RAMBO!!!

The 80's were a time when action movies reigned. Men were men and the bullets ripped you apart. We've been missing that from action movies from the last several years where all action movies now have to have a digital twist to it. We saw this happen with Live Free or Die Hard. A once awesome character was turned into a PG-13. Stallone noticed this, and promised a super violent film with his iconic character Rambo. After the failure of Rambo III, could Sly bring it back?

Hell yes he can. This film goes BOOM! If that doesn't sound good to you, avoid this movie.

The film opens with real footage of the Burmese Genocide where the film takes place. These are horrible horrible people whose one of their favorite pass times is laying down mines and sending their victims to step on them. Then we have Rambo. He has been living by himself for many years and has never returned home. He knows what he did at one point was wrong. Then, these Christian missionaries get captured. Rambo has a fondness for one of the missionaries. So he plus a group of mercenaries go in to fuck up the evil Burmese.

This is an 80's action movie by every sense of the word. The action in this is big, giant and sometimes goofy but god damn is it a good time. The last 20 to 30 minutes of this film is just drenched with blood except for the few moments where the  screen is filmed with fire from explosions and flame throwers. Every action of moment grabs you by the balls and goes "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU GOING TO DO!? HUH?!" 

This is the definition of the fun action movie. The bad guys are incredibly evil and the good guys just don't give a shit. Nobody except the missionaries are very good people. Stallone doesn't give a shit as Rambo except when talking with Sarah. The acting, all around is okay, nothing really outstanding but that is not why you are buying a ticket, you paying a ticket to see Rambo rip a guys throat out.

If that doesn't sound like a good time to you, then avoid this movie but if you love blood and guts and people getting blown to little pieces: this is the movie for you. 

End of the Year Wrap Up

Okay, I did one of these for the school paper but a lot of great movies have came out between that article and the end. It is rare when you have a year this good. A year that has so many movies what will become classics for various genres. A year so good, that all the classics won't even make it into my top 5 films.

Here they are:

5) The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford:

Here is a character study of two men: Jesse James and Robert Ford. A very long movie with a even longer title. This movie took several years to come out and it was worth the wait. With wonderful performances by Brad Pitt and more importantly Casey Affleck (who had a rockin' year with Ocean's 13 and Gone Baby Gone, which got great reviews but I never saw). Affleck steals the scene anytime he is on the screen. He is creepy, sleezy and you can slowly see his thought process going from loving James to having to assassinate him. On top of it all, it had very good direction and awesome cinematography. I drove 45 minutes to see this puppy and it was well worth it.

4) Superbad:

The Apatow team had a great year this year and this was their funniest film and my person preference over Knocked Up. It is hilarious and hits every last beat perfectly. This movie has already turned into a comedy classic for teens. It is my generations Animal House and it is just as funny. Michael Cera and Jonah Hill add a lot of credibility to their roles which helps add a bit of heart to the film. Then there is Christopher Mintz Plaase as MCLOVIN! At this point, I don't need to describe his role and his brilliance.

3) Sweeney Todd:

One of the best musicals of all time finally hit the screen and it did so with a flood of blood. It is a beautifully tragic film. From the beginning to the end Burton's work is felt but not Burton's overly complicated style that he has become known for. No, it is Edward Scissorhands Burton here on display and it is great as he turns out one of (if not THE) best films of his career. The same goes for Depp as he broke away from being anally raped by everyones favorite animated mouse and returned to why we like him so much. 

2) No Country for Old Men:

This movie is a masterstroke for the Coen's and the more and more I think about it, the more and more I think about how it is his their best film. It is funny, scary, taut and rather frightening. This is the only film that gave me chills just from suspense. Javier Bardem is incredible as the evil Anton Chigurh. He embodies evil and is on the same level as Darth Vader and Hannibal Lector (before he became a franchise). Everything in this movie clicks. Not only does it work as a great crime film, but also a great morality play. Forever I thought there was no way to top this movie this year as it was the best movie I had seen the past 10 years.  It is truly one of the next movie classics that will be talked about and debated for many many years. Surprisingly, there was one movie that topped that: 

1) There Will Be Blood:

The perfect combination of great acting, great directing and a great script. Everything for this movie is top notch for a group of people who have always been considered very good.  Daniel Day Lewis gives one of the best performances of all time as Daniel Plainview, a long the line of Robert DeNiro in Raging Bull. P.T. Anderson seemed to be channeling the greatness that is Kubrick in this film. In fact, if someone told me it was Kubrick's last film I would believe it. THIS is the best movie of the decade thus far and probably will be once it is out. This marks the emergence of Anderson as a master filmmaker and I can't wait to see more from him.

So there is my new top 5. I would have done top 10 but my bottom 5 are all jumbled so here they are in no particular order:

Transformers, Knocked Up, The Bourne Ultimatum, Grindhouse and Death at a Funeral

Now, with this time of the year we all get some pretty bad movies and, while there aren't any big changes from the one from the paper there is one notable one:

5) I Am Legend: 

This movie could have been called "I Am Boring." There was only one moment that captured my interest in this film and that was the fake Batman/Superman movie poster in the background. Will Smith plays the same charming guy he does in every movie and it is beginning to wear out its welcome (that is why I'm excited for Hancock). The directing in this was bland and whenever something interesting could be happen, it was ruined by shakey camera. 

4) Rush Hour 3:

You've seen the first 2? Okay, so if you make it about half as funny and the stunts about half as exciting you've seen this movie.

3) Premonition:

The trailer led on that there was more to the movie than Sandra Bullock having a premonition. When the time comes for the twist it ends up... there is no twist. Everything we saw in the trailer is just as it is in the movie. Nothing. I felt cheated out of my money. That and this movie is entirely forgettable. So much so, I forgot to review it and I forgot I had seen it until I was Hollywood a couple of days ago.

2) Rob Zombie's Halloween:

Rob Zombie could have done justice to this movie, I know he could have. He changed his style completely from his first movie to his 2nd movie. So why couldn't he for this? God answer this for me! Rob Zombie took John Carpenter's great horror classic and raped it. There are a few shreds left and it is mainly in a shitty shot for shot attempt that takes place in the last 30 minutes of the movie. The fairly okay script ended up getting worse during shooting and when it was visualized it ended up being horrible. I wish I could say this was the worst movie of year, but sadly... it wasn't.

1) Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End:

No plot. Crappy acting and a horrible direction. From the singing pirates at the beginning to the retarded ending this movie sucked big fat balls. You know when a Keith Richard's cameo is the best part about your movie and even that is just okay, you've done something wrong. I can't help but believe that halfway through writing the writers went "Ah... fuck this shit! 100 dollars to who can write the movies rediculous 20 minutes that have nothing to do with the plot!" "You're fucking on!" I can't help but feel that is the reason for the movie because I don't want to blame Depp who sucked... or anybody else who has talent and all royally sucked in this movie.

There you have it.

My top and bottom 5. 

Surprises:

Musicals and Westerns. These two genres were thought to be long dead but were somehow resurrected this year. Musicals with Enchanted, Hairspray, Sweeney Todd and Once (apparently, I have yet to watch it, but my godfather did give me it so I will shortly). All great movies. Enchanted and Hairspray were those good ol' feel good musicals that used to once be so good but quickly became cliched because of how bad they were getting. Then Sweeney Todd which understood what it took to make a musical drama without being cheesy. Then westerns had The Assassination of Jesse James, 3:10 To Yuma, There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men.  I've never been a big fan of westerns (except for the spaghetti westerns), but if all westerns were like this, it would be my favorite genre. Think about it 3 out of the 4 Westerns I saw this year ended up on my top 5. Damn.

It's all done.

Now onto 2008.

   

There Will Be Blood (Spoilers)

I'm not a big P.T. Anderson and I'm not the biggest Daniel Day Lewis fan. The first trailers for this movie caught my eye but I didn't think it looked all that great. Then came the reviews comparing it to Citizen Kane and Kubrick films. It wasn't just one review, but almost all reviews. I could do without Kane but I'm a Kubrick whore (except for Eyes Wide Shut). I was sold on seeing it.

There Will Be Blood is about Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day Lewis). This is a man with little to no morals. Everything he does is for power. More importantly, his control of oil. He builds himself up an empire of oil when one day young man comes to visit him with an interesting prospect. The town he lives in has oil seeping out of the ground. Daniel goes to the town and there he meets the brother of the young man who visited him, Eli Sunday (Paul Dano). Eli Sunday has his own congregation and wants power just as much as Plainview does. They just go different ways about getting it. Plainview with his oil empire and Sunday with his accusation that he is a false prophet. Heads collide and things happen in Plainview's life that builds up to an explosive ending.

From the opening shot of this movie, it is clear that this movie is about so much more than oil. It is about Plainview: the man who will do anything for power and the thing that shows that he has power: money. There is one scene in particular that shows how much he cares about human life. While his son is watching an oil pump before they have discovered oil underground, they find it and it causes his son to go blind. This doesn't matter to Plainview though. What matters is that they found oil. In fact, his sons new handicap eventually leads him to abandon his son. 

Daniel Day Lewis gives one of the greatest performances of all time as Daniel Plainview. In this character he has shaped a character who views every man beneath him as dirt. The look in his eyes are all about power. How can he manipulate this man for his own profit? How can he milk this person for all they are worth to him? He uses family members simply so he can say he is a family man, which gives him a leg up on the competition. Anytime anybody gains a small amount of power above him there is a look of disgust and hatred. A want to kill and destroy that person. It can accurately be summed up in his line: "I have a competition in me. I want no one else to succeed. I hate most people." Lewis disappears into this role and is the perfect marriage of actor and character. Then there is Paul Dano who plays Eli Sunday. A false profit with the exact same ambitions as Plainview. Sunday is the only person to make Plainview look like a fool and from that point on, both of their destinies are sealed.

The directing in this movie shows the emergence of P.T. Anderson as more than just a very good filmmaker, but a master filmmaker. If he can keep this up, Anderson will one day be viewed along the lines of Kubrick who he is seemingly channeling in this movie. Anderson never makes one movement with his camera that doesn't have a point. That isn't just to show what is going on. In every single one of his shots there is more going on than just what you see or what you're told. He truly reaches a level of Kubrick in this movie, especially the superb final shot.

Much credit has to go to Upton Sinclair whose ideals and feelings are ever present throughout the movie. His ideals of what power and religion does to you are ever present and it is wonderful.

It is rare to see a movie this good on its first run. In fact, it has been a rare year because of how many great films came out. Not just great films, but films that will later become classics: like this and No Country. This is a powerful powerful film with a lot to say and one that needs more than one viewing. See it now.

Cloverfield

A few days before Transformers came out, there was a report on AICN about a set visit that was to see Pre-Production of Star Trek to J.J. Abram's studio on Cloverfield Street. In this report there was a little bit about an untitled movie that they were calling Cloverfield as a coverup. They said there would be a trailer for it before Transformers and boy... was there a trailer. In the time between that first amazing trailer to now, I lost interest the more and more but I heard some great things from a few people in the 3 days it had been out.  So maybe it had a chance of living up to that first trailer.

There isn't much of a story here: Rob loves Beth. On the day that Rob is to leave to Japan, Beth and him get in a fight. That and a giant monster starts fucking up Manhattan. So Rob, his brother Jason, Jason's girlfriend, a random girl and our camera man Hud set out to find her.

This is a good movie with some extremely excellent parts to it. There are points where it is extremely taut and full of tension. Two sequences are extremely good: The tunnel sequence and the last 20 minutes. These moments are great. What the movie promised with the first trailer. The shock, the awe and the sheer terror. 

Then there is everything before the tunnel which is rather boring because we've seen almost all of it before in all the trailers. It is the party and the statue of liberty, that is pretty much it. Then there is the time between the tunnel sequence and the last 20 minutes.  The problem here is that these are the parts of the story that focus on the characters and the characters aren't interesting. We've seen them in every teen movie ever and their acting is flat in the those sequences, but in the tunnel sequence and the last sequence is great.

Oh, for anyone wanting to know any clarification on the monster: you don't get it unless you pay attention extremely hard. That doesn't matter though. This monster defies explanation. It is almost as if somebody brought a Lovecraft creature to life and it is a spectacle when you finally get the ultimate shot of it.

This movie, while it had its excellent moments, is just a good movie that will keep you entertained for an hour and a half.  The problem lies in the characters and how you don't really care about them and for 2 long sequences it lost me.

New Script

Just so people don't think I've been sitting on my ass not doing anything movie-wise since Joe Britz, I just finished writing a short film. It is the first thing writing wise that I've finished since "Joe Britz" back in July.

It isn't a comedy.

It is a crime film. Only 10 pages, but better than nothing.

Got the idea while watching The Godfather (really inspired by Pacinos great performance).

I'll try to film it soon.

It is also much more visually oriented.