Author: mfordfeeney

#140RVW

15 years ago this was a sleeper phenomenon. I thought it was gonna suck & was far from alone. So glad to have been so very wrong… #NoSpoon

What’s more:

It may look like a called shot through your bullet-time camera today, but this was a huge risk. A sci-fi mind trip starring Canoe? You knew it was going to be a hit? Then that makes one…

In hindsight, it seems obvious. Brainy sci-fi with brilliant premise, backed with tons of guns, wire-fu and beautiful people in black?

But when they were promoting this for a March 31, 1999 release, remember that there was another little sci-fi movie coming out in May called The Phantom Menace. Other studios were avoiding this launch window like the plague. All you could hope for around May were people who couldn’t get into Episode I. Trying to squeeze in a new sci-fi property now was either a brave move by a studio that believed they had something really special, or a case of a studio sending out something they didn’t believe in to die a lonely death. I don’t frankly know which it was in this case, but I suspect the former, since anyone who watched the film could see this was a winner.

The trailer wasn’t confidence-inspiring to me. It looked gimmicky and including Canoe saying “Whoa” would be Exhibit A in how to reinforce your audiences negative impressions of an actor. But when my friends returned from the film, gushing about this amazing and unique movie, I was swayed. And for that I am grateful.

The Matrix is a phenomenal movie. The high concept story is rock solid, the effects are spell-binding, the pace is good, the length ok, the dialogue fine, the humor good and the fighting is really excellent. It is a very unique and ambitious film from the Wachowskis, and they are to be commended.

It really launched the careers of Carrie-Anne Moss & Hugo Weaving, which we can all be happy about. After that the acting is a little thin on the ground.

Laurence Fishburne would never be called Larry again, and he has a great delivery on the humorous lines, but he is given some truly dreadful dialogue. It’s worse in the sequels (EVERYTHING IS), but even here he is tasked with overly verbose exposition that makes it seem as though the Wachowskis are trying to impress us with their ability to use a thesaurus. Nothing is said simply if it can be dragged out with lots of multi-syllabic words and delivered with a reverential monotone. It’s really ponderous.

Then there’s Canoe. Ah, Keanu. This will certainly be the film he is remembered for, as is fitting. I have to say that he is absolutely perfect for this role. The first movie, I mean. He does well with the in over his head outsider bit and his eventual embrace of his importance. He retains just enough of his Canoe-ness to make you go along with him on this head trip until you’re on solid footing; helps the audience have a stake in the thing. Once you get into the sequels it gets pretty humorless, though.

Can you even imagine this film with the other actors offered the role? Will Smith, Nicolas Cage, Brad Pitt, Val Kilmer (!) or Johnny Depp? All too easily, right? ::Shudder:: THAT’S why I think Keanu was perfect.

Did I forget to mention Joey Pants? Can’t imagine why…

While directly responsible for the explosion of wire-work into every single action movie for the next 15 years, the fight scenes by fight choreographer Yuen Woo-ping are fantastic. Maybe not as revolutionary to those Hong Kong action movie fans out there, but for the rest of us newbies, it’s great stuff.

It is a really unique universe the filmmaker’s have created. Production Designer Owen Paterson really highlights the difference between the Matrix and the real world cleverly, although the whole blue/green thing got seriously overdone with color-timing in post, particularly on the home video releases.

The effects are simply spectacular. John Gaeta and Manex Digital Effects created bleeding edge visuals that were truly groundbreaking. The overuse of CG doubles that plagued the sequels is non-existent here; as involved as it gets, things actually feel “real” as ironic as that may be.

As far as the philosophy and all that, whatever. It’s interesting to a point, but it’s hard not to have an involuntary negative reaction to any discussion of the deeper themes after all the navel-gazing of the sequels.

The Matrix is a great movie. It owes so much to so many different influences, from cyberpunk novels to Japanese animation, but the Wachowskis have always been very vocal in their praise for their many predecessors and very generous in acknowledging their debts. Forget whatever baggage you have from the sequels and try to watch it again with fresh eyes.

Poster:

Trailer:

Bechdel Test:

Pass

The Representation Test Score: B (9 pts)

(http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)

Main Cast	Keanu Reeves Neo, Laurence Fishburne Morpheus, Carrie-Anne Moss Trinity, Hugo Weaving Agent Smith
Rating	R
Release Date	Wed 31 Mar 1999 UTC
Director	Andy Wachowski (as The Wachowski Brothers), Lana Wachowski (as The Wachowski Brothers)
Genres	Action, Sci-Fi
Plot	A computer hacker learns from mysterious rebels about the true nature of his reality and his role in the war against its controllers.
Poster
Runtime	136
Tagline	Free your mind
Writers	Andy Wachowski (as The Wachowski Brothers) (written by) &, Lana Wachowski (as The Wachowski Brothers) (written by)
Year	1999

#140RVW

Released 25 years ago, Bill & Ted just as triumphant today. Must have seen this 5x in theaters, then wrote Wyld Stallyns on jeans jacket…

What’s more:

Has it really been 25 years since the formation of the Wyld Stallyns? Their music is such a huge part of our lives, the foundation of our society; it’s hard to remember a time when they weren’t with us.

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure is a dramatized biopic, detailing that famous incident in the past when our fearless leaders nearly lost their way, ending the Stallyns before they even got started.

The film centers on the celebrated decision of The Three Most Important People in the World to send the Prophet Rufus (played here by George Carlin) back through the Circuits of Time to help the great ones prevent the disbanding of the Wyld Stallyns by passing their history class.

In this telling of events, Bill S. Preston, Esquire (ably played by Alex Winter) and Ted “Theodore” Logan (portrayed in this version by a young Sir Keanu Reeves) are beginning their journey to perfect the music that will define our way of life, but they’re having a few problems. Their devotion to the Stallyns is affecting their ability to master their studies and as a result they are flunking history. (Ed. Note: A risible notion – Lords Bill & Ted practically ARE history.) Actor Bernie Casey was tapped to play the controversial teacher Mr. Ryan, who had the temerity to threaten the Great Ones with such failure, although it must be noted that he provided them with the impetus to excel in their studies by means of “the final project”. Casey is certainly up to the task of handling such a complex character, so it is perhaps a shame that more time is not spent detailing his inner struggle at how best to develop Bill & Ted’s talents. (See “Tempus Fugit Excelsior: The Untold Story of The Great Ones Who Nearly Weren’t” for a more balanced and nuanced portrayal of this often misunderstood figure.)

Ted must pass history class or else he will be exiled to the reviled Oats Military Academy by his father, Captain John Logan (or “El Capitan”, as he would come to be known during the Water Loop Crisis). As the Two prepare their project, they are sent out of the unwelcoming home of Mr. Preston and “Missy the Inconstant” and they repair to The Circle K.

Ah, the Circle K. Much has been written about the San Dimas Circle K, but modern people may find it difficult to believe that this great institution was once a simple convenience store. At that time, people often drove right by without stopping. Amazing. So it was that the arrival of Rufus in a phone booth-disguised time machine was completely unobserved by anyone save for The Great Ones. Once Rufus had demonstrated the technique, they were off through the Circuits of Time in order to learn about the past in order to preserve the future.

The director chosen by the The Three Most Important People in the World for this project, Stephen Herek is known for his work with lighter comedy fare, and does a good job highlighting the excellent early adventures of The Great Ones. It’s exhilarating to re-experience those lighthearted and hilarious days before Bill & Ted realized their true importance. Writers Chris Matheson & Ed Solomon wisely chose to keep their focus on a brief period of roughly 24 hours for this adaptation and this helps keep the action moving briskly. The tightly plotted film keeps it simple and that is admirable with a time-travelling adventure.

The film is scored by David Newman and the music is decidedly of the time and does its best; it’s not fair to judge the music of that period against the Wyld Stallyns. The acting is everything it needs to be and while filling these roles is a daunting task, Winter & Reeves acquit themselves well.

25 years later, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure reminds us to embrace the credo of The Great Ones: “Be excellent to each other. And party on, dudes!”

Poster:

Trailer:

Bechdel Test:

Fail most heinously

The Representation Test Score: C (4 pts)

(http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)

 

Main Cast	Keanu Reeves Ted ‘Theodore’ Logan, Alex Winter Bill S. Preston, George Carlin Rufus, Terry Camilleri Napoleon
Rating	PG
Release Date	Fri 17 Feb 1989 UTC
Director	Stephen Herek
Genres	Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Plot	Two seemingly dumb teens struggle to prepare a historical presentation with the help of a time machine.
Poster
Runtime	90
Tagline	History is about to be rewritten by two guys who can’t spell…
Writers	Chris Matheson (written by) &, Ed Solomon (written by)
Year	1989

#140RVW

Plays just as well 30 years later. Well, except for that Long Duk Dong stuff, although I don’t think it worked very well at the time either.

What’s more:

John Hughes wrote this movie/part especially for Molly Ringwald. Seldom has there been a more perfect pairing of a director and muse. Sixteen Candles is undisputedly Ringwald’s movie. Sam Baker is her breakout role and it makes this film timeless.

Sixteen Candles isn’t John Hughes’ best film, but I find it the among his most enjoyable. It’s a pretty straightforward comedy. It’s not a subversive piece. But the real emotion and thoughts of teens are expressed so well that it feels very fresh, even now.

After writing the ridiculously successful Mr. Mom & National Lampoon’s Vacation, this was his directorial debut. (Despite having such an enormous impact and single-handedly creating the “John Hughes” genre of teen films, he only directed 8 films. Of those, only 4 were high-school movies.) It is very well assembled, in addition to the great writing, and if it doesn’t stick out for visual impact or arty shots, it doesn’t need to. He did a great job of expressing the story he wanted to tell.

Of course, by modern sensibilities, some of the movie strikes the wrong tone. In addition to the offensive Long Duk Dong character, the Jake Ryan character comes off as a real jerk. He entrusts a non-driving freshman with his car and more importantly his drunk girlfriend, implicitly inviting the kid to do whatever he wants with her. And this is the love interest of the protagonist?

In addition to Ringwald’s star-making performance, Anthony Michael Hall is brilliant to watch as Farmer Ted. Paul Dooley provides some needed adult connection as Sam’s dad; their late-night talk is among the best scenes in the film.

Sixteen Candles is a rite of passage movie for teenagers. It will probably continue to be for a long time.

Poster:

Trailer:

Bechdel Test:

The Representation Test Score: B (8 pts)

(http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)

Main Cast	Molly Ringwald Samantha Baker, Anthony Michael Hall The Geek, Justin Henry Mike Baker, Michael Schoeffling Jake Ryan
Rating	R
Release Date	Fri 04 May 1984 UTC
Director	John Hughes
Genres	Comedy, Romance
Plot	A young girl’s “sweet sixteenth” birthday becomes anything but special as she suffers from every embarrassment possible.
Poster
Runtime	93
Tagline	This is Samantha Baker and today is her 16th birthday. The problem is, nobody remembers.
Writers	John Hughes (written by)
Year	1984

#140RVW

Now that’s more like it. Truly lives up to title; amazing. Still too long & not particularly original, but few missteps; very well executed.

What’s more:

From all of the previews and trailers, this looked awesome. But then I started hearing negative buzz on it and got nervous and downgraded my expectations. (I partially blame this on the curious decision to release the film several weeks early in England. No reflection on England, of course, I just still don’t get why they did this. I’m a big believer in same day release worldwide.) Anyway, this may have worked to my advantage, as I was pleasantly surprised by just how good this movie was. I don’t care what reviews you’ve read – The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a great movie.

I’m frankly a bit stunned by the poor response the movie has gotten. I’m beginning to see a trend in opinions on recent genre movies of the past five years, though. It seems to come down to whether you liked the Star Trek reboots or not. I have found myself on the opposite side of opinions with people who disliked the new Trek movies. It seems as though you’re either in the Zack Snyder camp or the J.J. Abrams camp. I don’t know what this means, but I’m going to have to give it some more thought. I loved Star Trek Into Darkness and hated Man of Steel, and I’m finding a lot of people splitting on those two films. Just an observation.

Back to the movie. If you read my review of The Amazing Spider-Man, you’ll know that I found it mostly enjoyable but mostly an unmemorable and unnecessary reboot. Fast forward two years and I found this one worlds better, even though a lot of the same criticisms are probably valid. It’s far too long, it isn’t hugely original, it does suffer a bit from superhero fatigue, the CGI is excessive and the endless action scenes lack any physical or emotional weight as a result. These criticisms could and probably should be leveled at virtually every action picture of the past 10 years.

So what else is wrong? Let’s get all the bad stuff out of the way first:

• Paul Giamatti is completely wasted in this. It feels like he’s in the picture for about four seconds. Strictly sequel-bait. It would have been better to have him be an uncredited cameo. (Of course, the only reason Rhino isn’t counted among the stupidest Marvel villains is that they have decades of bigger mistakes, so less Rhino isn’t problematic for me.)
• Makes the same “too many characters” mistake that all of these movies make, going back to at least Batman Returns, possibly longer.
• If you didn’t like the leads in the first movie they aren’t going to win you over now.
• There is an excessive amount of time spent on the whole “I don’t have a dad” angst. This would have been the best place to edit.
• The product placement is so excessive it that my ticket should have been subsidized.
• There is a character named Dr. Ashley Kafka that is so unbelievably over the top as a morally-deficient German scientist that it brought to mind nothing so much as John Glover’s role in Batman & Robin.
• By the way, Ashley Kafka in the comics is a woman, but they gave the part to a man for the film. This should give you some sense of how much representation females receive here.
• Faceless corporate bad guys; the next filmmaker who populates their movie with cold, mean-looking white guys in bespoke suits who talk about the effects on investors and stock prices should be made to do community service until they promise never to do it again.
• There are a few other things but this is a spoiler-free review.

Quite a damning list, no? So what was good about The Amazing Spider-Man 2? Well…

• The humor. This is the Spidey we’ve been waiting for. Finally the right balance of jokey irreverence and sarcasm, not just the occasional smart-ass remark. Good physical comedy and prop gags. Garfield is a good Peter Parker, but he’s a great Spider-Man.
• The suit. I didn’t dislike any of the suits that have been done before, but this is the closest to the comic yet. The big white eyes is absolutely the final piece to help enhance the Spidey personality and remind us all that this is supposed to be fun, not just a bunch of actiony-angst.
• The look of the film. ASM2 was shot on film instead of the Red digital cameras of the first film. I don’t know if this was the big difference or the change in DPs was, but it looks much better. And while the 3D is still gimmicky, I thought it was better.
• The moral dilemma of involving Gwen. Peter’s promise to Captain Stacy to stay away from his daughter seemed to have no weight in the first picture. Bringing back visions of the character to show Peter’s guilt and misgivings works well. That being said, the on again off again thing drags on.
• While the movie was too long, the pacing was just about right. Sure, it could have used a haircut, what movie couldn’t? But it moved along at a good clip – for the most part.
• I may be in the minority here, but I really liked Jamie Foxx’s Electro. Sure, the dialogue wasn’t very good – this isn’t Ibsen. But he provided an intensity that was expected and a vulnerability that was not. His coming out scene in Times Square is great because you really feel his hurt and that things could have gone another way.
• The Electro effects are surprisingly good. I thought the character design was questionable from the early stills and previews, but it works well in the film.
• Dane DeHaan is a good choice as privileged yet neglected Harry Osbourne. His descent is more believable than most villains.
• Sally Field takes it up a notch as May and she and Garfield have some nice scenes and create a relationship that is much more believable than in the first film.
• I preferred the Hans Zimmer score to that of James Horner’s score for ASM1.
• J. Jonah Jameson does not appear on film, but he and the Daily Bugle are a presence. Yes. I hope they bring back J.K. Simmons…
• Plenty of Easter eggs and teasers for future films.
• There are a few other things but this is a spoiler-free review.

Oddities:

• Big changes in the final cut; I may be wrong, but it seemed as if more than 50% of the spoken lines in the various trailers were missing from the final film. I wonder how much rearranging went on in the editing booth.
• Mid-credits scene. There isn’t one. Instead there is a confusingly scattered scene from the new X-Men movie. It’s really jarring. You’re watching the credits and wondering what cool little stinger you’re going to get and then BAM – you’re dropped right into the middle of a scene in the Vietnam War with no preamble, just instant action – and then it’s over just as fast. It’s not a trailer, it’s not a sneak peek. It’s like the projectionist just accidentally loaded the movie playing in the theater next to you halfway through and then noticed their mistake. It’s bizarre and confusing. It makes you think they’re hinting at a Spidey/X-Men crossover, which they’re not. So why is it there? I found out later that it was a concession Sony made to rival studio Fox to advertise the picture for free in exchange for letting director Marc Webb do ASM2 before fulfilling his previous contract with Fox. Are you kidding me? I’m calling shenanigans…

Could it have been better? Yeah, probably. These things generally could be. But this is a very good movie. It isn’t going to crack the top 5 comic-book movie list or anything, but I really enjoyed ASM2 and I think you will too, if you let yourself.

Poster:

Trailer:

Bechdel Test:

Pass

The Representation Test Score: C (6 pts)

(http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)

 

Main Cast	Andrew Garfield Spider-Man/Peter Parker, Emma Stone Gwen Stacy, Jamie Foxx Electro/Max Dillon, Paul Giamatti Aleksei Sytsevich
Rating	PG-13
Release Date	Fri 02 May 2014 UTC
Director	Marc Webb
Genres	Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Plot	Peter Parker runs the gauntlet as the mysterious company Oscorp sends up a slew of supervillains against him, impacting on his life.
Poster
Runtime	142
Tagline	No more secrets.
Writers	Alex Kurtzman (screenplay) &, Roberto Orci (screenplay) …
Year	2014