Month: January 2016

Well, hey there, and welcome back to “Greg Sees Too Many Movies!”

I saw “The Last Witchhunter” today.

This film is in a genre for which I have no quick, pithy name. I’d be forced to describe it as “gothic urban fantasy” if I had to, but that doesn’t quite nail down the feel of the films. If you’ve seen any two or three of the following, however, you’ll know what I’m talking about: “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters,” “Van Helsing,” “I, Frankenstein,” “A League of Extraordinary Gentlemen,” “Seventh Son.” Now, there are those who hate this genre, and I cannot fault them for it. The films often have moments of strange comedy that could be considered tonally jarring when juxtaposed with the more intense action. However, I must place myself in a different camp entirely.

Look, I’m a nerd, alright? I’ve got a Lord of the Rings goblet, I listen to weird bardic music, and I play Dungeons and Dragons weekly. I’m not ashamed to say that sometimes I like a thing because I like the thing, and not because the thing is cool. In this case, I’m aware of the borderline silliness that is inherent in the genre. I know how most of these films are going to go down before I see them. However, I cannot deny that this little niche market is one of my absolute favorite styles of film. I love every film on the list I made above (with the exception of “I, Frankenstein,” which I thought was alright, but not great). If I see that a film looks like it’s following the tropes of the genre, I’ll go and see it. They just rub me the right way, I suppose.

It’s a wonderfully shot film, full of dark and creepy imagery juxtaposed with bright, shining city life or green countryside. There were one or two moments when a long pan caused the scene to blur for a moment, but even then, the pan was a revealing shot, so I believe it was deliberate.

The music was fine work, underscoring the scenes like it was supposed to, without drawing too much attention to itself. The exception was the wicked, languorous cover of “Paint it Black” by an artist named Ciara, which was the credits song at the end of the film, which was very much drawing attention to itself. I loved it.

Vin Diesel plays the lead. Have you seen a Vin Diesel performance that you particularly liked, perhaps Riddick? Then you’ve loosely seen his performance here, but honestly it’s my favorite live-action performance that I’ve seen from Diesel. One of his very first lines, “By iron and fire,” was so well-delivered that I would have had my attention yanked fully to the film, were I not already invested. I knew Rose Leslie from her work in “Game of Thrones,” and liked her more in this than I did in the HBO show. It is, I think, impossible to get a bad performance out of Michael Caine, and so it was with this film – he’s Michael Caine, and is therefore awesome. Elijah Wood is also in the film, and delivers a line that involves the phrase “keep it secret.” I managed with difficulty to not exclaim “keep it safe!”

I liked the pacing of the film. It’s a buildup to the fight with the Big Bad, of course, but it had enough restraint to keep the buildup slow, but throw in bursts of excitement when necessary. I would probably have to say that I think the film is quite well constructed.

I left the film with the great desire that it should receive a sequel, because I liked the characters, I liked the world they’d set up, and I liked the setup at the end of the film. I was gratified to learn that Vin Diesel, who is also a producer, has already made plans for such a sequel in spite of the poor reviews of the first film. Hurrah for the artist, driven to make what they want to make in spite of criticism.

There is one fantastic, jarringly out of place D&D reference made by Diesel’s character in the film, involving the phrase ’13th level,’ which is never brought up again, and which I am certain Mr. Diesel threw in because he, like me, is an enormous nerd.

I’m not sure how best to rate this film. It’s a niche film for a niche market. If you’re one of the strange folks who really loves these films, you’ll love it. If you absolutely hate these films, you’ll hate it, and also you are a stick in the mud. For everyone else, I have a way that may help you gauge your interest in this film.

I’ve said before that enjoyable films fall into two categories: “Interstellar” and “Sahara.” The former is an unquestioned work of art, finely sculpted and beautifully subtle and majestic. The later is a well-constructed bit of fun. If your film doesn’t have what it takes to be “Interstellar,” that’s all well and good. It doesn’t have to be a pristine work of art, but if it’s not, it should be fun. “The Last Witchhunter” is definitely in the “Sahara” camp. It’s not a brilliant work of art. It’s not a staggeringly impressive new story. It is, however, a tightly-constructed, well-presented gothic fantasy, and I loved it tremendously.

So, you know that spy movie that came out more than a month ago? Well, I saw that movie- “Bridge of Spies” today. 

I’m not sure what I can add that hasn’t already been said. I didn’t know going in that this was a Spielberg film- not sure how I missed it, but I didn’t know – but I could tell pretty quickly. The Spielberg musical cue is pretty obvious- when one character sees another, and has a swell of positive emotion, there is an accompanying swell in the score. It’s classic, it’s timeless, and it’s very indicative of Spielberg’s hand, even if he’s not the composer.

What did I think of the actual movie, then? Well, to my shame, I didn’t recognize Mark Rylance as the alleged spy Rudolf Abel, and so of the cast I recognized only Tom Hanks. Fortunately for the movie, I’m not sure that a finer leading man than Tom Hanks currently lives and works. His turn as Jim Donovan was a beautiful performance, complicated, sympathetic, funny and commanding. Hanks is always a joy to watch, and this was no exception- in fact, I’ve yet to find such an exception, and if someone knows of one, I’d prefer they keep it to themselves. The rest of the cast performed very well, including the aforementioned Mark Rylance, who kept a cool serenity throughout the film that was so remarkable as to have been remarked upon by Hank’s character more than once.

The story follows Donovan pretty much exclusively, save for brief cutaways to other locations, and that’s fine. There are moments when characters are speaking other languages, and no subtitles are provided, and that’s fine. Donovan’s confusion is our confusion, and his feeling of isolation is ours to share. The few action scenes that occur are brief and serviceable, nothing fancy except for one sequence which I won’t spoil, but was a nice bit of stuntwork and special effects. You really get a sense of what kind of a man Donovan is as the film goes on, and that’s the best kind of character study- one that reveals more of its truth as it goes on, rather than showing its hand from the outset.

The real beauty in this movie, I think, is the cinematography, and the direction- hardly a surprise, since this was brought to us by Steven Spielberg. My favorite moment in the whole movie was a single cut between two shots, both involving people standing to show respect. It seems simple, and probably is, but the execution was so slick and professional that it lingers as my single favorite moment. There are shots in the film that are allowed to hang for a time, lending the film a ponderous nature which might turn some viewers off, but which I enjoyed thoroughly.

Speaking of ponderous, this isn’t a particularly fast-paced film. We’re watching events unfold as they unfold for Donovan, and his is not a quick slam-bang mission. Not all spy work is a James Bond film- or a Jason Bourne film, if the latest iteration of Bond has anything to say for itself- and scenes are slow and dialogue-heavy. Tension exists throughout most of the film, but it’s subdued and almost lost in the background- but only almost. There is a sense of unease about the whole film that I think neatly encapsulates the attitudes that possessed the nations on both sides of the Cold War.

Look, the movie released in mid October. If you were going to see it, I’m sure you already have. If, for some reason, you were thinking about it, and you know of a theatre nearby that’s still showing it, but you haven’t gone, and you’re not turned off by a more sedately-paced film, then you now have my hearty recommendation to go and see it. Tom Hanks is the man, and he’s always worth watching.

As a final thought, this has made me even more excited to watch “Trumbo,” and I wasn’t even sure that was possible.

I saw “Mockingjay: Part 2” today, or as it would be more aptly entitled, “Climax and Conclusion: The Young Adult Film.” Let me say, before I go any further, that I have seen only one Hunger Games film, and it was the first one, when it first came out on DVD. I have also only read one of the books, which was also the first one, and I read that right before I saw the film. I was caught up to the events of this film in a frenzied, rushed recap by my sister on the way to the theatre. Hunger Games fans, know that I’m going into this one with very little personal history with the source material.

The score for this film is gorgeous. It’s sweeping, exhilarating, calming, and heartbreaking, and complements every scene. It is easily the best part of the film. 

There is an action sequence that spans several scenes that is fast-paced to the point of being frantic. It’s chaotic, intense, and very rarely lets up. It doesn’t take enough of a breath to allow the audience to do the same, and the result is very exciting.

Josh Hutcherson and Woody Harrelson were quite good.

That’s the good. On to the rest.

I do not have a memory of the last time I watched a movie that was this painfully easy to predict. Nearly every single scene has several moments that are foreshadowed to such a degree as to be impossible to ignore. There is no subtlety to be found here. There are moments when a character’s lines, the shots in the scene, and, of course, the soundtrack make it painfully obvious what is about to happen. The ultimate “twist” of the film became very clear during the first full scene with the character who is the focus of said “twist,” and some exaggerated touchy-feely nonsense in the TRAILER foreshadows a bad thing that happens in the film (I won’t spoil it, for the sake of fairness, but it wasn’t subtle.).

The score has to do most of the acting in the scenes. Not to hate on Jennifer Lawrence – I’m sure she’s great, and everyone loves her- but her dialogue is not cleverly written, and she is very difficult to connect with. She comes off as kind of a jerk, actually, and a mindless pawn of people playing a game that she doesn’t understand. I was under the impression that she was supposed to be a strong female character, but from what I saw she really is little more than a Bella Swan with a fresh coat of paint and a bow and arrow.

The camerawork is nice, if melodramatic, apart from the sequences of shot/reverse shot that seemed more at home in the Star Wars prequels.

Look, I’m well aware that I came into this with an outsider’s perspective. I don’t care about the books, and I don’t particularly care about the films, but I was something of a blank slate coming into this film, ready for the story to imprint itself upon me, and leave a great impression. Instead, I am left with a notion of confusion as to why this series is considered the mold from which all of the other Young Adult post-apocalyptic dystopian future novels are wrought, and not simply one of the faces in a crowd of boring, safe writing designed to cater to the overly emotional minds of young teenagers, which is what it truly appears to be.

I saw “Krampus” today. This was to be more or less the last hurrah of my trip to Abilene to hang out with some wonderful friends, and I was really hoping it would turn out to be worth it.

Christmas movies aren’t really my thing. Far too many of them are far too sappy for my tastes, relying on cheap sentimentality to buoy them up, despite poor acting, poor directing, and dreadful writing. And it’s worth also stating that I find that, all too often, horror movies fall into the trap of relying on jump scares and musical stings in place of true, unsettling atmosphere.

Happily, “Krampus” displays the faults of neither bad Christmas movies, nor bad horror movies. It is, in fact, a vaguely comedic horror movie the likes of which I haven’t seen for quite some time.

The film’s protagonist, played by Emjay Anthony, provides one of the finest examples of child acting that I have seen. He is clear in his speech and sincere in his emotions, and I very much appreciated his presence. The rest of the cast, with the exception of one minor character who has perhaps five lines, was also excellent, particularly Conchata Ferrell as the ornery Aunt Dorothy.

The cinematography was fine, solid work. I particularly liked a scene that, without giving spoilers, brilliantly emulates the shimmery haze that seems to effect every Hallmark movie’s camerawork.

The effects are wonderful. I appreciate a good practical effect, and “Krampus” delivers, though its CGI is nothing to laugh at, either. The design of the title character is particularly appealing, as are a few of Krampus’s “helpers.”

I loved the score of the film. It heavily features strangely-altered Christmas songs, and it’s a nice bit of chilling, atmospheric work. Regular, non-altered Christmas songs are also used, typically for some juxtaposition with the scene at hand.

As I said, the film is a comedic horror movie, and I found that the comedy really worked for me. Plenty of dark humor, so if you’re not a fan of that, then this might not be the film for you. Also, there was some profanity, including some that came from the younger cast members, which might bother some viewers.

Similarly, the horror worked well for me, juxtaposed against the humor though it was. The movie relies very rarely on jump scares, more often utilizing the visuals of its titular villain and his associates in order to horrify.

All in all, I’m struggling to think of any reason why this film shouldn’t be counted as a non-traditional Christmas classic. I would, at this point, put it into my top three Christmas movies, along with “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “Die Hard.” If you’re a fan of horror, especially comedic horror, then I heartily recommend “Krampus.” It was a thoroughly delightful surprise.