Friday August 5, 2011

Rio- Started this last night and finished it in the morning. This was a really fun movie. I can completely understand why critics praised what seemed like a mindless effort. It depicts brazilian culture quite accurately, it includes many real locations of brazil, and it is mighty colorful. It also doesn't hurt to have voice talent like Anne Hathaway and Jesse Eisenberg on the group, especially Eisenberg, who is coming off of 'The Social Network'. The songs are cute and sometimes funny (Jermaine Clement of 'Flight of the Choncords' has a great one where he emulates his song style from the tv show, and the big "Rio" number that repeats is also quite good). It's childish at times, with pretty much all of the jokes passing by with mostly smirks from my part, but they were enjoyable smirks. Overall, this is an interesting an fun animated movie for adults, but I'm certain kids will enjoy it way more. Of course, I would be willing to watch it again with them.



Hobo with a Shotgun- Despite having an interesting look (odd choices for colors of the film, claiming to be in technicolor (some real "Wizard of OZ' s@$t), it just took itself too seriously, even when it was being silly, thus making the gory sequences (a girls arms being chopped off and then her lifting a sewer grate by just a bone arm) all the harder to watch. It's fun, don't get me wrong, but most of the fun comes from juvenile punchlines and over the top gore. Nothing special, but somehow entertaining.



Source Code- Duncan Jones scores again (definitely enjoyed his first feature, 'Moon') with an even better and original effort with the use of a more generic plot line. What could be described as a rehash of plot lines for the movie 'Deja Vu' with Denzel Washington, Jones quickly turns it over its head with more complicated theology, and a much more thrilling adventure. From minute one, the viewer sits at the forefront of excitement, and from train explosion one, it doesn't really let go until the end. The idea of parallel realities may have been hard for some viewers to concentrate on, but Jones figures his viewers will either be the kind to shrug off his film, or analyze it enough to understand it. And while the idea of nothing in the film technically taking place in the reality it originally began in can stump the reward of a 'real' happy ending, it has more truth based in it than most hollywood films and there is merit in that. It's that copout ending, there's a happy ending in some universe, even though ours doesn't have it… Wait… that really hasn't been done before to that extent. Like I said, Original.



- Jeff Bassin