Zack & Miri @ IMDB
It's fair to say, despite the mauling he generally receives, Kevin Smith is an icon for a certain section of popular culture fanboys. Having made his fame maxing out his credit cards to make a film, he's become almost the inspiration for the geek chic culture.
One group of people he has influenced is the Judd Apatow stable of movies, who follow the Smith Template of lewdness and sentimentality.
Now this comes full circle with Zak & Miri Make a Porno which stars Seth Rogen, one of the ring leaders of the Apatow films. A slice of fried comedy gold?
Hmm.
The story is interesting: we have two best friends who are struggling financially, who decide that the best way to escape their woes would be to make a porn film. Naturally. But the issue of sex won't complicate the relationship. Will it?
So you can see where it's going to go but with Kevin Smith films the ride is generally more important. As you do get his usual snappy dialogue, some nice jokes and the sight of Jason Mewes' cock.
But why am I not that enthused?
In a weird way Seth Rogen is the problem. This is because the films he's made are (basically) Kevin Smith films but done better. They don't have the self indulgence that has been infecting Smith's films since Jersey Girl. They don't rely on a ridiculous level of sentimentality. And they don't chuck in stupid dance bits that should have been left in rubbish 1980s John Hughes films.
The reason why Kevin Smith films used to stand out is because no one was making films like he made them. But now people are the cracks are starting to show. What he needs to do now is a completely fresh break and work on something new. At least the original View Askewniverse movies had a surreal charm to them, but the films he's made outside of that just seem like re-treads but without the good bits.
Possibly a little harsh there. It's still a good film but there's so much potential going to waste.
In a word? Shame.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
Film Review: Quantum of Solace
Quantum of Solace @ IMDB
Bond is back. Again.
So it'ss fair to say that the anticipation for the second Daniel Craig Bond film has been intense, to say the least. And I'll include myself in that as Casino Royale was a great film that came out of nowhere.
And this is the problem, but we'll get to that shortly.
Hot on the heels of the end of Casino Royale, Bond is on a mission to find the people behind the actions of his last Bond Girl, the traitorous Vesper.
Now, I've stopped the plot description there before it gets too confusing because the plot is a tad confusing. The Bourne Influence casts a mighty shadow over this film, including the labyrinthine plot that doesn't make that much sense. The reason why this worked in Bourne is that Bourne himself was on a straight line, trying to find the people out to get him. It was around him that all the double crossing CIA stuff happened so it didn't overwhelm the plot. Meanwhile in Bond, he's right in the middle of plot which puts the not very clear story right at the front of the film. Not ideal.
The bad guy isn't that good either, he's hardly a threatening presence in the film and not the big enemy that Bond needs.
The real problem is that this isn't the film we were expecting. We all wanted Casino Royale 2 but this isn't it. Whilst the action sequences are great it just doesn't connect the way Royale did. This is possibly down the humanising aspects of Bond that are missing from this film. I know he's supposed to be a grief stricken revenge obsessed super spy but he's so emotionally distant from us in this film that it detracts from the whole experience.
That isn't to say that Craig isn't a good Bond because he really really is. The few real Bond moments in the film he makes his own, he just needed a better script to support him.
It is a great action film (as you would expect as the Second Unit Director who did the action sequences worked on the Bourne films) but Casino Royale was a great action film with a great story.
This only gets it half right.
In a word? Bland.
Bond is back. Again.
So it'ss fair to say that the anticipation for the second Daniel Craig Bond film has been intense, to say the least. And I'll include myself in that as Casino Royale was a great film that came out of nowhere.
And this is the problem, but we'll get to that shortly.
Hot on the heels of the end of Casino Royale, Bond is on a mission to find the people behind the actions of his last Bond Girl, the traitorous Vesper.
Now, I've stopped the plot description there before it gets too confusing because the plot is a tad confusing. The Bourne Influence casts a mighty shadow over this film, including the labyrinthine plot that doesn't make that much sense. The reason why this worked in Bourne is that Bourne himself was on a straight line, trying to find the people out to get him. It was around him that all the double crossing CIA stuff happened so it didn't overwhelm the plot. Meanwhile in Bond, he's right in the middle of plot which puts the not very clear story right at the front of the film. Not ideal.
The bad guy isn't that good either, he's hardly a threatening presence in the film and not the big enemy that Bond needs.
The real problem is that this isn't the film we were expecting. We all wanted Casino Royale 2 but this isn't it. Whilst the action sequences are great it just doesn't connect the way Royale did. This is possibly down the humanising aspects of Bond that are missing from this film. I know he's supposed to be a grief stricken revenge obsessed super spy but he's so emotionally distant from us in this film that it detracts from the whole experience.
That isn't to say that Craig isn't a good Bond because he really really is. The few real Bond moments in the film he makes his own, he just needed a better script to support him.
It is a great action film (as you would expect as the Second Unit Director who did the action sequences worked on the Bourne films) but Casino Royale was a great action film with a great story.
This only gets it half right.
In a word? Bland.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Film Review: Star Wars - The Clone Wars
Star Wars: The Clone Wars @ IMDB
Hmm.
Previous reviews have noted that I am very much a child of the 80s. Nothing wrong with this. But this also means, of course, that Star Wars is a major landmark in my life.
It's hard to grasp just how all consuming it was, how it enraptured me and my generation. What isn't hard to grasp is how it's recently had the life strangled out of it by ill-conceived projects and films.
We won't go into the Prequel Trilogy here* as it's a conversation for another time, we will just focus on this new Star Wars film which is new in a couple of ways: it's all in 3D CGI and it fills in some gaps between Episodes 2 and 3 of the main Star Wars films.
What we have here is Obi Wan and Anakin and a shed load of clone troopers trying to rescue the son of Jabba the Hut.
Hmm.
Kids version of Stars Wars is nothing new. There were the Ewoks and Droids cartoons of the 80s, the Caravan of Courage film and the cartoon series this film was based on. That isn't to say that this is necessarily a good thing.
Visually, haven't got a problem. The art style of the cartoon series is based on the Genedy Tartakovsky looks of the series (see Dexter's Lab and Samurai Jack) which is heavily anime based. Whilst some may not like it (I've heard Obi Wan's beard described as lumps of wood stuck onto his face) it's not awful by any means. The battle sequences look great.
One weird aspect of this is the Droid army. These were always CGI in the Prequel films and they look exactly the same here. It's a strange bridge between the live action and animated films.
The problem is when they open their mouths. This film is good evidence as to why getting experienced actors for 3D CGI films is a good thing. The only actors from the film series to reprise their roles are Samuel L Jackson and Christopher Lee. And Yoda, but I'm not sure if he counts.
To put it simply: they're rubbish. Obi Wan's accent is all over the place and the only thing more annoying than Anakin's whiny voice is his annoying Jedi sidekick. All of them, rubbish.
It just feels like a cheap TV show that got some money thrown at it so it could come out in the cinema. The story drags itself along, the characters fall flat and it has no ambition whatsoever.
The worst thing is that it'll make money on name alone and get shown again and again. But the real worst thing is that this is what my son is going to think Star Wars is.
No thank you.
In a word? Hmm.
* Han Solo fired first!
Monday, November 17, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Awesome!
Hiro's Dad is in the next series of I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!
Wait. That isn't a good thing.
Nevermind. At least it'll stop the Shatner/Takei blood feud for a while.
Wait. That isn't a good thing.
Nevermind. At least it'll stop the Shatner/Takei blood feud for a while.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Film review: Kung Fu Panda
Kung Fu Panda @ IMDB
Sometimes ideas just sound great. As soon as you say them, you can't help but just say "yep, that works". It's like Kit Kat Chunkys with Cookie Dough, it just works.
So in this film we have a Panda doing Kung Fu. Simple, to the point, great idea.
It's a wonder there hasn't been that many kid versions of kung fu films considering the popularity of things like Power Rangers. After all, kung fu films are essentially plot light with a simple story that moves from A to B with minimum fuss and maximum action.
The plot for this film can easily be summed up in that it's about Po, a lowly panda working in his father's Noodle Restaurant who dreams of becoming a kung fu master with his idols The Furious Five. But then the deadly Tai Lung escapes and only the Dragon Warrior can stop him.
Guess who's picked to become the Dragon Warrior?
The film goes exactly as you'd expect but this isn't a problem because it's so much fun. Jack Black as Po is always good value for money, even when it's just his voice. We get all the usual Kung Fu cliches but they're wrapped up in such a great looking package it becomes a great homage rather than a lazy parody.
And it does look great. The kung fu action is seamless and fluid with a superb weight to it. Good bad guy, great set pieces and nicely paced. Whilst it's not a great piece of cinema like Wall-E, it's the second best kids film I've seen this year.
Frankly, the film is worth the entrance price for the opening Samurai Jack-inspired sequence.
In a word? Hiyah!
Sometimes ideas just sound great. As soon as you say them, you can't help but just say "yep, that works". It's like Kit Kat Chunkys with Cookie Dough, it just works.
So in this film we have a Panda doing Kung Fu. Simple, to the point, great idea.
It's a wonder there hasn't been that many kid versions of kung fu films considering the popularity of things like Power Rangers. After all, kung fu films are essentially plot light with a simple story that moves from A to B with minimum fuss and maximum action.
The plot for this film can easily be summed up in that it's about Po, a lowly panda working in his father's Noodle Restaurant who dreams of becoming a kung fu master with his idols The Furious Five. But then the deadly Tai Lung escapes and only the Dragon Warrior can stop him.
Guess who's picked to become the Dragon Warrior?
The film goes exactly as you'd expect but this isn't a problem because it's so much fun. Jack Black as Po is always good value for money, even when it's just his voice. We get all the usual Kung Fu cliches but they're wrapped up in such a great looking package it becomes a great homage rather than a lazy parody.
And it does look great. The kung fu action is seamless and fluid with a superb weight to it. Good bad guy, great set pieces and nicely paced. Whilst it's not a great piece of cinema like Wall-E, it's the second best kids film I've seen this year.
Frankly, the film is worth the entrance price for the opening Samurai Jack-inspired sequence.
In a word? Hiyah!
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
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