Boldly Going Pt 10 (Star Trek: Nemesis, 2002)

So, after the disappointing returns the studio brought in the director of Executive Decision, Stuart Baird, and John Logan, the screen writer of the Time Machine.

The Romulans are in turmoil and during a high level meeting of their government, there is an assassination of the council. Shinzon is installed as their leader.

Picard and the Enterprise are lured to a remote planet by a unique signal that is emitted by androids like Data. They discover the pieces of an Android named B-4. Once assembled they try and determine how he got to the planet and his purpose. It turns out that he has a connection to Shinzon.

When he meets with Picard, it is revealed that he is actually a clone of Picard from an abandoned secret Romulan project. Shinzon is deteriorating and needs the genetics of Picard to stop it.

To be honest? This is the film that nearly killed the franchise. It is a dreary and dark mess. The characters do not feel like themselves and the attempts at epic game changers just do not feel like they were at all committed. Data’s self sacrifice would probably feel more heavy hearted if there was not already an onscreen replacement. When Troi is literally mind raped, she requests to step down and Picard refuses to allow it, asking her to endure more.

Even scenes that feel like they should be exciting adventures are just lifeless.

Nemesis is a disappointing slog. True story, I tried to watch this film five different times in the years since it came out and fell asleep until the fifth time. I recently watched it again. I did manage to stay awake, but boy was it not a good time.

June 15, 2020 0

Manic Monday (Venom, 2018)

Before Sony worked out a deal with Marvel Studios to bring Peter Parker into the MCU, they had planned a Spider-Man Cinematic Universe. This included a Sinister Six film, Black Cat and Venom.

But the Marvel Deal does not include any of those ideas…and so Sony is trying to develop the properties sans Spider-Man. In the case of Venom though? It make some sense. Spider-Man 3 had condensed the Venom story and did it pretty poorly. This does not change the idea that a Spider-Manless Spider-Verse is a bad idea. Spider-Man and his villains are pretty tightly tied together. Venom does keep a lot of the core ideas of the character. A gooey alien symbiote with violent tendencies attaches to Eddie Brock as a host.
Eddie is a reporter who ruins his life when he cannot hold back his disdain and accuses Carlton Drake of ruthlessly killing the desperate and poor to achieve his scientific success.

When he is smuggled into Drake’s compound he gets infected by a parasite that calls himself Venom. Eddie and Venom need each other, as a Symbiote cannot survive long in an oxygen rich environment without a host, and Eddie needs Venom to survive as he is hunted by Drake’s men.

I am…not entirely how I feel at this point about the film. Venom has a great cast, and I liked Hardy’s manic performance. I really liked the idea of making Eddie some sort of VICE styled journalist. It makes for an interesting approach, rather than a guy being driven by jealousy.

On the other hand, the film takes some time to get going, because there is a lot of setup. And while the film has some laughs, it is not as darkly funny as it could have been.

I guess, I would say that Venom is…not terrible. It is watchable with decent effects and a great cast. I will say…the post credit scene kind of makes me want to see a sequel.

October 5, 2018 0

Hope in Retreat (Dunkirk, 2017)

The Nazi’s are on the march across Europe. In the French city of Dunkirk, the Allies have been beaten back. The British and the French are trying to get out before they are overtaken by the Nazi armies.

The British are waiting for ships to arrive and bring the troops home. But they are facing regular air barrages from the Germans.

The Allies recruit boats from local small boat captains. They go on their way to try and retrieve the soldiers, and at the same time, a small group of British pilots try and provide the boats cover.

The film starts with breaking down the story into three parts. Earth (where the soldiers wait), sea (following a boat on it’s way to Dunkirk), and air (following three pilots). When you see the immense number of soldiers waiting for rescue, it becomes clear why Nolan made this choice. On the ground, we follow Tommy and Gibson, two very young soldiers. They are trying to get on a ship, and end up getting bumped to the front of the line when they risk their lives carrying a wounded soldier on a stretcher to a medical boat. But the soldiers face a horror as German planes bomb the ship and they can only watch as a ship full of wounded men sink into the sea.

We also get to see the concerns of the top officers who are trying to get their soldiers out. While they are making every effort, they are given some instructions that trouble them. Specifically, they are told to leave the French soldiers behind.

The sea focuses on a small vessel driven by Mr. Lawrence, Peter and George. Early on, they pick up the only survivor of another ship that has been sunk. This soldier (Cillian Murphy in a role credited only as “Shivering Soldier”) is terrified when he finds out they are going to Dunkirk. We never see exactly what he has witnessed, but he is adamant they return to Britain.

Air is focused on pilots Farrier and Collins. They are two of three planes trying to shoot down as many Germans as they can and save as many soldiers as possible.

On it’s face, Dunkirk seems like an odd choice of World War 2 Events, Most World War 2 films seek to focus on the great victories, especially against great odds. And, certainly, there is an aspect of that here. But Dunkirk was a moment in which the Allies faced a defeat and had gone into retreat.

However, it is clear to see why the British see this as such an important moment of their history. This is about finding hope and unity in moments of great defeat. It does not shy away from the cruelty of war, even though it is never as graphic as say, Saving Private Ryan. Nolan looks at the demons of war, but also sees where humanity can shine. We see men, both soldier and citizen uniting to survive. To get back alive and rebuild.

Nolan’s use of audio, both in sound and the music, are in top form here. The intensity is constantly building as music blends with the sounds of ships and planes. Much of Dunkirk was actually filmed on the beach of Dunkirk, adding to the reality and weight of the film.

Nolan has created a powerful epic that looks at the destruction, both physical and emotional, war will do…and sees where humanity can triumph in the face of that adversity. And he manages this looking at a moment when the good guys were facing a resounding defeat.

January 29, 2018 0

Rage Against the Machine (The Dark Knight Rises,2012)

It was becoming clear that Nolan was planning to form a trilogy. The Dark Knight ended with Batman on the run, taking the blame for Harvey Dent’s death. It suggested Batman would be hiding in the shadows in his fight against crime. There were no real casting controversies this time. Generally, people seemed okay with announcements of Tom Hardy and Anne Hathaway.

After the Dark Knight, people seemed to trust the team making these films. So there was much anticipation when the Dark Knight Rises arrived four years later.

And right from the start? The film kicks off with a nice little plane hijacking by the villain Bane. This Bane appears to be a pretty brilliant criminal and Occupy Terrorist. And yet? The terrific setup from the Dark Knight is not used at all. The film picks up eight years later with Bruce Wayne having retired Batman. The police did their job, so Bruce retired the persona shortly after the events of the Dark Knight. Apparently, no weird bad guys appeared after the Joker. Wayne is in rough shape, physically speaking. The years as Batman took a real toll. He catches Selina Kyle busting into his safe during a party, Kyle is a morally ambiguous character. She is a thief of course, but she is not entirely without conscience.

Commissioner Gordon is deemed a hero, but this is eating away at him…and he keeps a letter on himself at all times confessing what really happened to Harvey Dent. This certainly could have been a real damning situation. Admittedly, I felt it would have been better to bring Two Face back as the central villain, out to humiliate and expose (and destroy) Gordon and the Batman.

Bane starts to wreak havoc on Gotham’s social and financial districts. Forcing Batman out of retirement and into a confrontation, Bane breaks Batman’s back and tosses him in hole. Ultimately Bruce Wayne must climb to the top to get free. The film is a bit on the nose.

It turns out that Bane is teamed up with another villain, who is revealed to have ties from the first film. And their plan just makes no sense. They trap the entire police force underground and plan to blow up a bomb.

What makes the Dark Knight Rises so disappointing as a followup is that it is incredibly sloppy in it’s storytelling. How and why things occur are not fully thought out. The film is full of exciting sequences…but they don’t bring the film together. The film is heavily focused on being a “last Bruce Wayne” story for the Nolan version. But the villains activities don’t really have a satisfying connecting moment. There is, technically, an “Ah HA!” moment. But it still leaves a lot of Bane’s overly elaborate scheming kind of pointless.

As a follow up to the Dark Knight (and Batman Begins) this is a well cast movie full of plot-holes to the point of Swiss Cheese. Catwoman is a fun character, and Hathaway’s performance is great, without drawing on earlier film versions. Freeman, Cain and Oldman are great in their roles, vital to the enjoyment of this film. As a fan of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, he is always welcome, and his tenacious cop Blake (in spite of a “groaner” of a name reveal at the end) is likable…he is also pretty obvious the out of they wanted to make a fourth film without Bale, as the Bale Batman seems to have run it’s course. That Bat Voice starts to grate on a viewer, especially after three movies.

I wish Nolan’s series could have ended on a higher note, but that was not meant to be. We have a movie with some fine performances, some good action scenes and a rather hard to buy into massive plan by villains even taking into account this is a movie about a guy dressed as a bat.

August 26, 2016 0

Vengeance Is a Dish Best Served Cold (The Revenant, 2015)

Revenant: Definition one, a person who returns. Definition two, a person who returns as a spirit or ghost. The film works on both those levels. Going in, based on early word and promotions, this may have struck you as a revenge movie with Leonardo DiCaprio fighting a bear.

And those things are there. The bear attack is intense and brutal. It also leads to DiCaprio’s High Glass’ quest for revenge on Tom Hardy’s John Fitzgerald. After their fur trapping group is attacked by a group of Native Americans. They are seeking the Chief’s kidnapped daughter and believe Glass’s crew has her. The survivors escape due to Glass’s knowledge of the wilderness. His main goal is protecting his son.

While scouting ahead, Glass is attacked and has a fight with a large mother bear. His group tries to patch him up, but ultimately, they agree to go ahead while Fitzgerald, Bridger (Will Poulter) and Glass’ son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck) stay with the incapacitated Glass.

Things go south as Fitzgerald becomes impatient, wishing Glass would just die. As I said, the film is a revenge film. But it is not a revenge film like we might get starring Liam Neeson or Mel Gibson. Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu (2014’s Birdman) takes his time. Much of the film simply follows Glass struggling to survive a harsh winter, mostly alone, when he can barely walk. The actual seeking of revenge does not occur until near the end of the movie.

It is beautifully shot, capturing much of the beauty that can be found even in harsh winters. Iñárritu skillfully will focus on a sunrise as seen through frozen bare tree branches. And the performances are what one would expect from talent like DiCaprio and Hardy. There are long quiet stretches, that get broken up by harsh and brutal violence.

I don’t know that the Revenant is truly a film that invites repeat watches, it is not a film where you need to mine it for themes buried deep. Instead, it is laid bare on the table. It is a film that sticks with you well after leaving the theater.

January 28, 2016 0

Locked In (Locke, 2014)

So, if you told me a movie about a guy in a car trying to get a cement foundation poured within the next twenty four hours would be a super compelling watch? I would have walked away thinking you were nuts.

And yet, somehow, Director Steven Knight manages to make a car ride with only Tom Hardy very tense and powerful.

Usually, with a gimmick where you have one guy in a car for the entire film, there is a plot like he is being forced to commit some terrible act by some shadowy figure. But here, Ivan Locke (Tom Hardy) is simply a guy trying to solve two problems. He is trying to be responsible for his actions, and make sure his business is successful. Locke is a dedicated family man and construction manager who gets a call that forces him to confront a choice he made months before.

What we get as the viewer is Tom Hardy in a car. A lesser actor might have screwed this up. But his unraveling life is fully punctuated by Hardy’s quiet performance. Locke constantly tries to speak calmly to everyone, attempting to fix his errors, even as they tend to escalate. The performance is terrific.

I was fully drawn in to this story, and the gimmick really works. We are isolated with Locke in his car, and the only access to the world outside him is through his phone. We never see any of the people he is speaking with, and it is an effective move on Knight’s part. This is a terrifically executed film that deserves far more recognition than it has gotten.

September 14, 2015 0

Drive Mad (Mad Max: Fury Road, 2015)

The Mad Max franchise went quiet after 1985’s Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. That film fell a bit short of the Road Warrior, the film that we tend to mostly recall when we think of the Mad Max franchise. Talk began as far back 2003, back then it was set to star original Max Mel Gibson.

The film struggled through development, eventually announcing Tom Hardy taking over the role. I was not all that interested, to be honest. It seems like it was a sequel nobody was interested in getting and that we were all happy to to see it be a remnant of 80’s franchises.

Turns out we were all wrong. This film is the shot in the arm action franchises needed. Fury Road is an adrenaline rush. Director George Miller intended the film to be a massive chase film. And he achieves that successfully. The film pushes down the pedal almost right away, and rarely takes a break.

The plot is simple, Max is being a loner and gets dragged into a battle against Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne who was Toe Cutter in the original Mad Max) who is pursuing Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron in a terrific performance). She has stolen precious cargo from him, and he wants it back. The cargo is his harem. These young women do not want to bear children to be fodder for his Warboy Army.

So much stands out, the editing (the film was edited by Miller’s wife Margaret Sixel, who has never edited an action movie before…this was a wise call, as she did a bang up job), the fact that there is almost no digital work with stunts, the grim humor…this is an adrenaline rush of a film.

As with the previous incarnation’s Max inhabits a dark world. Immortan Joe rules from the citidel, where he keeps all the best for himself, throwing scraps to the people below. He rules cruelly, while his Warboys live for nothing other than to die for his glory. He has used a weird viking style religion promising glory to those he smiles upon.

Furiosa wants to rescue the young women Joe keeps to bear him children from this oppressive life. Furiosa is tough and powerful. She is a striking character who stands up to the gruff Max, and in turn winning his respect and help.

While the heroes often rely on violence to achieve their ends of getting away from the forces of Immortan Joe, what stands out to me if there is also room for the power of mercy and gentleness to bring about change on an individual level.

Mad Max Fury Road is the best action film I saw all year. It spends little time on exposition (who are the ghosts that haunt Max? How long after Thunderdome is this taking place, etc). The visuals are insanely engaging…I mean…look at this:

You either think that is the dumbest thing ever, or you love it. The world is just…, well, bonkers. Characters have names like Nux, Toast the Knowing and the Splendid Angharad. I find myself excited for the blu-ray so I can watch it again. I am curious to see the next film that they give us in Max’s story (Hardy is on for three more films).

July 11, 2015 0