Author Archives: Ben Koch
Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax (2012)
By: Ben Koch (Two Beers) -
BEERate this movie!
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On the 108th birthday of Theodore Seuss Geisel an animated feature based on one of his famous children’s books premiered in theaters. This book was The Lorax and the movie was Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax. The movie is shown the way that Dr. Seuss obviously always intended it to be: 3D. I watched this movie in the 3D version in a theater packed with children and if I had to judge the movie’s effectiveness based on the amount of cherubic laughter and, yes, my own giggling, I would say that this movie is definitely a terrifically enjoyable one. The movie has many positives like its humor, good voice acting, and some really beautiful animation.
A Toast
Dreamworks really knows how to make a beautiful animated movie with their own distinct style. What I really liked about the movie is that even though Dreamworks has that really distinctive art style, it didn’t overpower the (possibly more) distinct and (definitely more) classic art style of Dr. Seuss. I was very pleased with the way the two styles blended together because when dealing with Dr. Seuss, the artwork is a major concern.
I was completely surprised with the fact that this movie is a musical as well. I know, I know, believe me, I know. Needless to say, I was not optimistic about this at first (Dreamworks and musicals don’t exactly seem to go hand in hand). The music, though, isn’t bad; most of it seems to be an attempt at making it into a rock musical. Since most of the main voice actors have definite music chops (Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, and even Ed Helms), and the songs are pretty well written, (primarily because I’m pretty sure all the songs are shameless rip-offs, in the good way) the music is pretty enjoyable.
DeVito, strangely, has the voice of angels. FALLEN angels!! Burn.
I would also like to take a moment and mention that the message of this movie is very relevant and is one that I believe is very important. The movie makes a comment on corporate greed and the importance of environmentalism by giving us a look at a possible future where we become a society who don’t care about the fact that we can’t breathe because we destroy every single piece of vegetation and name our towns after snuggies. I know it might seem too topical and maybe slightly overdone but I don’t think I’ve ever seen an animated family movie that makes the point so beautifully. Okay, now on to more drinking.
Beer Two
There are no glaring issues with this movie, which is great, and is the reason why kids will definitely respond to this film because they are surprising perceptive of crap. The few issues I had, though, were that some of the parts of the movie were added in to knock up the action and entertainment value and as a result felt forced. This actually includes some of the musical numbers, which I realize I just got finished endorsing, but even though the music was good and the scene was entertaining, it’s placement in the movie felt clunky.
You know, like Taylor Swift in an acting role.
There is a big chase scene at the end of the movie that was really good and fit perfectly with the movie, but other than that there weren’t a whole lot of places where the action made sense.
Beer Three
This beer I drank for a similar reason to the last one but it deserves its own paragraph, so here I will spell out my gripe about the Seussian dialogue in the movie. There were quite a few parts in the movie that were taken directly from the book and a lot of them also just seemed tossed in there for no real reason. In the book, in order for the Once-ler to tell the kid about the Lorax, he has to bring him “fifteen cents, and a nail, and the shell of a great-great-great-grandfather snail.” In the movie, they give a decent amount of attention to this fact and then when he brings the price to the Once-ler, he tries to give it to him and then it’s immediately ignored and never brought up again.
Maybe it’s just me but with a long form medium like film, they may have been able to do something with that which could have been nice. Another annoying example is when one of the characters says a line directly from the book: “the touch of their tufts was much softer than silk. And they had the sweet smell that was sweeter than silk.” And then immediately followed it up with: “Whatever that means.” Which makes me feel like it was thrown in as an afterthought and completely cheapened the line.
All in all, this was a very enjoyable movie. If you are a child or have the sense of humor of a child like I do, then you will definitely like this movie. My major drawbacks honestly seem like minor annoyances and this was very close to a two beer movie. The voice acting was really good and I think that was mainly because Taylor Swift really has very little dialogue compared to the rest of the cast. Dreamworks is getting very good at adorable, scene-stealing background characters and this movie is no exception. The animals are comparable to the minions in Despicable Me with their adorable antics and mischievous behavior and later in the movie where they shun the Once-ler and sadly leave, you feel genuinely unhappy about it.
Adorable bastards. WHY AREN’T YOU IN EVERYTHING!!??
The 3D is pretty good too while being unobnoxious. It is one of those instances where it feels like it actually enhances the animation instead of dampening the colors and feeling gimmicky. So, besides a few bad eggs, this movie can make a decent omelet. Bad metaphors aside, go see this movie, with or without kids.
Bonus Drinking Game
Take a Drink: because you’re watching a kid’s movie.
Take a Drink: every time something rhymes.
Drink a Shot: whenever you wonder how the town in this movie hasn’t turned into an Orwellian nightmare.
J. Edgar (2011)
J. Edgar (2011) DVD / Blu-ray
By: Ben Koch (A Toast) -
BEERate this movie!
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There’s nothing that will take you out of a story easier than bad effects, especially bad makeup. That said, it’s hard to change the looks of an actor who already has such an established and recognizable face as, say, Leonardo DiCaprio, in a believable and immersive way. At first it was very easy for me to see through the makeup and realize that you’re seeing Leo, not J. Edgar Hoover.
However, as the film goes on, Leo transforms and the character takes over, and my disbelief was completely suspended. Then, while I was fully immersed in this experience I could really admire the fantastic makeup job. Well, I could admire the fantastic makeup on Leo, but Armie Hammer’s makeup looked like one of those bad old man masks the guys on Jackass would wear.
No, that’s not an old Karl Childers from Sling Blade, that’s Armie Hammer.
This movie follows J. Edgar Hoover through his rise to power as he created and ran the Federal Bureau of Investigation for almost forty years while behind closed doors he harbored secrets that could have compromised his legitimacy in a big way. The film has been criticized for going too easy on Hoover’s known homosexuality and cross dressing. That certainly seems to be true, but it does not skip over this major aspect of his life completely, in fact, it becomes a major part of the plot of the film.
So, from a historical standpoint, this film may not be the most accurate film out there and if that’s what you are looking for, then parts of J. Edgar may be frustrating. I, however, went into the film with very little knowledge of J. Edgar Hoover’s life. I knew that he was the head of the F.B.I. and apparently a little gay, but beyond that I had no idea who he was. So I approached this film as a character study, and a brilliant and fascinating one at that.
A Toast
Let me start by saying that everyone who saw the trailers for this movie probably expected Leo to give a powerhouse performance and I can honestly say he did not disappoint. Clint Eastwood directing with Leo starring seems to be a terrific pairing. The portrayal of Hoover by DiCaprio is part of what makes this movie so enjoyable because he creates this incredible character that makes you want to see more just to see what kind of dumb shit he’s going to do in incredibly smart ways.
J. Edgar Hoover’s rise to power was steered by his mother, who he has an uncomfortably close relationship with, making him a fascinating character cross between MacBeth and Oedipus. Then the addition of his homosexuality, which he kept hidden from everyone (including from himself for a while), gave the character an entirely new and fascinating dimension. The script was written by Dustin Lance Black who won the best original screenplay Oscar for Milk in 2008 and who I hope keeps writing biopics for famous homosexuals.
Oh God, Dustin, please say he’s next!
One thing in the movie that I found fascinating was that it seemed to draw a parallel between Hoover and Cody Jarret, the gangster played by James Cagney in the 1949 film White Heat. If you’ve seen White Heat, then you may notice it and try to look for it as you watch the movie then let me know in the comments if you can see what I’m talking about or if I’m reaching kind of far here. If you haven’t seen White Heat: go see it! It’s one of the best movies ever made!
There are a lot of special nuances to J. Edgar that I really appreciated and I feel like if I were to see it again, I would notice a lot more. For me, Clint Eastwood is one of the best directors working today and the things I love about his style really help this movie to shine. Eastwood likes to tell a story in a way that is quiet and works slowly, which is a turn off for a lot of people, I know, but it’s something I appreciate after watching a lot of fast paced films made by younger directors. He also has a more classic style of cinematography using wider shots that linger more than most modern movies in aHollywood where fast cuts and extreme close-ups have become the stylistic norm.
You don’t need to see the whole face when someone’s talking on screen.
The bottom line is that I appreciate both styles but I think that for this story and for this character, Eastwood’s classic style of filmmaking really accentuates the story.
I really thought long and hard about what I should score this film because it is not a perfect movie (Clint Eastwood wrote the score for the movie and made what is probably the cheesiest music possible for the sentimental scenes). I thought that it might be a two beer movie until I realized that this movie is about two and a half hours long and it did to me what most movies that long fail to do: it pulled me through and kept me engaged the entire time.
I was never bored and was fascinated by the characters and the story. The movie has the combination of a terrific cast, a skillful and emotional writer, and a seasoned and legendary director. For me, it did not disappoint, and the only beer I felt compelled to drink was the one to toast its success.
Bonus Drinking Game
Take a Drink: whenever Hoover isn’t being gay enough.
Take a Drink: every time you hear a different president’s name.
Take a Drink: every time your opinion of Hoover changes between pity, respect, and hate.
Real Steel (2011)
By: Ben Koch (Four Beers) -
BEERate this movie!
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The year is 2020 and a lot has changed. The iPhone is entirely transparent, animal cruelty is fun again, everyone seems to have the knowledge of robotics on par with an MIT graduate, and human boxing is dead while robot boxing has risen to power in its place; and although over eight years has passed, Hugh Jackman hasn’t aged a day. He plays Charlie Kenton, one time boxer and current washout. Charlie is deep into underground robot boxing and he owes all kinds of money to the wrong people. Oh, and Charlie is a dad.
When his ex-girlfriend dies, the custody of his son, Max, is up for grabs and to make some scratch he sells Max to Max’s Mom’s sister. The catch? He has to take care of his own son for the WHOLE SUMMER. His plan is ditch his kid with his hot friend, Bailey while he tours the country participating in underground Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots games robot boxing. Turns out, though, that this kid is stubborn and knows as much about robot boxing as Mattel. So father and son set off on a journey around the country building robots and crushing others.
Real Steel (2011) DVD / Blu-ray
Get it?! Because he was actually built! Oh, Real Steel, your wit astounds.
A Toast
One thing that I was really happy that this movie did well was actually develop characters! It seems like such a simple concept but it is one that Hollywood seems intent on squashing. So many movies these days are filled with flat characters whose only goal seems to be to shoot everyone in their vicinity. Honestly, I was expecting that from Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots: the Movie Real Steel, but I was pleasantly surprised to find fleshed out characters that have honest relationships.
Gee, I wonder what could possibly have made me think a movie with giant, fighting CG robots would have little to no character development?
Alright, I’m pretty much only talking about the relationship of Charlie and his kid because Hugh Jackman and that kid has some good chemistry as father and son whereas the love story aspect between Charlie and Bailey felt obvious and awkward. Still, I commend this movie for actually taking the time to develop both of the main characters and make this movie as much about their budding relationship as giant robots destroying each other. Bravo, Real Steel, Bravo.
Beer Two
On the other hand, that story is really overdone. You can easily figure out what is going to happen in the movie every step of the way. Remember how I said that father and son are forced together for the summer? Well, guess what? They bond! Over robot boxing! Who knew? The kid apparently doesn’t care that his father is only spending time with him because the aunt’s husband will pay him $100,000 (without his wife’s knowledge) to look after his own son for the summer while the people who will take full custody of the kid vacation in Italy. Yeah, there is only one person who wants to actually take care of this child and that’s his trophy wife aunt. Who goes toItaly.
At the beginning of the movie, Charlie is a huge dick. The first scene where he uses his fighting robot he is at a county fair in Texas where the robot fights a bull. Yeah, apparently bull-baiting is back. Only, instead of a dog that is much smaller than him, the bull is fighting a giant robot that is made of steel and designed to pummel other things made of steel. Of course, Charlie is an idiot and somehow loses that fight so the bull is largely unharmed but all I could think about was what would happen if the bull lost?
The most tender burgers at the fair for one thing.
Beer Three
Spoilers, I Guess:
Sure, there is an actual relationship between actual characters in the movie but it doesn’t really go anywhere. The whole movie is building up to this final fight between the kid’s robot and the big champ robot and so that’s where it ends. Before the fight, though, aunt and uncle moneybags come back from Italy and begin their custody of the kid, so Charlie has to convince them to let him take Max for one more night for the big fight. So the fight ends, people are happy and the credits roll. I felt robbed. What now? The kid goes back to his aunt and uncle, and Charlie goes back to fighting animals with autobots? Do Charlie and Bailey get together? Were they always together (their relationship was confusing throughout the whole movie)?
“Are you my new mommy?” “No. Your mommy’s dead. And your dad sold you.”
As much as I liked the fact that these relationships were explored and developed, there was no closure to them in almost any way. Towards the end of the movie the kid tells him that all he wanted was for his dad to fight for him. So in the final fight, it comes to a point where Charlie has to control the robot by boxing while the robot mirrors him thanks to his rare “shadow function”. So the movie ends with the kid’s dad literally fighting for him. Okay, but the kid still needs him to figuratively fight for him. Max is still in the custody of the aunt and uncle and there’s nothing telling us that they’ll consent to the father visiting or getting to come over on Christmas or something. Congratulations, kid, your dad can box against air but he has no idea how to wage a custody battle.
Beer Four
The main robot in this movie was pretty much built by the kid. In one night, the kid replaces the robot’s entire control system and rewires a voice command headset so that he can be controlled by voice and programs boxing moves and combinations into his memory. He’s 11. When he first takes control of the robot, he drives him around as easily as if he was an RC car. Keep in mind, he has never even been up close to a fighting robot before. And… he’s 11.
His explanation for being able to control the robot so easily? Video games (which is also his reasoning for why he can speak Japanese). I know I shouldn’t expect much in the way of realism from a movie set more than eight years in the future, and in a world where boxing has become so incredibly dead, it seems not a living soul does it anymore for any reason; but, come on, he’s 11. I’m 23 with a college degree and I can’t even drive a car in GTA IV for a block without hitting something.
Pictured: Every car I drive for more than two minutes in GTA IV
Are you 12? You’ll probably love this movie. The 12-year-old sitting next to me cheered every time a punch was thrown. I could easily see this becoming very popular with young kids so if you are a parent with kids reading this, twelve-year-olds are at that age where they are still dumb enough to really get into this kind of movie (I mean, hey, I liked Star Kid when I was that age). Are you older than twelve and require a movie with a more interesting premise and higher stakes? Then don’t see this movie because it will probably bore you.
This movie should be celebrated for actually having well developed characters but I couldn’t get into the fight scenes hardly at all because I would rather see two bleeding, sweaty men trade punches than the robots. If there are going to be giant CG robots, there should also be higher stakes and have some kind of military affiliation with guns and explosions, not something I could see done better by two high school drop-outs on pay-per-view. Do you want to see a good boxing movie? Watch Rocky or Raging Bull. Do you want to see a good movie about giant robots? Well, you’ll have to settle for the Transformers movies. Do you want a good movie about both of those mixed together? Well then go see Real Steel because this is pretty much it for that genre.
Bonus Drinking Game
Take a Drink: every time you think about Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots
Take a Drink: every time the kid talks back to his dad
Drink a Shot: when you see something that you thought would be different by 2020 but isn’t.
Straw Dogs (2011)
Straw Dogs (2011) DVD / Blu-Ray
By: Ben Koch (Three Beers) -
BEERate this movie!
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I’ve said it a hundred times and I’ll say it again: just because I want to have sex with Alexander Skarsgård does not mean I’m gay. For those of you who have seen the movie already you know what a terrible opening line that is to set the tone for a review of this movie. Still, it needed to be said. You’ll recognize Skarsgård as Charlie, the main antagonist of Straw Dogs as well as the tall, handsome, psychopathic, Swedish vampire from the popular HBO series True Blood. Playing opposite him in the movie as the main protagonist, David Sumner, is the always good-looking James Marsden whose career seems to span across the entire genre gamut from movies like Hop and Enchanted to the X-Men series and now Straw Dogs.
To put it simply, David and Charlie don’t care for each other. You see, Charlie used to have sex with Amy, the woman who David is currently married to and having sex with. Amy (played by Kate Bosworth) has returned to Black Water, Mississippi, her home town, after a successful stint on a semi-successful television show where she met her screenwriter husband, David. She is returning because her father has just died and she needs to take care of his crap, I guess, so they just move into the old house while David completes his screenplay about Stalingrad, which is, of course, a metaphor for the events of this movie. Or at least, the last twenty minutes of the movie. Those of you who are expecting a straight forward horror movie will be disappointed. Those of you who expected a well-crafted story with deep characters and dramatic events including an unsettling rape scene will enjoy this movie. By the way, I’m not really spoiling anything about the rape scene, am I? When I saw this trailer my first thought was so how many of those guys rape that girl?
Nah, nothing about this says rape at all…
A Toast
I enjoyed this movie quite a bit. The main characters all seem to have very good chemistry together and all of the characters felt real. The town itself became a very dynamic setting where everyone seemed to know everyone except for James Marsden, who didn’t know anyone. I had never heard of Rod Lurie, who wrote and directed the movie, but I enjoyed his take on the film and plan to look out for his other movies in the future. It is based, of course, on the 1971 original by Sam Peckinpah and is considered to be pretty faithful to the original despite the fact that the original took place in Cornwall, England and the main character was a mathematician; which makes me wonder if Stalingrad was even a metaphor in the original at all. I’m willing to bet the metaphor was Fermat’s theorem (Fermat of course being the famous mathematician whose wife was often accosted by old boyfriends).
Taking place in a small town in Mississippi, I was able to relate to a good deal of this movie as I am from the South myself. Of course, I live in North Carolina which is like the third least intimidating Southern state behind Virginia and Florida, meaning we have fewer backwoods nut jobs than Mississippi does.
**Spoilers**
One of my favorite scenes in this movie is the rape scene. Now, before you start jumping to conclusions and calling me a sociopath and calling all of your friends in North Carolina and telling them to lock their doors, hear me out. If you have not seen or even read anything about this movie you might want to skip a couple sentences, but I won’t be too revealing, I promise. The scene is well crafted, but incredibly unsettling. Charlie and his crew have lured David out of his house and into the woods for a hunting trip where you are sure they are going to “accidentally” shoot him. While daddy is out, though, men go to his house to play a special game with mommy (no they don’t have children; I just wanted to make this extra creepy for you). During “the deed,” the movie cuts back and forth between thrusts and David holding his phallic rifle. Just when the rapist is coming, you guessed it, David shoots a deer.
“Dude, I’m totally gonna rape this deer. Why does it feel so distasteful?”
For whatever reason, this image amused the hell out of me and so I immediately felt awful and am seeing a psychiatrist. Also because, according to Hollywood, every small town in the south has at least one retarded giant who doesn’t know his own strength, Black Water has Jeremy Niles who is the main character of the movie’s sub-plot…
Beer Two
Yes, this picture means that I blame John Steinbeck
…and here’s where I start to pull away. The reason for the siege of the old farmhouse during the last twenty minutes of this movie was not what I was expecting, which is fine because what I expected was stupid. This isn’t that much better, though. When I first saw the trailer my thought was oh, those guys are trying to get into that house so they can all rape that chick. In fact, the reason for it is because those guys plus the town’s old football coach (played by James Woods) are trying to get big, slow, Jeremy Niles who is in their house being protected. The old coach, who is loud, violent, drunk, and easy to anger, is looking for his missing daughter and he thinks Jeremy knows where she is, because he hates Jeremy and Jeremy has had some kind of vague history with young girls.
Anyway, that subplot catches up to the main plot and it leads to the end when all of these guys try to get into the house to get Jeremy. The coming together of the plots just felt really forced to me, though, because David has next to no contact with Jeremy throughout the film and neither does any of Charlie’s friends really. I get that it’s supposed to be that David is finally taking a stand against these guys who have been walking all over him the whole movie but it doesn’t make much sense to me that he would want to protect this guy so violently. I also expected Amy to be far less useless in siege. I guess that was just sexist thinking; God forbid women stand up and fight to protect their house, too.
Beer Three
Oh Kate Bosworth, what are we going to do with you? Remember Blue Crush? You shouldn’t. In this movie, ol’ Bosy is OK and has some decent chemistry with both the male leads, especially in the beginning. And I’ll admit that when she flashes the guys working on the barn, I was hoping the camera would linger a couple seconds longer, but that’s hardly a basis for a good performance. Well, for most people anyway. That should actually be a new Oscars category. Malin Akerman would win like every year; she’s naked in everything.
This was at her mom’s birthday dinner.
Anyway, I digress. Maybe my complaints are more about the character than her but I found her annoying and pretty much useless towards the end of the movie. Her character is about the same as every other character she has ever played. I’m just not a big Bosy fan but the movie didn’t suffer too badly from her presence as much as it probably did from her character.
This movie is worth a viewing. If you want to wait until you can watch it for cheaper on DVD then that is probably a good idea. The original done by Sam Peckinpah was a controversial movie and rated X. The violence here, I believe, does him proud, although it is mostly in the final twenty minutes. The subplot seemed forced into the main plot at the end but it did give the main characters a reason to kill some rednecks, which is always good. In conclusion, for those of you looking forward to the violence in this movie, I just have two words for you: Bear Trap.
Bonus Drinking Game
Shoot at full beers with hunting rifles while drinking beers. If you hit one, drink a beer, if you miss one, drink a beer. Don’t stop until someone gets hurt.
Fright Night (2011)
Fright Night (2011) DVD / Blu-Ray
By: Ben Koch (Three Beers) -
BEERate this movie!
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Fright Night (2011) is the remake of a 1984 film of the same title. My original intention was to watch the 1984 movie and possibly even its 1989 sequel (Fright Night Part II) and then write this review as a well rounded view of the film as a remake. Unfortunately that didn’t work out because Netflix has some kind of “Long Wait” for the 1984 one and the sequel isn’t available at all and the local video store was closed. Okay, I didn’t go to the video store, but seriously, who does anymore? Anyway, so I went into this movie as most of you will: cold.
A Toast
This movie does a number things right and also a number of things not wrong. This is probably because of the strong pairing behind the scenes with Craig Gillespie directing, whose name you may recognize from Lars and The Real Girl (2007), and Marti Noxon writing, who also wrote for the Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel TV series. Together they keep this movie from burning in cliché hell. The movie follows a simple vampire/monster movie framework but for the most part didn’t feel formulaic.
In this time of Twilight and True Blood, Fright Night features a simple story concept I have always loved and wished would make a comeback: the vampire as the villain. The story is not the only thing that is a throwback to those old days, though; the old vampire rules apply. That’s right, sunlight burns, crosses maim, holy water hurts like a bitch, and they have no reflections. Colin Farrell plays Jerry, the vampire-next-door to Charley Brewster, played by Anton Yelchin. Colin Farrell is very convincing as a scary bastard (probably because I’m positive he is a scary bastard in real life).
He lures you in with that sexy accent and then beats you to death with a pint of Guinness.
Yelchin does a decent job as well as he ran around being the scared nerd hero with Christopher Mintz-Plasse running around as the bigger scared nerd who harbors resentment for him. I recommend this movie, especially for fans of Buffy (like me) or any fans of old school vamps. There is good humor all through the movie and it is well mixed with the more dramatic and horror aspects. Behind this, undoubtedly, is Noxon’s writing which feels very Buffyesque in many ways (including a couple of nods to the show itself) so, if you are a Buffy and Angel fan you might want to check this one out.
Beer Two
Decent dialogue and Buffy vamps aside, the film feels very familiar. I use the word “familiar” here because I don’t really think of it as a bad thing, but the story is nothing Earth shattering. It follows basic monster and slasher movie patterns. For example, the movie starts with the opening scene that shows the killer (the vampire in this case) killing a whole family and then fading right into the title sequence and the rest of the movie. Like always, this scene is sort of indirectly tied into the rest of the movie but manages to set up the action and introduce the killer.
We see this scene in lots of good horror movies like Jaws(1975) when the nude night swimmers get chomped or when Drew Barrymore gets sliced open four minutes into Scream(1996). Being a salute to old vampire movies, it certainly fits that Noxon has such an obvious knowledge and love for the old slashers. I had to add a beer to this review for the simple reason that none of this is new and for some viewers it might be a big turn off where others will find it is necessary when today’s vamps seem to be brooding and glittery allegories for abstinence.
You know what? Too easy.
Beer Three(D)
Let’s talk a moment about visuals. While again there is nothing mind-blowing with the visuals and artistry of the film, it is done adequately and never disappoints. That is, unless you see it in 3D. I will start by saying that while there are those who are whole-heartedly against this new fangled 3D business, I am not one of them. I like the depth it adds to the movies, I like visual opportunities it presents, I like 3D itself.
I do admit it has its flaws- it’s pricey, the glasses are annoying, and most importantly the 3D process dampens the colors and light in a movie by at least 20%. I have to admit, though, that of the few movies I have actually been able to afford to see in the theaters, I have never been put off by this effect. Well, until I watched Fright Night. There are quite a few scenes in the movie that take place at night in badly lit places (with some kind of dust or fog in the air, even when they’re indoors) where the reduction in light from the 3D makes it hard to see.
“I hate 3D, I can’t see shit.” “WHO SAID THAT?!”
Most of those seem to be in the beginning of the movie and get better towards the end. Or, at least, my eyes got used to it by the end. That’s not to say that there was nothing good about the 3D experience, however. The opening title sequence was actually pretty cool: my favorite shot was a directly overhead, ninety degree shot of the small desert suburb nearLas Vegaswhere these characters live. This one was really cool to me because the shot had true depth to it and the buildings stuck straight out at you but only slightly because they were short houses.
After that, though, the 3D was used mainly to add a little depth and cheesy bits like arrows flying at you and that sort of thing which usually bug me. So, if you too are easily put off by those cheesy 3D gimmicks and when you can’t see for a good deal of a scene, I recommend not seeing it in 3D.
I saw this movie with two other people who both said the same thing: “I wasn’t expecting much, but it was pretty good.” I have a feeling that most people who end up seeing this will say the same thing. Personally, it was about what I expected: an entertaining vampire throwback with some decent humor and Colin Farrell. If you think it looks fun, see it. If your friend is dragging you to go see it, then stop whining because it could be worse. If you’re going to wait for it to come out on DVD, that’s probably not a bad idea.
Bonus Drinking Game
Take a Drink: whenever someone is breaking and entering.
Take a Drink: whenever something is lit on fire.
Take a Drink: every time someone is viciously murdered but no one notices or cares.
The Man From Nowhere (2010)
The Man From Nowhere (2010) DVD / Blu-ray
By: Ben Koch (Two Beers) -
BEERate this movie!
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The Man From Nowhere (original title in Korean: Ajeossi) is a delightful romp about the friendship between a little girl and her lonely neighbor. And of course, this is a Korean movie so by “delightful romp” I mean that when the little girl is kidnapped by Chinese organ stealing drug dealers and the neighbor kills everyone inSouth Korea to save her. Since the two main characters’ names are Korean and therefore confusing, I am going to call them by some nicknames they mention in one scene. The little girl reveals that her mother calls her Garbage (ain’t that sweet?) and then says that her neighbor is often referred to as the “pawn shop ghost” because he is mysterious and works in a pawn shop.
After the girl is taken we see that Ghost can kick some serious ass in a scene that I like to call the “Surpise, BADASS!” scene. Ghost starts going nuts on these Chinese drug dealers until he gets Garbage back. The last time he saw Garbage he had ignored her instead of helping her and so I assume he just wants to apologize for that. The Chinese think they can play Ghost for a fool but that comes to literally blow up in their face.
Working for the Chinese is a guy who we will call “Vietcong.” He speaks American English and seems to have a weird amount of respect for Ghost. Throughout the whole movie, you can feel that it will come down to a showdown between Vietcong and Ghost because the two Chinese bosses (who are the main antagonists) are evil bastards, but they’re not fighters. Vietcong, though, is definitely a fighter. This is one of my favorite things in the movie because Vietcong builds his own identity throughout the story and makes you question if he really is bad. You can see that show down coming a mile away by the end of this movie, but you want it; you want it so bad.
A match made in…Korea?
A Toast
This is a terrific movie. The fight scenes are incredible, the story is great, and it looks gorgeous. There is one shot that I love where Ghost jumps out of a second-story window onto the street and the camera follows him out of it and onto the street in one long shot. The characters are anything but flat and it is revealed that Ghost is ex-military intelligence and he had a pregnant wife who was killed in the past. It is easy to feel the relationship between Ghost and Garbage even though you don’t see much of it. The fight scenes seem incredibly realistic while at the same time being incredibly awesome.
There are no high flying acrobatics, and people’s arms get twisted in ways that I always assumed they could be twisted. He also gets hurt quite a bit and nothing anyone does is more than any person should physically be able to do. During one scene he is knife fighting with a guy and kills him by biting the other guy’s knife hand to hold it in place while they are locked together so he can free his other hand and force his knife through his chest. …Let me repeat that: he BITES THE OTHER GUY’S KNIFE HAND so that he can STAB HIM IN THE CHEST. Enough said.
I think he’s practicing on his hand first.
Beer Two
The fighting, the violence, the characters, the pacing, and the technical aspects are all great portions of this movie. There is one thing in the writing that drags this movie down, though: the intimate scenes. For good gritty writers and directors the intimate, dramatic, character establishing scenes are hard, which is why Michael Bay just cuts them out completely. In this movie there are some good character development scenes that are sweet enough, but others that are gag worthy. The flashback scene of Ghost’s pregnant wife’s death is just confusing. For me it was overly sentimental and just didn’t make sense. It totally disengaged me and it felt really out of place. There were other scenes that felt a little out of place with the rest of the movie like this one but none that were this confusing. These scenes are few and far between, and even though most of them will make you groan they still work. You still feel the relationships of the characters.
“Does anyone else think these character development scenes are a little gay? …No? Well I’m cutting them anyway. Let’s go blow some shit up.”
See this movie. If you don’t mind subtitles and love bloody, rage-driven movies then this is for you. Well written and well directed, this is a great film save some scenes that feel out of place. From a country that is famous for weird violent movies like Old Boy, this movie is a gem, a bloody, bloody gem that was used to cut out someone’s eyeballs.
Bonus Drinking Game
Take a shot: every time you’re confused about who is Chinese and who is Korean.
Take a shot: if you actually learn someone’s name.
Finish your drink: if you correctly guess who gets drop-kicked by the fat policeman
