Scott Pilgrim vs The Expendables
After having seen both Scott Pilgrim vs The World and The Expendables over the weekend, I thought it would be fun to pit the two films against each other. Sure, it might seem foolhardy at first glance given the box office results for both films with The Expendables at number one and Scott Pilgrim in the number five-spot, but there is a method to my madness so to speak. So, without further ado…
Scott Pilgrim vs The World is a one of a kind film as is many of Director Edgar Wrights films (see Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz). It is also the first of his films-that I have seen-without Simon Pegg in it. But the absence of Mr. Pegg is not what makes this movie so one of a kind. What does make it unique is its style. Wright brings Scott Pilgrims video game infused world to vibrant and exciting life. I have never seen any film like it. The fight scenes are almost like they are straight out of a Street Fighter game complete with signature moves and finishing moves. Scott Pilgrim is also unique in that it seems like it was pulled right from the pages of the comic onto the screen.
At first glance, Scott Pilgrim is just a fun movie with some pretty funny moments that had the audience laughing and really cool fight scenes. Yet, this is a story about love and the level we are willing to go in our fight to protect it. Or at least, win the heart of the person we love. Along the way, the egotist that resides in Scott Pilgrim, finds that he has been on a different journey from the one he thought he was on. Not a fight for his band or the one he loves, but a fight for his own self-respect because he loves Ramona Flowers.
Michael Cera is fun to watch because his physical ability is unexpected, Kieran Culkin is a hoot and Mary Elizabeth Winstead is a beautifully aloof, yet strong Ramona Flowers (checkout her fight scene). Of course, there are the seven evil exes. My two favorites were the fight with Brandon Routh as Todd Ingram and Mae Whitman as Roxy Richter. Chris Evans as Lucas Lee was pretty hilarious.
I thoroughly enjoyed this film and recommend it to anyone just looking for something fun and different.
By contrast, The Expendables is a vastly different movie from that of Scott Pilgrim. While the former is purely a fantasy version of real life, the latter has no such delusions as it centers on the reality that mercenaries face.
A mercenary by trade is a highly trained killing machine that is usually hired to do the jobs that the CIA or FBI can’t do, which makes him expendable. Hence, the title of the movie.
Sylvester Stallone again returns taking on the dual roles of director and actor for this film which follows a squad of mercenaries and explores their lives both on the job and off resulting in lots of explosive action amidst moments of reflection and self discovery. The plot has some weak points, but it works overall as we follow the group of mercenaries to a small island and liberate its citizens from a tyrannical military government and a disenfranchised ex-CIA agent played by Eric Roberts. Not to disappoint, they do it the way we would expect. Lots of explosions and bullets. There were a couple of really great hand to hand combat scenes. Most notably a fight between Dolph Lundgren’s Gunner Jensen and Jet Li’s Ying Yang. Probably one of the best scenes in the film.
Personally, I think the main draw for this movie is its cast. Where else are you going to see the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke, and yes, even Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis share screen time. Essentially, this is the 2010 equivalent of The Magnificent Seven which also included a once in a lifetime ensemble cast in a movie about guns for hire. The characters are just tougher and have much bigger guns; louder too! I thought I was going to go deaf when Terry Crews character Hale Caesar (yes seriously) starts turning bad guys to paste with his automatic shotgun.
Conclusively, both films are great to watch. However, Scott Pilgrim, in my opinion; is the better film as it has more value entertainment wise and adults are going to be more likely to take their kids to see it. For the record though, The Expendables is the only movie of the two where you’ll get to see tons of things go ka-boom, which really made the film for me.
Salt The Ride
The new movie Salt, starring Angelina Jolie is so full of twists, turns and action that you just might want to hold on to something when you go see it. In fact, the film seems to be more like a roller coaster than cinematic entertainment, but I do not mean that literally. I only make the statement because Salt is engaging and adrenaline packed enough that plot twists are barely noticed until they are happening in front of you and then; there is nothing you can do except be sucked into the next chain of events leading to the subsequent change in course.
At the start of the story we are given the smallest idea that Evelyn Salt could be a spy. This is confirmed nearly right away as it is revealed that she is indeed a CIA agent. Soon after we learn Salt’s occupation, a Russian national named Oleg (Daniel Obrychski) accuses her of being a Russian sleeper spy who has been planted in the United States waiting for a time when she can carry out her mission. The mission; he claims, is that she will assassinate the Russian president who would be in Washington D.C. in two days.
From this point the central theme of the film: who is Evelyn Salt?-becomes the foremost thought on the audience’s mind. That idea of keeping Salt’s true identity a mystery is strictly adhered to as we journey from sequence to sequence, following Salt through a multitude of narrow escapes to the next plot point where we are made to believe that the question has been answered. Yet, as if the truth were a tasty treat being dangled just out of reach by some sadistic, unseen tormentor; we are thrown into another unsuspected turn on the ride. To say the least, we are kept guessing until the very last scene and even then; a twist
I like this movie mainly for the mysterious element and of course, the action, which are mostly fast paced cuts and quick pans left or right.
The other reason is that Salt appears to be something of a mash-up between the Bourne and Bond films, but with a female lead. Which, to me makes it all the more entertaining. Liev Schreiber and Chiwetel Ejiofor play two of Salt’s co-workers who must pursue her. In the end, Salt is just what we expect it to be.
A really fun ride.
Inception Is Oscar Worthy
There are a number of films throughout history that have made such an enormous impression on audiences and filmmakers alike, that they have been honored with an Oscar nomination. A great many of those that have won the coveted golden statue are films we know and love. Pop culture icons even. Though not all are honored enough to become Picture of the Year, it seems that even those movies that are simply nominated for an award are the least forgotten. Inception is such a film. It is nothing short of a masterpiece.
Some may think I am getting ahead of myself in saying that Inception is Oscar worthy, but I like to think that if someone has not said it already I might as well be the first and even if I am not I feel it deserves another push in that direction.
In my opinion, Inception is not unlike the masterpieces of a master painter such as Leonardo DaVinci or the grand architecture of Notre Dame cathedral. Complexity, texture and simple imagination culminating to form a single concept. For Christopher Nolan’s latest celluloid tapestry the concept is simple enough: a persons deepest secrets are locked away in their minds and the door way to those secrets are their dreams. All one needs to do is navigate through the subconscious in order to uncover those secrets.
The concept may be simple, but the execution is far from that and Nolan’s story proves just that by taking his characters so deep into the dreams of another that time itself seems to become irrelevant and he takes the audience with them.
We follow our hero, Cobb (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) and his team as they take on the impossible task of “Inception” rather than extraction. By definition, extraction is the removal of an object from its place. Inception is the exact opposite and in this film it is literally planting an idea so deep into a persons subconscious that they believe they came up with it themselves.
Cobb is accompanied by Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Ariadne (Ellen Page), Eames (Tom Hardy), Saito (Ken Watanabe) and Yusuf (Dileep Rao) as they journey through a rabbit hole vastly stranger and wonderous than the one Alice fell through in Alice in Wonderland. Their goal is to plant and idea into the mind of Robert Fischer Jr, the son of a successful business tycoon. Along the way, the team is faced with the realities of the unreal and must venture ever deeper into canyons of the mind in order to succeed.
Inception will spark your imagination. It will take your breath away. It will leave you in unspeakable awe. It will make you want to watch it again and again just to unravel each and every thread; to strip away each layer til there is nothing but the canvas beneath. It is that alone which makes Inception worthy of an Oscar and perhaps, dare I say it; Picture of the Year? We shall see.
Despicable Me Or Lovable Me?
The question I asked myself after viewing Universal Studios’ Despicable Me is if the title of the film is intentionally misleading. I asked that question because the film tells the story of Gru, whose reputation as one of the worlds greatest and despicable villains becomes questionable, once three little orphan girls become a part of his life and he takes on the duties of a father.
At first introduction we see how truly despicable Gru is. He makes little kids cry, thinks only of himself and has really only accomplished one great heist. To remedy his track record as a villain Gru comes up with a most diabolical plan! (Spoiler alert) He will steal the moon! To do so he must obtain a shrink ray which he manages to steal, but loses it to the hands of his rival Vector; who is younger, smarter and more well-funded.
Always the opportunist, Gru sees a way to get the shrink ray back when he notices that Vector allows three little girls into his hideout so that he can buy the cookies they sell. It is at this point that Gru decides to “adopt” the children. However, things begin to change almost immediately upon the arrival of the girls into Gru’s home despite the wily crooks attempts to keep the girls at arm’s length. That’s it for the spoilers. After all, this is one of the summers must see movies.
In a nutshell, Despicable Me is great family fun with laughs a plenty. Amidst the abundance of entertainment value, Despicable Me is a story of how even a person of evident callousness towards humanity can have a change of heart just by allowing even a little ray of light into their lives.
With Steve Carell as the voice of Gru, the vocal talents of Julie Andrews, Russel Brand and Will Arnett; ingenious 3D effects and beautiful animation to boot, I wonder if Despicable me should not be called Lovable Me instead.
Airbender Has Wind In Its Sails, But No Pulse
I have watched many a film written, produced and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, and have greatly enjoyed each of the ones I have seen. Some, more than once. While The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs and The Village will always remain favorites of mine, Shyamalan’s formula has worn thin.
My hope with The Last Airbender; was that having to remain true to an already existing storyline, Shyamalan would have to abandon his penchant for making the film all about the visuals and the subtleties in the story and really drive it home. Nail it to the wall so to speak. What we get instead is a movie that lacks an identifiable pulse, but a lot of wind in its sails.
The wind; as it were, is the fact that The Last Airbender already has a strong fan base thanks to the hit Nickelodeon cartoon series Avatar: The Last Airbender. Also, there are the special effects and stunning visuals. The latter being something that Shyamalan excels at.
For what it’s worth, I enjoyed the film just for its visuals, effects and fight choreography, a pretty strong wind if you ask me, but knowing what I know about the process of interpreting a story into script form and then bringing it to life, the wind is just not enough to carry all that weight. 
It is the filmmaker’s task to give the story life. A pulse if you will and I found The Last Airbender lacking. I get that the intention of the storyline is to show us how Aang comes to accept his role as The Avatar, but this film doesn’t show me why it is so important to the nations of water, air, fire and earth that there even be an Avatar. Sure, the boy can do some awesome moves and is powerful in his control of the elements, but I wanted to know what it is about Aang as a person that makes him the candidate for being the Avatar. Unfortunately, Shyamalan does not make it clear.
Despite my misgivings, the film is not a complete loss. There are a few entertaining scenes and it is worth just seeing the visuals. At the very least, the film is a great introduction to the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender and may serve to gain more audience for the cartoon series.
Bella’s Choice: An Eclipse Review
After the cliffhanger ending in New Moon, it was quite a relief knowing that the wait for Eclipse would not be as long as some other franchise sequels. (Ahem…Harry Potter?) The wait, though only a few months time may have seemed long to the most dedicated of Twilight fans, but after a record-breaking midnight showing on June 30th and subsequent shows in the weeks to come, that wait is over. And well worth it. Eclipse brings the Twilight saga to beautiful crest, like a wave before it breaks.
The film picks up nearly right after the ending of the last film. Edward is still asking for marriage and Bella continues to skirt around giving an answer. Bella is faced with a choice. That is the central theme of Eclipse. Does she or doesn’t she? Who does she love more? Edward or Jacob. Both seem reluctant though desirous to make the choice for her. And so, our journey through this portion of the story becomes a dance of sorts. Jacob and Edward making their thoughts and feelings known, Bella caught in the middle. Torn. Between the one she feels destined to be with and the one whom she needs in her life. 
In addition to the turmoil of the love triangle, an outside force is building an army whose purpose is to destroy the Cullens and Bella. The individual behind the creation of this army is unknown at first, though the Cullens eventually figure out who the mastermind is.
All in all the film is well put together both the main plot and subplots working toward the inevitable climax of this series. Taylor Lautner was superb; comfortable in his role as Jacob. Robert Pattinson makes Edward convincingly over protective, while Kristen Stewart has improved somewhat in her performance as Bella, growing more accustomed to the role and Dakota Fanning is disturbingly cold as Jane a testament to the young actress’s talent.
When Toys Lose Thier Way
Toy Story has become synonymous with Pixar. Not because it was the first movie that Pixar ever did, but because it has been one of the studios biggest franchises. The numbers do not lie. Even though it has been over ten years since Toy Story 2 was released in the theater, people have been flocking to see Toy Story 3. I really think it is not just because the new movie is in 3D.
Toy Story has always had a certain charm that just about everyone who enjoys movies with a good story and lots of heart appreciate. Toy Story 3 is no exception to that.
Essentially the story revolves around the fact that Andy; now eighteen, is headed for college. Traditionally, college bound young adults see this as a time to set aside childish things (or things that appear so) such as toys (this of course, excludes all you fanboys and fangirls out there). So, Andy must decide what he will do with all his old toys. Does he donate them, throw them away, or put them in the attic for storage?
This dilemma also presents a conundrum for our heroes. Does Andy still appreciate and love them, or are they all just junk to him now?
Woody attempts to rally his friends to prepare them for the next step and assures them that they are going to the attic however, after a mix up they are donated to a local day care center instead.
At first, the group is content that they have found a new place for themselves and are quick to settle in. They soon discover that the toys at the day care are not as friendly as they appear.
For the most part, Toy Story 3 is sort of a prodigal son story. The toys appear to become lost, not understanding what their place in the world is anymore, leave home,meet other toys that really have lost their way and then are humbled into finding a way back to where they are loved.
What makes me really happy with this third installment is that Pixar doesn’t try to one up themselves. The jokes are thought out and they play along nicely with the plot. The story is strong and does a really great job of bringing the story of Andy’s toys to a close that makes sense. Thanks Pixar, for making a movie that we can all enjoy and also for making it in 3D!
The Karate Kid:True Strength Comes From Within
Imagine that you are twelve years old, you have just moved to a foreign country with your parents and some of the local kids decide they do not like you and start beating you up and humiliate you at school. That is the exact problem that Dre Walker has after he and his mother move to China in The Karate Kid.
Superbly played by Jaden Smith, Dre Walker finds himself in a completely foreign city and a culture with which he is unfamiliar and bullies who know Kung Fu that keep beating him up.
With help from an aging maintenance man named Mr. Han, Dre is rescued from the bullies. The two of them go to the Kung Fu school to ask that the bullies who are students there leave Dre alone. The instructor at the school suggests that Dre spar with each of them, but Mr. Han instead offers for Dre to compete at the Kung Fu tournament and the instructor accepts.
We then join Dre and Mr. Han, who is portrayed by Jackie Chan as they become teacher and student. As Dre trains with Mr. Han, he begins to change from a scared little boy to a young man who is strong both physically, spiritually and mentally.
The Karate Kid sets out to make an impression and does so effectively because it takes us to the heart of the story, telling us that true strength comes from within and by cultivating that strength through treating others right, greatness can be achieved.One of the best remakes that has come out this year and one of the few that is somewhat better than the original.
Killers Puts Marriage to the Test.
Killers is one of those movies that people either really like or really hate. The reason for this is not unlike any other movies any of us have seen. There are plenty of factors for liking a film and quite a few for absolutely despising it. Perhaps some did not like the story while others thought it was brilliant. Maybe the action was out of this world awesome to some individuals and to the people in the back row thought there was not enough. Whatever the reason, the new Ashton Kutcher/Katherine Heigl movie Killers falls into this category.
At least three of the reviews I have read were less than positive and one even recommended not to see it. After seeing the film myself, I can understand why it would get less than glowing reviews since the film is not exactly and action film and it is not quite a romantic comedy either. So, it is missing the high flying intense thrills of one and the laugh a minute antics of the other. However, even if Killers does not specifically fit into those genres; it is a story.
As such, the film tells us the story of Jen (Katherine Heigl) and Spence (Ashton Kutcher) who meet in France, fall in love, and get married only to have their marriage thrown into question three years later, when Spence’s past as a CIA agent-which was unknown to Jen-catches up with him and people are trying to kill him.
The story then continues as the couple dodges bullets and try to figure out who put the hit out on Spence, all while working out the future of their life together as husband and wife. This is where I think the narrative becomes lost on some would be viewers. Especially those who go in expecting something akin to say…True Lies, which was sort of an Action /Comedy, but more of an action movie with bits of comedy. Killers is more of a comedy with elements of action. Call it a dark comedy if you will. After all, there are people trying to kill Ashton Kutcher’s character.
My overall consensus on Killers is that it is not trying to be either an action, a comedy, or both. 
Killers is a film about the relationship between spouses and what happens when the trust between them is broken in a big way and instead of the usual “I slept with someone else.” or “I got fired.” Instead Spence explains it by saying, “Let’s just say I used to work for the blah blah blah and they gave me a license to blah.” To sum it up, Killers puts marriage to the test. The ultimate test. That of trust lost which must be regained. Something many of us can relate to even if we aren’t married.
Love it or hate it Killers is still a good story and it is worth the ride if you like god stories. If not, it’s got Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl, Tom Selleck and Catherine O’Hara in it. Four reasons to go see it.
What’cha Talkin ‘Bout Willis!
I was probably only six or seven when I first heard those words accompanied by the bugged out eyes and protruding lips face that Arnold Jackson would make at his brother Willis in the television show D
iff’rent Strokes. Much to the chagrin of our mother my brother and I would copy him when we didn’t know what mom was trying to tell us.
As young as I was Gary Coleman made a lifelong impression on me with that one sentence and the face that he would make to communicate his confusion. It was funny and serious at the same time. Funny, because I laughed every time he did it. Serious because Arnold truly meant to convey his confusion or shock. Sometimes he used it as a sort of a “Hey now, wait a minute.” type line. I could compare it to Jackie Gleason’s “To the moon Alice!” or Bugs Bunny’s “What’s up doc?” Both of those have a lasting significance that make them timeless. So it is with “What’cha talkin ’bout Willis?”
However, the affect that Gary Coleman had on a generation was not just because of that one line. He gave Arnold Jackson heart, charisma, attitude and outright spunk. He made him real. As real as you and I. That is the true wonder and magic of what Gary Coleman did. For eight years he made us laugh and even feel sadness. By doing so he made himself, Gary Coleman relevant to the rest of the world. Not that he really needed it and though his career as an actor did not reach the acclamation of some who started on television at about the same time, he remained famous after the show ended just for being Gary Coleman.
I will never forget th
e time when Gary Coleman as Arnold Jackson graced our television screen and livened up the prime time living room. Nor will I ever forget the television show that made it possible. Diff’rent Strokes is now a classic which will forever immortalize Gary Coleman in his relative youth and at the top of his game. A beacon of sunshine that he managed to keep into adulthood.
For me, a little boy who is now a man, Gary Coleman will forever symbolize a time when life was carefree, the future unwritten and bright.
Although there have been those younger, with more lucrative and glamorous careers than he that have passed on in recent years, Gary Coleman’s death at 42 somehow seems to have come way too soon. I hope his rest is peacful nonetheless.
He left his mark on me. You can tell if ever we meet and I give you a sideways glance out of the corner of my eye, scrunch up my face and say “Heyyyyy!!” in response to some teasing remark, because in my head I am thinking ” What’cha talkin ’bout Willis?!!”
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