Monday Morning Quarterback Part III
By BOP Staff
June 27, 2013
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Jason Barney: For me, the summer movie season starts with April vacation. Hollywood has managed to push its summer movie schedule into early May, which is great, as I rush out to see a lot of the March and April movies when the big budget films arrive. Having a drive-in nearby makes it easier, as I can grab two films in one night.
I have seen 17 films in theaters since the start of April vacation. The Croods and The Call were two we enjoyed at the Sunset Drive in here in Vermont. Then my girlfriend and I tried to pay attention to some of the indie offerings, so we saw The Place Beyond the Pines and The Company You Keep. Both were excellent. We were able to take in Oz the Great and Powerful before it left the area. The Great Gatsby was good enough. Mud was excellent. I am a huge Star Trek fan and was hoping it was going to be a success. Domestically it has disappointed, but Paramount has to be happy with the worldwide take. In the House was a great French film. I would highly recommend it; perhaps one of the best of the year. Pain and Gain was awful. 42 was pretty good. Then we had another drive-in adventure....taking my son and nephew to see Epic. They fell asleep in the back seat as we watched Iron Man 3. The Hangover Part III was okay. After Earth was better than I expected because everyone said it was so terrible. The Purge was well worth watching. The most recent film we took in was Before Midnight, which was painfully excellent.
I am very excited about the second half of the summer movie season as there are far more offerings for July and August than there were in May and June. If I remember correctly, only Memorial Day Weekend had three films opening. There were some weeks where just one new film came out. If you look at the release schedule July has one weekend where four films hit theaters, all the rest have at least two wide releases. I was a little shocked to see that August has three weekends with four different films with a wide release. Not to mention the indie films that will squeeze into the schedule....it is looking to be a marvelous second half. I am looking forward to The Wolverine, Red 2, Elysium, RIPD and Blue Jasmine. And of course - all of the kids’ movies coming out.
Max Braden: I've seen seven movies in theaters so far this year. At the moment, Iron Man 3 was my favorite of that group. I still think Iron Man was the best of the trio, but Iron Man 3 was unexpectedly funny (maybe due to Shane Black's influence as director?). Ben Kingsley stole the movie. Star Trek Into Darkness was good, but it feels like they're playing Mad Libs with the story elements and then rushing through them. I like the new crew but they just don't have the charm of the originals. I liked Oblivion a lot, because it felt a lot like a sci-fi movie from the ‘80s. The automatic probes were more intimidating than Robocop. The visuals were excellent. I just caught World War Z this weekend and was also entertained. I had been hesitant after seeing the trailer, because I don't like zombies that are suddenly faster and stronger than people normally would be, but it didn't bother me during the movie. I was shifting around in my seat and actually looking around corners after leaving the theater at 1 a.m., because there are a bunch of really harrowing close calls in the movie.
Olympus Has Fallen had a good attack setup, but the villain's plot reveal was just ridiculous and ruined the movie. Fast & Furious 6 also had some good chase moments, but as I'd seen noted elsewhere, it's more about the testosterone than the cars now. I kept thinking Jason Statham was the villain in this movie because I could hear his voice (intentional, I think, in the first scene), and kept thinking they had put some weird makeup on him and were going to take it off but never did. Now You See Me is a fun heist movie with neat effects, but there's just no groundwork for the end reveal. It's not a movie that's going to stick with me, though it might be one of those you have to watch whenever it shows up on cable.
My recent DVD viewing provided a late entry for my favorite performance of 2012: Tom Courtenay in Quartet is excellent. I was wary about this movie, thinking it was going to be pandering fluff like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. I was pleasantly surprised that it takes itself more seriously than that, but still has a sense of humor about aging. Quartet is the perfect antidote to the glum view of aging in Amour. Warm Bodies also put itself at the top of my 2013 favorites, even above Iron Man 3. It's a brilliant touch to make the undead not actually dead, and turn a taboo into a love story. I don't expect it to be my favorite movie by the end of the year, but I liked it a lot.
On the contrary, Beautiful Creatures started with a similar voice over setup and I immediately identified it as a chore. The romance is boring, and the attempted accents and Southern attitude are just about unbearable. Mama and Dark Skies were both effectively scary, providing enough startling moments to keep me interested. Escape from Planet Earth was just okay; for dueling animated brothers, I'd suggest Arthur Christmas instead. Promised Land was also just okay, since it beat you over the head with the preachy story, even if I agreed with it. Stand Up Guys was fun. Alan Arkin steals the show as someone who just kicks ass by his nature, regardless of his age. Gangster Squad was also entertaining enough for what it was - slightly better than Christian Slater's mobsters and less ponderous than The Untouchables. Emma Stone looked great but was mostly useless, and Gosling had a weird high pitch to his voice.
The Last Stand is also okay for just tune out viewing. One that I would recommend against despite some curiosity is Revenge for Jolly! I picked it up because I noticed Kristen Wiig's in the cast. It's about a guy avenging his dead dog, but what should be a comedy is just overly violent and strange. Seven Psycopaths is much more fun for a similar story. Lastly, if you want to get weird, I recommend John Dies at the End. It's surreal, but not hard to follow, and that's what makes it funny. Also, The Details starts off weird, starring Tobey Maguire as a guy who accidentally kills his neighbor's cat, and to get past it he keeps making things worse for himself. What hooked me on the movie is that they go further than you'd expect even for a dark comedy, and the brutal honesty about his situation is rare, particularly among married couples.
Kim Hollis: I've mostly enjoyed almost every 2013 movie I've seen with one glaring exception. That exception is Beautiful Creatures, a movie I wanted to see because the trailer looked so bad I figured it would be a fun but terrible film to watch. Instead, it was just terrible, with horrible accents and a perception of the deep South that is deeply offensive.
Warm Bodies, on the other hand, is a blast of a movie, subverting the zombie genre in a way that I really enjoyed. It will be one of those movies that I re-watch whenever it's on. It's nothing like World War Z, which similarly deals with zombies but in a completely different way. What I like about World War Z is that it's a combination thriller, horror movie and medical mystery. I also really like that both of these films succeed without gore. Warm Bodies isn't really meant to be super scary, but I was on edge throughout World War Z and I'd much rather watch something like that than any of the recent, all-too-realistic horror flicks.
Oblivion was a movie that was kind of just there. I always like watching Tom Cruise (and he's magnetic here as always), but it felt like this movie could have done much more with the story. Iron Man 3 was a blast. It might be the first action movie I've ever seen that integrates a kid actor successfully and not in an annoying way. I would watch Robert Downey Jr. in everything. I also enjoyed Star Trek Into Darkness even as I recognize that it doesn't bring much that is new to the table. There wasn't nearly enough Karl Urban for my liking.
I think I might still be processing Before Midnight. I'm a big fan of the first two films, and the tone in the third movie takes a decidedly different direction. I have to believe that it's good that I've been that thoughtful about the film since seeing it, but I will say that if I do have a problem with it, it's in the way Celine is written.
This Is the End is just ridiculous, over-the-top, immature humor and I pretty much enjoyed every moment of it. It might be a bit too insider for a lot of viewers, as some jokes go way, way, way back (at least in regards to the careers of these young performers). It's a total mess, I admit, but I can't complain about a movie that makes me laugh that hard.
Finally, I saw Monsters University over the weekend and I just thoroughly enjoyed it. It's light and fluffy and very family-friendly, but what I think I really like best about it is that in Monsters, Inc., we saw Mike Wazowski as the character who was kind of the jerk while Sully was super fuzzy and lovable. Monsters University flips that on its head, and I liked that Mike got his chance to be the hopeful, determined character.
David Mumpower: After a long period of intending to watch Hanna, I finally found the opportunity to do so. For me, the movie is a great example of the whole being less than its parts. I felt that the performances of Cate Blanchett, Olivia Williams and Saoirse Ronan were impeccable and I was even impressed by Eric Bana, someone I rarely like as an actor. Still, when the movie ended, I found myself thinking "That was it?" For all the hype, buzz and glowing reviews, I found Hanna to be a soulless endeavor. I've been told that the titular protagonist found her soul along the way yet I saw nothing that would cause me to believe that is what transpired. Part of the explanation is heightened expectations, my own fault, but I was disappointed by Hanna.
I had mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I loved everything about the concept of The Purge. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the story defied my expectations at several points. Off my head, I can think of three different moments in The Purge that I had not expected, a rarity for me after a dozen years as a movie critic. The ending was also a total shock and an implementation that fit perfectly with the overall concept. I realize that a certain portion of our readers are never going to watch The Purge due to its concept. I wholeheartedly recommend it to those who are on the fence about it.
I enjoyed Man of Steel more than I had expected, which is to say that it is not a train wreck. As someone who has never appreciated the concept of Superman, a lazy riff on the Achilles myth, the primary selling point for me was director Zack Snyder. I have always enjoyed the visuals and conceptualizations in his movies, even when he has a misstep such as Sucker Punch. I also believe that Watchmen is a best case scenario result given the subject matter. Man of Steel is nowhere near that successful an adaptation but I would generally recommend it.
The strengths of Man of Steel occur in the first half of the film. The introduction to the new Superman is handled with aplomb while the fall of Krypton is given a signification explanation (for once). I have a couple of storyline problems involving the ability of the chief scientist of the world being able to kick the ass of the chief warrior. Beyond that, I found myself thinking that Man of Steel was going to be a great film.
Then, the second half of the movie lost me. It fell victim to Michael Bay Syndrome with a series of less and less meaningful fight sequences. Snyder has always had a penchant for over-indulgence; Man of Steel is his masterpiece in this regard. This mess is a shame because Henry Cavill is an impeccable choice as Superman. I had felt all along that he would be another Brandon Routh, an empty suit in over his head. To my shock, Cavill's presence added gravity to the proceedings. If there is a Justice League movie, the combination of him and Christian Bale (or even Joseph-Gordon Levitt) would be lights out. For me personally, the action sequences diminish Man of Steel a great deal but there is still enough in there to make it a worthy tentpole title. Fans of action will be more satisfied by the whizbang nature of the third act.
I had seen The Red Violin years ago when I was vacationing in Belgium. I primarily watched it then because A) Samuel Jackson was the star and B) The movie was at least partially in English with subtitles for the rest. I don't speak Flemish so it was my only viable viewing option while stuck at the hotel. I had remembered it fondly over the years, but I realized upon watching it again recently that it suffered from the same issue as Sometimes by Britney Spears. When you are abroad and something is in a language you understand, you gravitate toward it more than its quality necessarily dictates.
The Red Violin is a sad tale that BOP Trivia experts know has a hidden meaning. The Violin is red because it is stained with blood. I mean that in a literal sense in addition to a figurative one. There are some great performances in the movie but it is too depressing for me to say that I truly enjoy it. So if I want to watch a movie that makes me think of Belgium, I'll pick In Bruges instead.
Since everyone else is slagging Beautiful Creatures, I will join the tirade parade. I think it's a slam dunk to be the worst film I see this year. People have already covered the "not fun-bad, just bad-bad" aspect of the movie. I want to discuss a different aspect instead. I find this movie offensive. I frequently note that certain partisan political officials possess generic, shallow perceptions of everyone living in major metropolitan areas, particularly New York City and Los Angeles aka Hollywood (one and the same to many xenophobes). I am bothered by such superficial judgments. Beautiful Creatures is the inverse of those hateful thought processes. A New York City screenwriter adapts a novel written by a pair of California authors.
The end result is that the male lead of Beautiful Creatures becomes the 2013 update of Jethro Bodine. I don't know if Alden Ehrenreich doesn't get YouTube or what, but he has no conception of what a southern accent sounds like. I suspect he predicates his entire performance upon Gone with the Wind. Every second he's talking, I am aggravated. And he is in the movie as much as the female lead, if not more.
The weirdest part of the movie is that the witch storyline feels tacked on even though it comprises 75% of Beautiful Creatures. That's how incoherent the story is. Still, I have an easier time excusing incompetent storytelling than I do oddly specific hatemongering. My advice to the people involved with these stories is to ignore the flyover states in your future writing. You have no competence in telling stories involving small town Americana. Worst of all, you seem fine with condemning the entirety of these people, the majority of the populace of this country, as inbred hicks. It's lazy to be so lacking in imagination, a strange but accurate comment regarding this tale of witchcraft.
Finally, World War Z is a white-hot film that features all of the dynamic storytelling that The Walking Dead lacks. The movie delivers more action in two hours than The Walking Dead has managed in three seasons. I do not consider that a hyperbolic statement, either.
For me, World War Z immediately joins 28 Days Later and the remake of The Dawn of the Dead in the Zombie Movie Hall of Fame. I know that there were re-shoots required to fix the ending, which worries some people. What I came to appreciate in watching the film is that the people tasked with creating a new finale cast a critical eye at what they already had. In doing so, they developed a better understanding of the story being told.
Generally, re-shoots are all about damage control. I consider World War Z to be the rare exception where time and distance enabled the filmmakers to craft better ideas for the third act, a harrowing, claustrophobic sequence that enhances ideas sprinkled throughout the earlier portions of the movie. I generally rank my top 10 films of the year predicated upon re-watch value so I am not sure whether World War Z will wind up on my list. At this moment, it has a real chance to make that list. I freakin' loved it.