X-Men First Class

How exactly does one create perfection? I'm still not sure myself, but you might want to ask Matthew Vaughn because with First class, he has somehow done it.

I had incredibly high hopes for this movie going in, and they were met and exceeded. Matthew Vaughn has always been a master of blending genres. A Romantic comedy with fantasy adventure in Stardust, superhero with some drama and comedy thrown in with Kick Ass. In First Class, he is able to intelligently blend your typical superhero movie with a political thriller and a sort of James Bond style film making.

First Class was brilliantly directed, had a great score by Henry Jackman, and all of the actors perfected their roles. To be honest, its only weakness was something that couldn't be helped. It's a prequel, which takes out many of the twists and surprises. Charles had to become paralyzed and wheelchair bound by the end, Erik had to give in to his hatred of humans and become Magneto, Mystique joins Magneto etc.

I really enjoyed the story, mainly because of the genre blending. The Cuban Missile Crisis is the basis of the film. We learn that this whole fiasco was actually created behind the scenes by Sebastian Shaw in order to create a new world for mutants. He is joined by Azazel, Riptide, and Emma Frost. In response to this, Charles teams up with Erik to create their own team of mutants to combat Shaw and stop the crisis from getting out of hand. They are joined by Angel, Darwin, Havok, Beast, Banshee and Mystique. The best part about the story was that it wasn't a "good vs. evil" thing. It was more a clash of ideals. One of the film's strongest points was that, at times, you could see where Erik was coming from and you could even agree with the points he makes.

The acting was phenomenal. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender both nailed their parts as Charles and Erik, respectively. Fassbender in particular had some amazing scenes. He was aggressive and arrogant but also held deep respect for Charles, which are all traits that I can see leading up to his eventual transformation into Magneto. McAvoy on the other hand played a slightly more comedic Charles at times, yet also played him very seriously when the scene called for it. Kevin Bacon did a surprisingly good job as the film's villain, Sebastian Shaw. He was very chilling at times, and had this incredibly aggressive tone to his voice which I loved. He was very much a Bond villain to me. He never had any real "allies." He merely used everyone to further his cause...and he spoke a variety of different languages, so I have to commend Bacon for learning them all. I also have to give credit to Fassbender for the same reasons. I should mention Rose Byrn as well, who played CIA agent Moria MacTaggert. She wasn't a mutant but helped Charle's cause. She played the part very well, and played the role of the human negotiator so to speak.

All of the younger actors did fantastic jobs as well. Lucas Till stood out in particular as Alex Sommers/Havok. He played an honorable smart mouthed character very well. He was the "jock" of the group, so to speak but was trustworthy. Nicholas Hoult played Hank McCoy/Beast. Hoult really played the Jekyll and Hyde character extremely well. The only other character with significant screen time was Raven/Mystique played by Jennifer Lawrence. She was one of my personal favorite because, like Beast, I could really see the inner struggle she was going through. January Jones, for what it's worth, played a good Emma Frost but I felt she was a last minute addition to the cast because of her screen time, and lets face it...she was terrible. I hate saying this because I love her in Mad Men. All of the other mutants were in the movie simply for the hell of it, but they never detracted from the movie. Jason Flemyng played Azazel, the shape shifting father of Nightcrawler. Zoe Kravitz played Angel, a mutant with the ability to fly and spit acid. Edi Gathegi played Darwin, a mutant with the ability to adapt to any environment. Alex Gonzalez played Riptide, a mutant who has the ability to create whirlwinds with his hands.

Now I come to my absolute favorite part of the movie, the score. Anybody who knows me should know I'm obsessed with how perfect the Kick Ass score is, done by John Murphy and in part, Henry Jackman. Jackman returns as the main scorer for First Class, and manages to one up Kick Ass. The main piece of music is the perfect fit for the film. It is the musical version of the X-Men so to speak. I can picture every single X-Men when I hear this theme. The other main theme of the film is Magneto's, which is used in a variety of different scenes. It is a mix of traditional instruments with a very hard guitar/bass riff in the back. It is used to show Erik's sadness, but is also used to great effect during some of the film's more intense scenes. I'm not trying to sound cheesy here, but the mixture of Magneto's theme and the film's main theme during the sub scene (you'll know it when you see it) is one of the most uplifting pieces of music ever created for a film. This song flawlessly portrays how far along Magneto has come in learning how to properly control his powers.

The movie's visuals were petty good, but were definitely the weakest point. I can't blame Vaughn though, because he had a schedule of 9 months to complete this film. This doesn't mean they were bad though. Vaughn did a better job than anyone else in his position could of done.

All in all, this movie is the very definition of perfection and it comes at my highest level of recommendation. Even people who don't like superhero films will find something to like in this film. It has the perfect balance of action, comedy and drama and none of it ever felt forced.

Rango

It may be too early in the year for such a brash prediction, but I think Rango deserves best animated feature. It was a great movie with some great voice work, comedy, story, and music. One of the biggest surprises to me was how adult this movie was.

The story was my favorite part because it’s basically Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas but with a lizard. Rango is a lizard who doesn’t know what his purpose in life is and after an incident leaves him stranded in the desert, he goes on a journey of self discovery. It almost felt like a parody of western/adventure films.

The voice acting was incredibly strong. Johnny Depp stole the show as Rango. I think Depp has a strong future in the world of voice work. He perfectly portrayed a lost in life lizard. The love interest Beans, played by Isla Fisher, also does a great job. She’s a very strong willed lizard. The villain Rattlesnake Jim, played by Bill Nighy, was one of the best villains I’ve seen in awhile. I honestly got a tingle in my spine every time he delivered a line. Think of a deep menacing voice responding to “Go to Hell!” with “Where do you think I came from?” I wish I could mention the rest of the supporting cast, but there are just too many of them. Needless to say, they were all fantastic.

I went into the movie knowing I would love the soundtrack, and surprise! I loved it. Hans Zimmer never disappoints. For Rango, he uses a great mixture of western and modern music and has some throwbacks to the classics. Music is an ongoing “joke” as the story is told by a band of fourth wall (talking to the audience) breaking mariachi owls. Overall, the music was appropriately action packed and westerny. Plus, you get to hear a banjo based version of Ride of the Valkyries, do you really need anything else?

Overall, this was a great movie. It has something for people of all ages and wonderfully animated.

The top 5 movies of 2010.

Well, all of the other cool kids (film critics) are doing it so here’s my list of the top 5 movies of 2010. Bear in mind that I haven’t seen every single movie that’s come out this year. If I saw True Grit and/or Black Swan, I can guarantee that those would be on this list.

5. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World- I’ve never had this much fun watching a movie before. Scott Pilgrim was incredibly energetic, had some great acting, a great soundtrack, and fantastic directing from Edgar Wright. Instead of trying to be something different than a video game, like most video game movies do, it revels in both the lore and culture of the gaming world.

4. Let Me In- This was one of the best horror films to come out in years, and I’m surprised to hear myself say it, because it’s a remake of a fantastic Swedish movie. I’m also surprised to hear myself say that it surpasses the original. It was beautifully shot, had a chilling orchestral score to accompany it, and was incredibly well acted. Chloe Grace Moretz continues to impress me as an actress. It wasn’t a perfect adaptation of the original, but it had subtle homages that never felt out of place.

3. Leaves of Grass- I think that Inception is not the only movie that will make you think about thinking about things that you probably don’t think about in everyday life and no I did not use “think” enough. Leaves of Grass is a philosophical, prophetic, racist, sexist, action comedy drama about finding out what it means to be yourself. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll be shocked at the racism, and you’ll have a good time doing it. This movie had two amazing performances from Edward Norton who plays two twins who are drastically different in every sense of the word. One is a big time professor and philosopher who likes to play by the rules while the other is a redneck marijuana dealer who lives life without any rules. They play very well off of each other.

2. How to Train your Dragon- This was one of the biggest surprises I’ve had all year. I didn’t go into the movie wanting to hate it, but my expectations weren’t exactly high. This movie combined great acting and story with fantastic cinematography and an amazing orchestral score. It’s one of the few movies that uses 3D right, and I personally thought it was better than Avatar in that aspect. While Avatar had more impressive technology to use, I never felt immersed in the world. With How to Train your Dragon, the flying sequences made it seem like you were on top of a dragon and soaring across the sky. The acting was pretty incredible in this movie. Each of the characters were played perfectly by their actors and actress’.

1. Kick Ass- I know that putting Kick Ass as my #1 movie of the year will cause some controversy, but quite frankly it deserves it. I have never been this amazed with a movie before. Sure if you look at it from the outside, it’s just a bloody over the top action movie. However, if you look at it deeper, you’ll see a great story about what justice really is backed up by fantastic acting and a near flawless score. I don’t think I can praise the soundtrack enough. Every piece of music fits its respective scene near perfectly, whether it needed to be comedic or dramatic. It’s one of my all time favorite movie scores. All of the characters were very well developed and were relatable. Although they all had their flaws, some more so than others, they were likeable. This really helped the movie during the more intense scenes because you genuinely cared for them. Although this movie can be extremely violent, I think it’s a movie that everyone should see. I could honestly go on for pages about why this movie was so good but this explanation is already becoming too long for a top 5 list.

And there you have it! My top 5 movies of 2010!

Power Rangers.

This will be a very difficult movie to review. This movie united the world under one flag. People left their prejudice at the door and watched this film united! It changed an entire generation’s world view, and helped to end world hunger! I am of course talking about Power Rangers: The Movie! Ok…maybe I exaggerated a little bit, but my point still stands! What’s my point exactly? That Power Rangers rock and Kimberly is hot.

Before I begin the review, I have to admit that this movie is a huge guilty pleasure for me. Sure, it sucks when looked at with any standards whatsoever, but I was a huge Power Rangers fan when it first came out.

The basic plot is that an ancient evil named Ivan Ooze has been unleashed and the Power Rangers have to stop him. It’s the basic stuff…nothing special here.

To be perfectly honest, the acting isn’t that bad when you think about it. It’s full of corny one liners and cheesy dialogue sure…but that was one of the highlights of the show. There are a few cast changes. Instead of an Asian yellow ranger and an African American black ranger, we now have the opposite. The creators realized that racism wasn’t in at the time. British actor Paul Freeman plays the villain, Ivan Ooze, and while he is a terrible villain/actor, he’s just so over the top and cliché that it’s impossible not to love him. Bulk and Skull, the two bullies, are back in the movie but their roles are so small that it’s hard to talk about them.

The music is surprisingly not bad. It’s hard not to hate the main Power Rangers theme. If you do, you should be ashamed! The movie has an orchestral theme that is pretty good, considering that it’s Power Rangers and 1995. Not much more I can say here.

Now onto the meat of why everyone watched this show; the action. Kimberly comes in at a very close second. It’s a very well choreographed movie. Sure some of the stunts are over the top, but it’s just good cheesy fun. You can clearly tell that they’re using wires, but that just adds to the charm in my opinion. You really can’t go wrong with over the top karate.

Now comes the part where I give a recommendation. Since it’s a guilty pleasure of mine, I do recommend it. It’s nostalgic, has Kimberly, and it’s just a fun movie overall. If you have a bunch of friends over, stick this movie in and you’ll have a great time.

Let Me In...to the theatre so I can watch this movie again.

For the most part, I despise American remakes of foreign horror movies. They always dumb down the source material to make it PG-13 in an effort to sell more tickets and destroy the essence of the original. Let Me In is the very rare exception, and it came close to surpassing the original. The film was a near perfect adaptation. The two leads were both fantastic, the setting was very surreal and foreboding, and the music was top notch.

The basic plot for the movie is as follows. Owen (played by Kodi Smit-McPhee of The Road) is a 12 year old boy who is going through hard times. He is neglected by his mom and has bully problems at school. He soon meets a young girl named Abby, (played by Chloe Moretz Grace of Kick Ass fame) and the two form a relationship. The catch is that Abby is a vampire. My only real nitpick is the addition of religion to the plot. I felt like that took away from the story, because it focused less on a relationship between two different people and more on a “good and evil” tone.

The acting was great. Kodi and Chloe had great chemistry together and the both continue to show that they have some real acting talent. Chloe’s creepy yet romantically cute portrayal of a vampire played very well off of Kodi’s abused/borderline psychotic yet lonely and sympathetic young boy. They both perfected their given roles and gave the originals a run for their money. The only other “main” character in the film was Abby’s father/protector (played by Richard Jenkins). Elias Koteas (Casey Jones from the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) has a “hey, it’s that guy” role as the police officer and he did a great job as well. The other bit of acting that needs mentioning are the bullies. Like the two leads, their personalities played well off of each other. I can’t spoil it but needless to say, they are some of the better “villains” in recent memory because you can sympathize with them.

One of the strongest points of the movie was the musical score. Michael Giacchino (Star Trek, Speed Racer, and many Pixar films) has crafted an amazing score. When the movie needs tension, Giacchino uses slowly paced hard drum hits and loud trumpet blasts. When the movie calls for a more creepy/romantic turn, he uses a slow piano and a slow paced violin. I’m normally not a huge fan of horror soundtracks, but this one that I will be purchasing.

This is a very easy movie to recommend. I know I say this a lot, but this is coming from someone who hates remakes.

Scott PIlgrim vs. the World

I’m not sure a simple review can show anyone just how amazingly epic Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is, but here goes nothing. It was a fantastic movie, and one of the most fun times I’ve had at the theaters in ages. Everything, down to the absurd plot, was flowing with artistic creativity. The only “negative” aspect of the film is that you really have to understand gaming culture. If you don’t, many of the film’s jokes won’t make any sense. For this reason, it’s a very hard movie to review.

The basic plot of the movie is this. Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is madly in love with Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Edward) and wants to date her. Normally this would sound like a romantic comedy, but there’s one small catch. In order to win her heart, Scott must fight and defeat her seven evil exes.

It’s hard to touch on every single actor in the film individually, but they all did great jobs. I’ve never been a Michael Cera fan, but he did a fantastic job here as Scott Pilgrim. The standout would have to be Kieran Culkin as Scott’s gay roommate, Wallace. He stole the scene every time he was on screen.

It’s literally impossible to talk about this movie without mentioning the sound effects and visuals. The moment the Universal theme and logo appear in 8-bit, you know you’re in for a treat. The movie was filmed like it was a video game. During fight scenes, everyone would have health bars and they would flash red when “low” on health. The best effect, however, was “vs.” sliding onto the screen right before a fight would begin. When a character died, they would explode into coins and numbers would appear in their place, symbolizing points. The fights were also very stylized and fast paced, like a fighting game.

The music was also very stylized and “gamelike” in nature. Nigel Godrich has made the perfect score for this movie. He did a remix of the “Fairy Fountain” theme from Zelda for the dream sequences. The “boss battle” music is great as well. It uses a mix between 8-bit and 16-bit style music mixed with fast paced drum and violin scores.

All in all, this movie was amazing and it’s an easy recommendation. It's just pure, unadulterated fun.

Reqiuem for a Dream.

Requiem for a Dream is a truly horrifying experience, yet it is one of my favorite movies of all time and is worth experiencing. It is a terrible movie about the effects of drug addiction and how it can ruin your life. So why do I love it so much? Because it’s beautifully shot, very well acted, has one of the greatest soundtracks of any movie ever made, and it is a great learning experience.

The movie follows four people; Ellen, her son Harry, his girlfriend Marion, and his best friend Tyrone. Ellen has an obsession with a particular tv program and dreams of being on tv herself one day. Harry and Tyrone are drug dealers who want a better life and Marion is young woman who wants to be a fashion designer. They get connections and soon are raking in the cash, so to speak. However, this wealth is short lived and soon everything goes to Hell.

The visuals in this movie are simply amazing. Whenever someone in the movie takes a shot of cocaine or snorts crack, the camera does a close-up of their eye and you see the effects of the drug. All of the environments are very realistic yet very surreal at the same time. When two characters are talking, the camera will “split” in two, and you’ll see both people.

The soundtrack is one of the movie’s strongest points. Just search “Requiem for a Dream” on youtube, and you’ll find the music is used in many different movie trailers, and has lots of remixes. It conveys fear, hopelessness, and the refusal to let go even when staring into nightmare. It does this without feeling overbearing on the movie.

The acting was top notch and also very surprising. I hate the Wayan brothers, but Marlon did a very good job. It makes me sad that he showed promise then went back to starring in his brother’s terrible comedies. Jared Leto played Harry very well. He was a loving son, but at the same found himself succumbing to the effects of drug use. Jennifer Connelly played Marion who was, in a way, the exact opposite of Harry. Ellen Burstyn is the standout though as Ellen, Harry’s mom. You can tell she’s scared for where her son is headed, but she never stops being his mom.

I cannot recommend this movie enough. It is very difficult to watch, but everyone owes it to themselves to see it at least once in their life.