NevermoresRaven

Under discussion:

Iron Man  (2008)

Iron Man has been a longtime favorite comic book of mine, I even have the dreaded first hardcover issue of "Ultimate Iron Man"(cringe, cringe in terror!), so i've been waiting excitedly for this film since they announced it's production. I had very high hopes(and yet a good amount of doubt) for this film, and it hits on all notes.

I won't go through plot details because if you're going to see this movie you should already know the basic plot behind Iron Man, if you don't know then you're just a fake who wants to seem cool by watching comic book movies.

First thing is first, the acting. Some of the finest acting i've seen in a long time. I lost a bit of hope in acting as far as comic book movies go after seeing Spiderman 3, he did do an emo dance after all. But this movie has top notch acting. Robert Downey Jr. makes an incredible Tony Stark with his ability to project sarcastic comments, deep feelings, bitter hatred, and even wonderous bits of comedic gold(flight testing being the best example). Terrence Howard makes a great Rhodey, and plays the semi-sidekick(later to be actual sidekick) role wonderfully. He comes across as being Tony's friend, but also a failed attempt to be the voice of reason. In steps Pepper Potts as the voice of reason. Gwyneth Paltrow steps up to the role of Tony's hard edged red-headed assistant, and does an amazing job playing opposite Downey Jr. And, i'll be frank, she looks smoking as a red-head, I didn't even think she had it in her anymore. Guess I was wrong.

The special effects are amazing, and work in a not too over-the-top comic book sort of style without seeming too fake. The sequence of Tony getting the Mark III armor put on is a true feat of CGI genius. Someone in some magazine said it seemed too much like Transformers at the end, but I fail to see how that's a bad thing since that movie is amazing as well. The scene with Tony flying with the F-22 Raptors is great to look at, and funny to boot.

The music is also great, and the soundtrack is a must have for fans of rock music. Utilizing very few acoustic strings(Violin, Cello ect.) and relying more on electric guitars and bass with a really hard rock drumming gives this film it's mood. Seriosuly, Iron Man is a metal movie and it needed a metal soundtrack. Best of all, there's no trendy crap-rock like found on the soundtracks of Transformers and Spider Man. The last two tracks on the CD are passes, but hey that's oly 2 out of like 18 or something.

In the end this is a spectacular summer movie, and I can't wait for it to hit blu-ray(i'm already drooling just thinking about that). If this was any indication of what this summer has to offer then it's a safe bet that we're going to have on hell of a summer. A must see.

Under discussion:

Spaceballs  (1987)

I am one of the biggest nerds around, and the original "Star Wars" trilogy is one of my biggest nerdisms(wait, is that a word?). So you think someone who gets into arguments over who would win in a fight between Darth Vader and Captian Kirk would take his prized movies as a godsend, and I do. However I also happen to have this thing called a sense of humor, and Mel Brooks' "Spaceballs" tickels my funnybone(oh god, the cliches!) and then some.

Now any idiot could spoof sci-fi classics like "Star Wars" and "Planet of the Apes"(Planet of the Grapes could net you millions!), but Mel Brooks does it in a way that not only satires the films but also pays homage to them with subtle jabs.

Let us not forget the iconic dialouge this movie has, and the great lines it presents. "I knew it, i'm surrounded by assholes", "Spaceballs the Flamerthrower! The kids love that one", and the famous:
Dark Helmet: I am your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former room-mate.
Lone Star: So what's that make us?
Dark Helmet: Absolutely nothing!
Those are by far my favorite lines from the film, and some of the best in cinema if you ask me.

This whole film just shows Mel Brook's talent for satire and witty writing, and every scene gives a sense of respect at the same time to the source material.

Needless to say, the acting in this film is spot on to what they needed. Rick Moranis plays the villianous Dark Helmet with a surprising wit and tounge in cheek attitude, but he also plays the most incompitent villan ever. I think that's why his character is so likeable. And let's not forget John Candy as Barf, the heroic Mog. The stupid dog puns that he's able to spit out add a sense of simple familiarity to the character.

So please, for the love of all things awesome, see this film if you haven't. I just about killed my friend when she said she had never seen it, but she is now one of those who has basked in it's glory.

Under discussion:

Children of Men  (2006)

Where does one start when describing Alfonso Cuarón's epic thriller "Children of Men"? Well there really isn't a bad place to start, actually. This film is frightening and moving at the same time, but it's also laced with enough subtile touches about history to make you think.

So what all is laced into this movie? Many historical notes, some past and some present, can be seen if one looks hard enough. Some good examples are:
-The scene where Miriam(Pam Ferris) is taken from the bus at Bexhill you see a man with a hood over his head, in the exact same pose as the infamous "hooded man" from the Abu Ghraib prison torture pictures.
-The song playing when Miriam is taken off the bus is "Arbeit Macht Frei" which means "Work shall set you free", this was written over the entrance to the infamous Nazi death camp at Auschwitz.
-Pablo Picasso's "Guernica" painting(which was an expression of disgust at the Nazi bombing of Gernika, Spain, during the Spanish Civil War) is seen twice, when Theo enteres the dining room at the Battersea powerstation and again as Theo and Kee escape Bexhill in the rowboat.

Director Alfonso Cuarón didn't even read the book(by P.D. James) on which his film is based, he had his co-writer, Tim Sexton, read it instead. This film is also filled with one-shots(long shots without a single break), the longest being the siege of Bexhill, which clocked in at 6 minutes and 18 seconds. "we don't want to favor character over the environment, we want to keep a balance. And that means that you don't do close-ups, because then you are favoring the character over the environment." says Cuarón. He also said “If you are going through life and something happens, you don't have the luxury of going , ‘Stop, stop, guys, and let me get a close-up!’" These long shots add a touch of class in a weird way, and “keep a balance” as Cuaró n puts it.

The casting was even done in the somewhat unorthodox way that Cuaró n seems to go about making his films. “Ever since we were writing the script, we used to refer to Jasper as the ‘Michael Caine’ character” he says.

But all this innovation, creation, and all around great film making is for naught if nobody likes it. Thankfully this isn’t a film that went un-noticed, it was nominated for 27 different awards(including 3 Oscars) and won 17 awards(including the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction film). Even ignoring the awards and praise this is a must see for any intellectual or even someone who wants to expand their horizons on humanity, or if you just want to see a sci-fi movie without laser guns.

Under discussion:

Memento  (2000)

Sometimes a film tries too hard to be different, to be unique, to stand apart from the rest. Christopher Nolan's "Memento", however, does it with a brilliant touch.

The narrative takes a whole new and offbeat twist by telling the film backwards as our "hero" Leonard(Guy Pearce) tries to put together the mystery of who killed his wife. Along the way he encounters Teddy(Joe Pantoliano), who is trying to help him put everything together. He also meets Natalie(Carrie-Anne Moss) who seemingly helps him out of the kindness in her heart.

The film is broken in it's narrative style, with bits of the story repeating in a sort of over-lap fashion that allows the viewer to better put things together. There is, however, a part of the film to goes forward as we see Leonard talking on the phone, and these sequences are shown in a black and white vouyeristic view. At the "end" of the film the two narratives finally collide into one semi-coherient story.

The scenes of Leonard talking on the phone give the viewer a sort of god-like feeling as we look down on him and his life. The other scenes, the ones going backwards, use a much more "hands on" camera feel. The view is shakey and uneven and gives a sense of being there with Leonard as things occur.

Because of the broken and reversed narrative styles the film can be a little hard to follow, so it's advised to see it more than once if you plan to fully understand it all.