Tuesday September 27, 2011

Metropolis- The 1927 silent film is not perfect… but it is a masterpiece. It's like staring at a beautiful piece of literature written in old english. You might not completely relate to the people or their motives during the time period, but it's a time transcending story that has a great vision and thesis. The Utopian society in the film is used as a medium for conveying the fragile condition of the relationship between the working class and the wealthy bourgeoisies. The movie combines genres of romance, action, suspense, science fiction, and revenge in order to create a epic that truly does convey a sense of purpose. It's not just that. The visuals are fantastic. The amount of work and money put into a movie in the late 20s needs to be viewed. It's the science fiction 'Titanic' mixed with '1984' and 'Blade Runner' although it came before all those films and even heavily inspired one of them. It's a classic, and a true piece of art. If you haven't seen it, put the two hours in, because it's way worth it. On another note, when you are watching it, keep note of how hilariously unsexy the erotic dance one of the characters supposedly does. Too funny.



- Jeff Bassin

Monday September 26, 2011 - TERRA NOVA PREMIERES

Terra Nova Premiere- What if you were able to reset history with the knowledge of the mistakes humanity has made in the past? Welcome to Terra Nova. It aint the paradise it foretells, but overall, it holds a promising future ahead of it. The same can be said of not just the colony, but the show as well. It's super ambitious and it has a crazy budget in order to present it's unique plot. It's kind of like a mix between 'Jurassic Park' and 'Avatar', but it's grounded in a time travel world much cooler than both. 'Genesis', the show's pilot, has two parts, but in reality has three different tonal arcs to it. One is the future, or their present, where overpopulation, war, and pollution are major problems… sound familiar. Anyways, the second is the beauty of Terra Nova, displaying the fresh air, dinosaurs, and nature. Finally, the last part is the dangers of Terra Nova, showing that there are bad dinosaurs, and that society is beginning to repeat itself. By far, my favorite section was the first, because even though the show won't take place there (happy it isn't, would get boring), it sets you up for the new world and creates a grim and tragic backdrop for our show to reside in. This is not saying the other parts were bad. They were just more generic. Especially the third half. Either way, I love 'Jurassic Park' and it's giving me a 'Lost' vibe that I'm digging. I'll keep watching.



- Jeff Bassin

Saturday September 24, 2011 - TOP 10 REASON FOR THE BEST PIXAR FILM

The Incredibles- There is a reason it's my favorite Pixar film. One can say that it's a mix between that Pixar "family" sensibilities and 'Watchmen', but I'll further venture to say it's much more unique. Top 10 Reason It is the Best Pixar Film:

1) It's great how it chooses to humanize its villain, so then he makes immoral choices, they also seem grounded. Jason Lee does a great job doing the voice over.

2) It's visual to script jokes, from capes, to outfits, to annoying babysitters, the movie really has it all.

3) Edna Mode, the single coolest fashion designer ever. Darling, don't argue with me.

4) Michael Giacchino's jazzy score stays in your head to an extent. Very superhero.

5) Doesn't hide under a kid's film. It's like a bottle of alcohol placed under heavy enclosing. Kids can stand around it, but parents are the one who get the real benefit. It's a spy film first an foremost.

6) The superhero code names. Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl, Frozone, Bomb Voyage, Gazerbeam, The Underminer, Mirage, Syndrome. There are loads more named, and all of them are unique, fun, and underlay a theme or personality trait of the figure who inhabits it. So much for hiding one's real self.

7) The locations of the film. Suburbia. Tropical Island. Cave. Secret Hideout. Volcanoes. THEY HAVE VOLCANOES!

8) The underlaying adult plot of a soured marriage and a man's midlife crisis. It's clearly a personal film for Brad Bird and can be compared to his family life and Pixar working life. These are not things for a kid's film. Hey, they won't really notice. Even if they do, these are completely appropriate for kids to watch, so it's okay.

9) Great lines. "Everyone can be super! And when everyone's super… no one will be", "Next time you gamble, bet on your own life", and "You sly dog! You got me monologuing!". Classic.

10) Director Brad Bird's attention to detail. There are so many little things that are so integral in the plot, but add a slight touch of re-watchability each time. There is way too many for me to list. Things like that, as well as the success of my second favorite Pixar film, 'Ratatouille', and the underrated-ness of 'The Iron Giant' is exactly why I have so much faith in Bird directing something live action. 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' may seem a bit generic (since all hollywood action films seem that way) but I'm hoping Bird will add enough detail and creativeness to make it the best of the series.



- Jeff Bassin

Wednesday September 21, 2011

Footloose- This is the original we are talking about. Though I will get to the upcoming one before this review is done with. First thing I need to say, the original is cheesy. It's got a silly plot (although plausible) and has ridiculous dance sequences that would make little sense in reality. It's not a musical, so outside of it's campy center is just 80s fun. In fact, the entire film's plot structure revolves around the events that slowly force this new kid to change his entire town. On that point, I enjoyed every minute of it. I wasn't blown away, but it was fun and it made its point. I don't see why it has so much praise. Kevin Bacon was a star in this film so that's great and all, and I'm sure that the new one will fail to have the same effect on its audience in any way at all, cast or otherwise. But it's a harmless movie. It's about the effect of dancing releasing you from pressure and stress. Based on the trailer that I saw for the new one, it seems like the same movie as the 84' one. Like literally. Like shots and songs all remind me of the original. Also, it's directed by Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow, Black Snake Moan), who is a competent director. I think he can handle a tween film. The only problem I can think of would be that it lacks originality and just remakes everything with the original and adds hip hop songs to make it modern (apparently Brewer used the original screenplay and use added pieces of modernism, like a "Frankenstein" screenplay). Might get boring for fans of the original. But I don't really think 'Footloose' is an instant classic anyways, and I don't really plan on seeing the new one (at least not until it's on dvd, netflix, etc.).

FYI, I dug the 'Footloose' reference 'Modern Family' made tonight.



- Jeff Bassin

Tuesday September 20, 2011

Secrets of a Soul- This was an odd movie. Not in a bad way. Okay, maybe a little bit. 'Geheimnisse Einer Seele' is kind of cool but ultimately too much for a viewing outside of educational purposes. Essentially, the movie is this guy, who ends up having this wierdy dream sequence that causes him to be afraid of knives. So he goes through a psychotherapist and the guy employs Freudian techniques to analyze his "unconscious" dreams and desires. The only really interesting part of the film is the dream sequence… which is crazy, but I'm sure you can google around and watch it. The dream bits don't make up that much of the film so you are left most of the time wondering what the dreams mean, and even though the questions from the dream analysis eventually pan out, by the end of the "months" of therapy, the answers became not good enough. I liked it from an artistic/inspirational standpoint, but as a film of plot, it is kind of hard to get into. I would recommend it, certainly, but only to the courageous. Those german expressionists mean business, so watch the film for its "unconscious" content before you look for a really "conscious" plot.



- Jeff Bassin

Monday September 19, 2011

X-Men: First Class- I found the film much more "fun" this time around (#2), which isn't to say as a bad thing, but as an "okay, I wants you to have a goodz time yo" sort of thing. I still didn't really see all that much friendship chemistry between actors, James MacAvoy and Michael Fassbender (although their dialogue seems to tell me otherwise) and January Jones is still as void of any acting range as the diamond shell of her mutant ability, but other than that, I had a good time with it. Bacon really shines in his role as Sebastian Shaw (the villain of the film) and all the other members of the so-called "First Class" have really fun lines and jokes that add to the "cool" atmosphere of the film. I think if the film focused less on the "First Class" and more on Charles Xavier and Magneto, the film may have suffered from redundancy so I can understand the lack of real conversations between the two "Besties". The film is a set up for what's to come, whether it's another prequel of a different character, or a sequel to this prequel, and considering this one's semi-high regard in my mind, I would gladly go to see it (as long as it isn't the 'Wolverine Origins' ones).




- Jeff Bassin

Sunday September 18, 2011

Thor- I liked it, but didn't love it... I would still tell you to see it (especially since it has a big role in the background plot of 'The Avengers' movie). Despite its problems, I can certainly understand why someone as successful as Kenneth Branagh (Known for directing and acting in pretty much all the Shakespeare film adaptations and 'Frankenstein') would get involved. It's fairly well casted, since I enjoyed the performances of its real stars, Chris Hemsworth (Thor, getting tons of attention at the moment) and Tom Hiddleston (Loki, Thor's brother). Although the plot of the film is somewhat loose and thrown to the side of it's big action set pieces, when it does get into the mythos of Asgard and it's inhabitants, it's thoroughly interesting. On a different note, I felt like I couldn't feel the connection between Hemsworth's Thor and Natalie Portman character, despite it having a pivotal role in Thor's character development. Whatever, I guess that part of the screen time was given to Kat Dennings' "Pop Tarts" lines.



- Jeff Bassin