the trio of weightlifters. This is not to say it is great film by any means, but for Michael Bay, it is fairly decent and funny.

     The actors are all sufficiently good in there roles. Wahlberg plays Lugo with the wide-eyed stupidity and distracted optimism of someone who thinks he is smarter than he actually is. Dwayne Johnson shows some better acting chops than any of his previous roles as the drug-addled Doyle. In a scene later in the film he is in prime form while attempting to eliminate any trace of the murder that happened to the porn king. He is an honest, weak-hearted individual that does not have the brains to make it in the real world and is better suited for himself, and society, behind bars. Mackie, however, steals the show. He is on his game in this film from the get go and really soaks in his characters level of incoherence and ignorance. He is gives the best performance in the film. The film also contains a great turn from Ed Harris who plays Ed DuBois, a private investigator who aids in bringing the brainless trio into custody.

     Pain & Gain, for all its worth is a film about the stupidity in doing tragic actions. A studio film that seriously downplays the severity of these idiots activities and the lack of humanity in it. There is no remorse from the trio of weightlifters. The film works since it plays off the intensity with the clueless humor. They become semi-successful by doing nothing, like a lot of people out there. It is a little scary to think that we can watch a film about deplorable people and find laughter in it. People were senselessly hurt and murdered for no other reason than the glorification of these morons egos and bank accounts. Is this the America we live in? Scary to think of that. Bay has avoided answering these questions but at the same time crafted a film that is decent for him, but minor in meaning and results, even if there were no intentions but to show ignorance in all its calamitous affliction.