FLIX!
The time is in the future. As is the problem with most Sci-Fi films it's never far enough in the future, but it's supposed to be about 2077. There is an alien invasion. Instead of attacking us directly, the aliens destroyed significant sections of our moon, which caused major tsunamis, earthquakes, tornados, etc. making our planet uninhabitable. Then the surviving humans began placing themselves on a giant space station planning to re-locate to Titan, a moon of Jupiter. They have set up huge floating devices that are sucking up sea water, and pulling off all of the resources of Earth and when enough is gathered, the humans will all begin their voyage to Titan. Protecting these monstrosities from the "Skavs" is an Army of Drones. The Skavs apparently were the invading aliens. Jack and a woman were left behind, and Jack's job was to service the Drones when they experienced malfunctions.
But then Jack, against the wishes of Sally - the Commander on the Space Station - approaches a wreck he has witnessed and sees a Drone killing humans that were in pods from the wreck. It confuses him, although he managed to save one pod. At a different time he follows a drone down into a hole in the ground that apparently was once a library. As he narrowly makes an escape from the place, he stoops to pick up a book, which turns out to be a book of ancient plays. All the while Jack is haunted by brief snippets of memory from another time.
Eventually Jack gets captured by the Skavs who turn out to be humans, and without being a spoiler, I will leave you to your own devices to try and sort out what becomes a bit of a convoluted mess. This movie had a lot of heart, but struggled to tell the story in a clear and easily translatable way. If I hadn't given you this much, you may not have gleaned this much of what's going on here. And this among other things, is the reason this film will not get the theater viewing it deserves. It is a thinking/thought movie. A Sci-Fi mystery of sorts. It is not an action picture although it has action moments. But it's primary focus is telling an intricate story that requires a lot of work and intensity from the viewing audience. So if you go to this movie expecting a high-octane post-apocolyptic war story you will be disappointed. Because there is limited action. There are a handful of combat scenes, and when they use effects in this picture it is great. But large action moments are not what this flick is about.
The cast is small but effective. Tom Cruise as Jack Harper will sell a lot of tickets. Morgan Freeman as the head of the Skavs is underutilized but great as usual. And this is it. The rest of the cast were good, but all virtual unknowns.
This movie moves somewhat slow and is tough to follow. But I attempted to focus on what I was being given and over-all it was an interesting experience. I have rolled this one over in my mind quite a bit. So I will reluctantly recommend it, but with a ton of disclaimers.
I think I want to see it again. Maybe.
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Sunday, April 14, 2013
42
FLIX!
42
Off the top it should be noted that I love biopics. "Ray", "Walk The Line", Coal Miner's Daughter" and many others come to mind. I also love movies about baseball. So naturally I could not wait to see this baseball biopic about an American hero - Jackie Robinson.
This movie it turns out is not a biopic, that is, it is not the story of someone's life. It is not a movie about baseball. 42 is about the strength, courage, and determination of a black American for a moment in time in American history.
For most of my life, certainly at least until I watched the Ken Burns "Inning" (as the installments were called in his remarkable film "Baseball") on the 1940's, I flatly and off-handedly knew the Jackie Robinson was the first black player to be in baseball's major leagues. I knew it was in 1947, and I knew he was with the Brooklyn Dodgers. I knew they always called it "breaking the color barrier." But until the Burns film description, and not until seeing it played out in this film did the magnitude of what Jackie Robinson went through really sink in for me. And for many others either, I suspect.
Although it's not really addressed in the movie to any degree, here's a little background: Baseball's Major Leagues had been an all-white game since the inception of the American League and the National League. After the 1919 "Black Sox" scandal (wherein Criminals used bribes to rig the World Series), Baseball owners decided to appoint a Commissioner to oversee the leagues. They picked a judge who had made legal decisions favoring owners over players. He was Kenesaw Mountain Landis. Besides being the first Commissioner of Baseball, he was an extreme racist. Owners had tried to sign black players - that is, ask Landis if they could before 1947 and he always said no. He was staunch in his bigoted belief that baseball should always be white.
Branch Rickey, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers was a particular thorn in the side of Landis. He had pestered Landis many times wanting to get talented black players on his roster. But of course Landis forbade it. But no man is immortal, and in 1945, Landis died. This was what Branch Rickey had been waiting for. This was his chance, but he had the wisdom to understand that the first black player would have to be a very special man. And now all people who love baseball are thankful that Branch Rickey chose Jackie Robinson.
Because Jackie Robinson was a very special man. A man of great character certainly, but doesn't mean any of it was easy for him. Jackie Robinson is brought to life here by a relatively movie unknown - Chadwick Boseman. Take it from me, this is not the last you will see of this guy. He brought the stamina and courage of Robinson to the screen, but also the human suffering and frailty. There were times when Jackie would just want to quit, but he was held together by the guiding hand and wisdom of Branch Rickey, played wonderfully by Harrison Ford. Honestly, I've never been a big Harrison Ford fan, but this was masterful work, and the role he should be most remembered for. Although Rickey kept claiming that his insistence on having black players was all about money, we can feel that it is not about that. It's about justice. And fairness. And how do we as an audience "feel" that? Because of Ford's portrayal in collaboration with a great director (Brian Hegland), great screenwriter (Hegland again), and a wonderful editor.
Another relatively unknown Nicole Beharie brought us Rachel Robinson, Jackie's wife. Beautiful and likeable, and yet also strong. Jackie was never just in this alone. When Jackie was being jeered with racial epithets from the stands, Rachel was often there to hear them too. But she had to stay poised. She as well as Jackie understood that there was a lot more at stake than just she and Jack. But that didn't necessarily make it any easier.
Other stand-out performances were Christopher Melori as Leo Durocher, John McGuinley as Red Barber, Andre Holland as the black sports writer Wendell Smith, Lucas Block as Pee Wee Reese, Max Gail (yes, the "Barney Miller" Max Gail) as Manager Burt Sholton, and Alan Tudyk as the despicable Ben Chapman, manager of the Phillies. I am glad they used a bunch of fairly unfamiliar faces in this cast; it needed to be subtle and not sensationalized by lots of big name movie stars. Mr. Ford excepted of course.
And that's the thing; in the wrong hands this could have been another formula sports movie. But it isn't. This is a film that shows us how deplorable things were, and yet is uplifting for everyone who is lucky enough to see it.
I applauded at the end.
42
Off the top it should be noted that I love biopics. "Ray", "Walk The Line", Coal Miner's Daughter" and many others come to mind. I also love movies about baseball. So naturally I could not wait to see this baseball biopic about an American hero - Jackie Robinson.
This movie it turns out is not a biopic, that is, it is not the story of someone's life. It is not a movie about baseball. 42 is about the strength, courage, and determination of a black American for a moment in time in American history.
For most of my life, certainly at least until I watched the Ken Burns "Inning" (as the installments were called in his remarkable film "Baseball") on the 1940's, I flatly and off-handedly knew the Jackie Robinson was the first black player to be in baseball's major leagues. I knew it was in 1947, and I knew he was with the Brooklyn Dodgers. I knew they always called it "breaking the color barrier." But until the Burns film description, and not until seeing it played out in this film did the magnitude of what Jackie Robinson went through really sink in for me. And for many others either, I suspect.
Although it's not really addressed in the movie to any degree, here's a little background: Baseball's Major Leagues had been an all-white game since the inception of the American League and the National League. After the 1919 "Black Sox" scandal (wherein Criminals used bribes to rig the World Series), Baseball owners decided to appoint a Commissioner to oversee the leagues. They picked a judge who had made legal decisions favoring owners over players. He was Kenesaw Mountain Landis. Besides being the first Commissioner of Baseball, he was an extreme racist. Owners had tried to sign black players - that is, ask Landis if they could before 1947 and he always said no. He was staunch in his bigoted belief that baseball should always be white.
Branch Rickey, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers was a particular thorn in the side of Landis. He had pestered Landis many times wanting to get talented black players on his roster. But of course Landis forbade it. But no man is immortal, and in 1945, Landis died. This was what Branch Rickey had been waiting for. This was his chance, but he had the wisdom to understand that the first black player would have to be a very special man. And now all people who love baseball are thankful that Branch Rickey chose Jackie Robinson.
Because Jackie Robinson was a very special man. A man of great character certainly, but doesn't mean any of it was easy for him. Jackie Robinson is brought to life here by a relatively movie unknown - Chadwick Boseman. Take it from me, this is not the last you will see of this guy. He brought the stamina and courage of Robinson to the screen, but also the human suffering and frailty. There were times when Jackie would just want to quit, but he was held together by the guiding hand and wisdom of Branch Rickey, played wonderfully by Harrison Ford. Honestly, I've never been a big Harrison Ford fan, but this was masterful work, and the role he should be most remembered for. Although Rickey kept claiming that his insistence on having black players was all about money, we can feel that it is not about that. It's about justice. And fairness. And how do we as an audience "feel" that? Because of Ford's portrayal in collaboration with a great director (Brian Hegland), great screenwriter (Hegland again), and a wonderful editor.
Another relatively unknown Nicole Beharie brought us Rachel Robinson, Jackie's wife. Beautiful and likeable, and yet also strong. Jackie was never just in this alone. When Jackie was being jeered with racial epithets from the stands, Rachel was often there to hear them too. But she had to stay poised. She as well as Jackie understood that there was a lot more at stake than just she and Jack. But that didn't necessarily make it any easier.
Other stand-out performances were Christopher Melori as Leo Durocher, John McGuinley as Red Barber, Andre Holland as the black sports writer Wendell Smith, Lucas Block as Pee Wee Reese, Max Gail (yes, the "Barney Miller" Max Gail) as Manager Burt Sholton, and Alan Tudyk as the despicable Ben Chapman, manager of the Phillies. I am glad they used a bunch of fairly unfamiliar faces in this cast; it needed to be subtle and not sensationalized by lots of big name movie stars. Mr. Ford excepted of course.
And that's the thing; in the wrong hands this could have been another formula sports movie. But it isn't. This is a film that shows us how deplorable things were, and yet is uplifting for everyone who is lucky enough to see it.
I applauded at the end.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Jurassic Park - 3D
FLIX!
Jurassic Park - 3D
by Chris Chapman
Jurassic Park 3-D. OK, let's get something out of the way. First, "Jurassic Park" (JP) has bugged me a bit in the past due to the departures from the book, and what I consider to be a lame deus ex machina ending with the T-Rex. But JP is a movie that needs to be seen on the big screen. I had forgotten how great this movie is when seen at the right scale; and JP is all about scale. The 3-D conversion (in Real 3-D at least, I'm too cheap for the iMax version) was one of the best (I kid you not) 3-D films I've seen. The image was crisp and clear, and there was soooo much depth in the framing of this film. Wow. The GREAT thing about this re-release of JP is how the 3-D actually accentuates Dean Kundy's cinematography. The beams of flashlights in the rain were breathtaking. What is also breathtaking is looking back in time and seeing Steven Speilberg making possibly his last great Popcorn flick. You have to admire that while Speilberg was shooting "Schindlers' List" during the day, he was editing JP at night. And JP is this transitional moment for Speilberg as a director. There is this fantastic pacing, and thrill moments that have defined his career in film (The Road Attack Sequence, & the Raptor chase at the end). But it is the deft intercutting during the Electric Fence power up that really highlights Speilberg's ability to create tension. Jurassic Park is also a special moment in film history because Computer Graphics effects don't overwhelm this picture. Most of the incredible effects are the REAL dinosaurs created by Stan Winston. The ILM CG Dinos are great too, and it is the INCREDIBLE intercutting between the two that makes the dinos work as well as they do. Chapman Rating: ****. But the book by Michael Crichton is still WAY better.
*All rights reserved for Chris Chapman.
Editors Note: It should be noted that Chris did not mean to assert that there are REAL dinosaurs in this film. They are all extinct. Chris reluctantly acknowledges that.
Jurassic Park - 3D
by Chris Chapman
Jurassic Park 3-D. OK, let's get something out of the way. First, "Jurassic Park" (JP) has bugged me a bit in the past due to the departures from the book, and what I consider to be a lame deus ex machina ending with the T-Rex. But JP is a movie that needs to be seen on the big screen. I had forgotten how great this movie is when seen at the right scale; and JP is all about scale. The 3-D conversion (in Real 3-D at least, I'm too cheap for the iMax version) was one of the best (I kid you not) 3-D films I've seen. The image was crisp and clear, and there was soooo much depth in the framing of this film. Wow. The GREAT thing about this re-release of JP is how the 3-D actually accentuates Dean Kundy's cinematography. The beams of flashlights in the rain were breathtaking. What is also breathtaking is looking back in time and seeing Steven Speilberg making possibly his last great Popcorn flick. You have to admire that while Speilberg was shooting "Schindlers' List" during the day, he was editing JP at night. And JP is this transitional moment for Speilberg as a director. There is this fantastic pacing, and thrill moments that have defined his career in film (The Road Attack Sequence, & the Raptor chase at the end). But it is the deft intercutting during the Electric Fence power up that really highlights Speilberg's ability to create tension. Jurassic Park is also a special moment in film history because Computer Graphics effects don't overwhelm this picture. Most of the incredible effects are the REAL dinosaurs created by Stan Winston. The ILM CG Dinos are great too, and it is the INCREDIBLE intercutting between the two that makes the dinos work as well as they do. Chapman Rating: ****. But the book by Michael Crichton is still WAY better.
*All rights reserved for Chris Chapman.
Editors Note: It should be noted that Chris did not mean to assert that there are REAL dinosaurs in this film. They are all extinct. Chris reluctantly acknowledges that.
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