Caching Up on DVD: Hanna Review

Saorise Ronan jumping off a crate in Hanna

Hanna

A-

A Review by Frederick Cholowski

Action movies can be a very touchy subject. There are the ones that are amazing and fantastic such as Fight Club or Die Hard. Then there can be films like Transformers 3. So what happens when Joe Wright the director of such films as The Pride and the Prejudice and Atonement tries to make an action film? You get Hanna a really good action film that cares just as much about characters and plot as it does about blowing things up.

Hanna starts out in the middle of a secluded snowy forest where Hanna (Saorise Ronan) and her father Erik (Eric Bana) are living and training. After training montages and emotional moments we find that Hanna is ready for her ultimate mission which is to take down CIA agent Marissa (Cate Blanchett). Then a game of cat and mouse in sues all across Europe.

Hanna has a super solid edge of your seat plot that really has you going from the start. It’s fast paced and constantly moving. Evan so the film never seems to forget what’s important and while fast pace has a lot of great story elements to it as well. I have two main complaints though. When the film reaches its end it goes a little too over the top for me and while both Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett are brilliant they have very, very unfortunate accents that can take you out of the film sometimes.

Speaking of performances they are great across the board. Saorise Ronan is turning out to be a phenomenal young actress. She really shines here by adding some real emotional depth to the young killing machine Hanna. Overall Cate Blanchett is just plain fun to watch. She really goes over the top here and makes her role as the cold dark CIA agent one of the high points of the film. There is a solid supporting cast here to who add depth overall to the motion picture.

Hanna is also a showcase of style. This film is just plain gorgeous through and through. The action scenes instead of relying on quick cuts and gimmicks use long and lingering shots. My favorite action scene in the film is actually just one big tracking shot with no cuts at all. There is also a fantastic electronic soundtrack by the Chemical Brothers that sucks you right into the film right away.

Hanna is a very good action movie. It mixes good performances with a pace that keeps you at the edge of your seat the whole time. It also has a wonderful sense of style and grace that truly set it apart from other films in the genre. For a man who made two really methodical dramas Joe Wright can sure make a good action-thriller.

The Tree of Life Review

Jessica Chastain wandering in the distance in The Tree of Life

The Tree of Life

A+

A Review by Frederick Cholowski

Few directors have achieved as much buzz and popularity with as few films as Terence Malick. In only his fifth film in almost just as many decades Malick is reaching for the stars (quite literally at some points). The Tree of Life is the most deeply ambitious film I have seen sense Stanly Kubrick’s 1968 masterpiece 2001 a Space Odyssey. It’s a coming of age story mixed with the evolution of life on earth and loads of dreamlike metaphors. The film at one point even has dinosaurs! Surprisingly though all of the film works together in a package that is both a brilliant piece of film making and the best film I have seen so far this year.

The meat of the film focuses on a family in a small town in Texas. Raising three young boys are their parents, a mean yet affectionate father (Brad Pitt) and a mother who seems disconnected with the world around her (Jessica Chastain). For the most part the story focuses on the elder brother Jack (Hunter McCracken as a child and Sean Penn as an adult) who has the weight of expectations on his back. As he goes through childhood he gets angrier and angrier at his parents and the world around him until his breaking point is reached.

The rest of the film is way all over the place. Some of it follows a middle age Jack struggling to find his identity and his place in the world. Then there are the scenes witch depicts both the creation of the earth, prehistoric times and the afterlife. There are also scenes of dreamlike metaphors that while slightly odd add a point to the adult Jack sections of the film.

In a way The Tree of Life is defiantly plot less. Instead of concrete scenes it uses wisps of memories and emotions to convey its point. It relies less on concrete ideas and more so on bits of sight and sound. Dialogue in this film is scarce and mostly in voiceovers. Instead the film is dominated with images and music that helps convey the mood and emotion of each scene. The Tree of Life makes us truly rethink the way film is presented. It’s scattered yet tightly controlled and while in a way that is both grand a beautiful.

If there were any complaint I have with the film is that sometimes the Sean Penn scenes feel a bit unnecessary. Sean Penn has all of two lines of dialogue and kind of feels tacked on. It never really affects the film at all but sometimes it just feels kind of there. Also while some complain about the necessity of the creation scenes I think they add a lot to the film and truly put in prospective the problems and struggles of humans in contrast to the scope and grandeur of the universe.

As far as performances go everyone is great here. Brad Pitt is brilliant as the mean and sometimes abusive father. Pitt has a great energy that he brings to the role. Jessica Chastain who is a fairly fresh face is very good as a mother who feels a bit out of this world. The best actor in the film though is truly Hunter McCracken who is stunning as a confused and angry young child. His role is quiet and subtle yet daring and personal. For a child actor he has a wonderful maturity.

The real spectacles here are the visuals and sound. From beginning The Tree of Life is a gorgeous film with beautiful cinematography and fantastic visual design. Malick creates an almost dreamlike atmosphere for most of the film that really bring you in to the experience. As well Alexandre Desplat’s score is through the roof as it adds a whole new layer to the experience. Not since films like 2001 a Space Odyssey and Amadeus has music made such an impact on the film itself.

While it may take a couple more viewings to determine whether Malick has created a true modern masterpiece, The Tree of Life is undoubtedly one of the best films I have seen in a while. It’s refreshing to see something so ambitious and intelligent hit the cinema in an age where films like this are so rare. It truly challenges the way film is structured and the way us the audience view film. Challenging, emotional and beautiful The Tree of Life is by far the best film to come out in 2011 so far.

Cowboys & Aliens Review

Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford along with a lot of cowboys in Cowboys and Aliens

Cowboys & Aliens

B

A Review by Frederick Cholowski

What happens when you try to mix a western and a sci-fi film together? You get Cowboys and Aliens, a film that tries to bring out the best of both genres. The question is how well does it succeed. While Cowboys and Aliens may have some flaws it’s a fun, solid summer action film.

The plot begins when Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) finds himself in the American west, in the middle of nowhere, and with a funky bracelet firmly attached to his right hand. He soon finds himself in trouble with both the local law and with the town cattle provider Cornel Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford). Then Aliens show up. This changes everything as now the whole west must work together to stop the evil beings.

Storytelling here is surprisingly strong for this kind of film. The problem is the tone. This film attempts to be dark and compelling when in truth there’s not enough material to push the film forwards. While there are some solid thematic moments it lacks the characters to really get behind. There is the gritty old guy and the hulking hero and some more caricatures in between but again no one I really connected to. Also when it tries to have those “trying to be dark and compelling moments” it drags the film down making the 118 minutes feel a little long.

Acting is solid across the board. Daniel Craig channels a little Bond here as the outlay Lonergan. While he doesn’t say much he dose do a solid job in this film as the hero, who just like the rest of us is trying to find out what the heck is going on. Harrison Ford is awesome as the old grisly Dolarnyde. He truly has a little fun with the role and it shows as I was having fun with him. Olivia Wilde plays the townsfolk who likes to give out random information at random times (yes another one of those characters) and manages not to be annoying unlike Gemma Arterton in Clash of the Titans.

What truly takes the cake are the direction and the special effects. The whole film feels like an old western mixed with an Alien style sci-fi film. Got to hand it to Jon Favreau for setting the atmosphere right off the bat. As well the action set pieces shine with gorgeous cinematography and clean editing. I always knew what was going on at every second and never got thrown into a state of confusion or nausea. Finally the best thing about it all it’s not in 3D so no motion blurring or dull colors.

Cowboys and Aliens is good summer fun. While it doesn’t have enough dramatic material to justify the tone or the running time it still manages to entertain with great atmosphere and direction. With a summer full of 3D origin stories, sequels, and Transformers it’s nice to see something stepping out of the box and giving this summer a breath of fresh air.

Caching up on DVD: Source Code Review

Captain Colter Stevens and Christina Warren prepare to be blown up in Source Code

Source Code

B+

A review by Frederick Cholowski

2 years ago new director Duncan Jones jumped onto the scene with the amazing film Moon. Now he has a bigger budget, another solid cast, and another twisted sci-fi storyline. Jones has a great creative vision and a passion for sci-fi and it shows in Source Code. While not quite as good as Moon, Source Code is still both more innovative and intelligent than most other films in the sci-fi genre.

Source Code follows Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) who right at the beginning of the film finds himself on a train as another person. Before he has any time to collect what is happening the train explodes killing everyone on board. He then wakes up in a capsule and being talked to by one of the leaders of the operation Colleen Goodwin (Vera Farmiga). Apparently Stevens is a pawn in the Source Code experiment. The U.S. government is concerned about the train bombing because they think that it will lead to another bombing in Chicago. Stevens goes to an alternate reality version of the train incident for 8 minutes disguised as a teacher to try and find the bomber.

Source Code is a very fast paced thriller. At only 93 minutes long Source Code goes by in an instant well still developing the plot and characters. It gives you the since of frantic desperation as not only is Captain Stevens being forced to race against time, but he has to find out what is going on in the process. The main problem with the film is the ending. All the way up to about the last 20 minutes the film is fast pace and frantic. Then it slows down rapidly into an ending that doesn’t work for me at all.

Performances are solid across the board here. Gyllenhaal is actually quite impressive here compared to prior performances. Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, and Jeffery Wright are all solid here. No one stands out for better or for worse.

The real standouts here are the cinematography and direction. The way the Camera moves gives off the right feel at any time. When we need to feel rushed we feel rushed. When Stevens is in the capsule it feels cramped and claustrophobic. The direction works well with a mix of quick cuts and lingering shots. It gives off a very sleek and modern feel a change from the older feel of Moon.

Source Code is a good action thriller. It’s fast paced and a lot of fun. While the ending is unsatisfying and the performances unmemorable the good greatly out ways the bad. In two films Duncan Jones has managed to establish himself as one of the premier young talents of the last couple of years. He brings a breath of fresh air to sci-fi and I cannot wait for what he tries next.



The 3D Craze

3D glasses that hinder our movie going enjoyment

The 3D craze

Commentary by Frederick Cholowski

The first 3D movie came out in the 1950’s. Over 6 decades later 3D has taken off into what seems to be an untamable monster. Almost every big budget film is now in 3D and the craze doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. So inspired by a recent episode of Ebert presents At the Movies I have decided to give my opinion on the tech and where the future lies for 3D.

Let’s start with the positives before going all negative. 3D when used right adds an added sense of depth to a film. The depth effect (as I will call it for now) is most useful when used subtly like in recent Pixar films. The depth effect when used not well though can completely take you out of a feature such as in the new Harry Potter film.

Movies that are shot in 3D also usually look really good. The best example of this (and of the usage of 3D in general) is of course James Cameron’s Avatar. The film’s world feels large, expansive, and beautiful with the added depth that 3D can provide. Also Cameron’s Avatar avoids motion blurring and color dulling something that has plagued films that add 3D in post production.

Speaking of witch adding 3D effects in post production to a live action film should be banned outright. I have yet to see a single successful example of this. The problem with adding 3D in post production is that most of the time it’s just a cheep way to make an extra buck. The film usually isn’t filmed with 3D in mind and it falls into all of the generic 3D problems without any payoff at all.

The main problems that most 3D films run into are the issues of color dulling and blurring. The glasses you wear to view the 3D reduce the light amount of light that reaches the eyes. This significantly dulls the brightness and vibrancy of the colors that are present on screen. This is especially bad for animated films witch rely now a days on vibrant color.

Blurring is something that is apparent in almost all 3D movies especially ones with large action sequences. First off when the 3D focuses on one thing the rest of the images that would normally look just fine get blurred out. This problem gets even worse once the camera starts moving at a good pace like in an action scene. This causes the infamous motion blur, blurring that happens when the 3D cannot keep up with the movement of the camera. This is most apparent in the 2010 film Clash of the Titans when the camera moves fast and furious and the 3D cannot keep up creating a hard to follow picture.

So are there ways to fix it? Well glasses free 3D is on the market now for smaller screens. This would allow the picture to remain as bright and vibrant as a 2D film. The problem with this though is aligning it with everyone in a theater. It’s hard enough to get the 3D properly aligned for one person on the Nintendo 3Ds imagine trying to get it to work for 200 people in a theater.

Another way to fix it, abolish it completely. This is an idea I’m all in favor for. I mean when did we ever get the impression that 2D films weren’t good enough? We don’t need hands, feet and swords jumping out at us if it cost us more money and reduces the quality of the film we are watching. Brightness and color wins any day over that. I guess we are trying to move technology forward towards the virtual reality idea, but I get more engaged watching a 2D movie way more often then watching it in 3D. The little tricks pull me out of a film not help to suck me into it.

I do not like the idea of 3D nor do I pretend to. It dulls the colors and blurs the image. Most of the time 3D is just there to make a quick extra buck anyways. Really the only film I would watch in 3D instead of 2D is Avatar. Nothing before or since has enticed me to spend the extra $3 to see the 3D version. So next time your at the cinema save the cash and see it in 2D.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Review

Harry Ron and Hermione look on for one last time in the final Harry Potter

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

A+

A review by Frederick Cholowski

Note: Do not see this film in 3D. The post production added effects dull the colors and has motion blur issues. While this will have no effect on my review I definitely recommend seeking out a 2D showing.

After 7 books and 8 movies the Harry Potter franchise has reached its finale. A film that has been waited on since the final book came out in 2005 and expectations are off the wall. The final film needs to deliver. Well I’m glad to report that not only is the final Potter film worth watching it’s the best and most emotionally satisfying Potter film in the franchise.

Deathly Hallows part 2 starts right where the first part left off. Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) has taken the elder wand and things are looking quite grim for our heroes. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) still have to find and destroy more horcruxes before facing the dark lord himself. Meanwhile Hogwarts has turned into hell on earth thanks to the new headmaster Severus Snape (Alan Rickman).

For the first time in a long time the story in a Potter film is truly something special. First off director David Yates uses his special abilities in creating mood and atmosphere. Yates hits all the right notes here striking the perfect balance of heroism and darkness. As well the film doesn’t suffer from the poor pacing issues of the last film. The horcrux hunt doesn’t bog down the pace this time.

Then there is the last half of the film witch stuns. It’s a fast pace emotional roller coaster with numerous stand out moments. Then they actually get the ending right. Some people may argue that it’s a little anti climatic but I don’t think so. I couldn’t see them attempting to make it more cinematic without making it cheesy and stupid.

For the first time in a potter movie I’m impressed by the performances. Radcliffe, Grint, and Watson all impress with the emotional depth they bring to each of their roles. Ralph Fiennes is great as Voldemort as he shows us two different sides of the villain. Of course Alan Rickman is amazing as Snape especially in a 5 minute segment late in the film that steals the show for me.

The special effects look really good here. Nothing feels cheesy or out of place here. The action scenes are great here and feel large and meaningful. Also the score in this film is fantastic. It is loud and bombastic when it needs to be, but then it quiets down and almost disappears when needed.

The finale of the Potter franchise is magical. It’s atmospheric and emotional well keeping the lighting pace. The most emotionally satisfying potter film to date Harry has certainly saved the best for last.

Good Fantasy to get over the Post Harry Potter Hangover: Harry Potter Week Part 2

Good Fantasy to get over the Post Harry Potter Hangover

Commentary by: Frederick Cholowski

    Well the Potter film franchise is coming to an end. What are you going to read/watch!!!!! You probably have a good idea but in case your super duper lost I'm here to recommend some fantasy!

 

A Song of Ice and Fire

    First book: A Game of Thrones

    Author: George R.R. Martin

        This is my #1 recommendation. I love this series because it's so unpredictable. No one is safe and you never know what's going to happen next. I'm on the four of five available books right now and am loving every second. Also an HBO original series titled Game of Thrones has been made based on the books and it is also amazing!!

 

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

    First book: The Alchemist

    Author: Michael Scott

        This is a fun little series from Irish fantasy writer Michael Scott. It's really fast pace and messes with a lot of mythology in ways that sort of make sense. It may not be the extreme rich detailed fantasy like the lord of the rings or song of ice and fire but for what it is it's a lot of fun.

 

The Inheritance Cycle

    First book: Eragon

    Author: Christopher Paolini

        The fourth book which has taken forever to come out is finally coming in November this is a great time to get into the franchise. It is a little slow sometimes and the story may resemble Star Wars at times but it's also very detailed and a lot of fun.

 

Lord of the Rings

    First book: The Fellowship of the Ring

    Author: J.R.R. Tolkien

        Who hasn't read these books or at least watched the movies. Tolkien's Lord of The Ring's remains one of the premier examples of fantasy. If you haven't read these why haven't you? That is all I'm going to say

    

Well there you go a place to start for now, and if you read all these well props to you. Anyways there you go if you have any favorites you can put them in the comments.

 

Tomorrow: Potter 7 part 2 preview