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GeneD5
GeneD5's stats
- Review count4
- Helpfulness votes0
- First reviewMay 10, 2011
- Last reviewJuly 5, 2012
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating3.8
GeneD5's Reviews
Overall rating
5
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5
John Carter: I want to go to Mars!
PostedJuly 5, 2012
GeneD5
from Waltham, Mass.
Age:35 to 44
Gender:Male
Goes to the movies:monthly
Dialogue
3
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5
Special Effects
4
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5
Art Direction
5
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5
Acting
4
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5
Story
4
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5
Camerawork
4
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5
I enjoyed John Carter, an adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' "Barsoom" stories.
The movie is framed with scenes of a young Burroughs, played by Spy Kids' Daryl Sabara, being summoned to the estate of his late uncle, a world traveler and former Confederate cavalryman. Taylor Kitsch, from Friday Night Lights and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, is the eponymous Capt. Carter, who finds himself mysteriously transported from late 1860s Arizona to an inhabited Mars.
On the desert world, Carter encounters tribes of Tharks, four-armed green men, led by the honorable Tars Tharkas (voice and motion capture of Willem Defoe). Despite his initial reluctance to become involved in another civil war, Carter is soon entangled in the conflict between the city-states of Zodanga and Helium, both of which are populated by humanlike "red" Martians.
After meeting the beautiful scientist and princess Deja Thoris (played by X-Men Origins' Lynn Collins), Carter decides to fight Sab Than (Dominic West), the Jeddak (chieftan) of Zodanga, and Thern mystic Matai Shang (Mark Strong). He's aided by Sola (Samantha Morton), the compassionate daughter of Tars Tharkas, and doglike calot Woola.
If this plot seems familiar, it's because Burroughs created the template for the "planetary romance," which led to a century of space operas from Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, and even Superman to Dune, Star Trek, and Star Wars to Stargate, Farscape, and Avatar. The lost but brave Earth man, the spunky princess and sidekicks, the honorable alien warriors, and the mystic duels have become clichés, but John Carter shows us the vitality of their source.
The actors seem to be enjoying themselves with the interplanetary swashbuckling. The script by Michael Chabon takes itself seriously, but not too seriously, with humor similar to that found in the original Star Wars or another pulp revival, The Mummy. I'm currently reading Chabon's Pulitzer Prize-winning The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay for former co-worker Ken G.'s "Escapists" book club.
Even in this age of computer-enhanced visuals, the Tharks' facial expressions, the fleet-footed Woola and fierce white apes, the crawling city of Zodanga, and the steampunk airships were all impressively designed and rendered. The aliens interacted smoothly with the human actors. Despite the daunting amount of exposition required for such a movie, I thought that director Andrew Stanton, who also directed Pixar's Wall-E, did a decent job of pacing.
The grand vistas include the rough-and-tumble frontier of the American west, the windswept deserts of Mars, the rain-soaked streets of New York, and soaring structures and ancient ruins of Barsoom. The soundtrack also evokes a lost age of adventure, although it's not as memorable as the works of John Williams.
I'd give John Carter, which is rated PG-13 for violence, an 8.5 out of 10, four out of five stars, or an A-. Many critics have gleefully pointed out that Disney's adaptation is somehow subject to the "curse of the Mars movies" and gotten less-than-stellar box office. However, I and other fans feel that many of their criticisms are unfair and typical of mainstream prejudice against genre entertainment.
By contrast, I've found video game flick Prince of Persia nearly unwatchable, and a preview image for the upcoming Lone Ranger also stirs doubts about its quality aside from easy parody. I recommend John Carter to anyone who appreciates old-fashioned sword-and-planet fun. (See a linked version of this review and more at Gene's Worlds.)
Pros well paced, great story, great visuals
Cons unfamiliar to nonfans
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
3
/
5
Disney/Pixar's Brave has beautiful visuals, a decent plot
PostedJuly 5, 2012
GeneD5
from Waltham, Mass.
Age:35 to 44
Gender:Male
Goes to the movies:monthly
Dialogue
3
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5
Special Effects
4
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5
Art Direction
5
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5
Acting
4
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5
Story
2
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5
Camerawork
3
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5
Unlike many of its predecessors, Brave isn't a retelling of a classic fairy tale or an adaptation of a popular children's novel. The movie follows Princess Merida, a headstrong Scottish lass, as she struggles to find her destiny in a rugged land of colorful warriors and hidden magic.
While Brave is not historically accurate, I'm glad that actual Scottish and British actors were used for its voice cast. Kelli Macdonald (Gosford Park, No Country For Old Men) is an appealing Merida, and comedian Billy Connolly is her boisterous father King Fergus. Emma Thompson plays the controlling Queen Elinor, and Julie Walters is an old witch who grants Merida an ill-advised wish.
Robbie Coltrane, Kevin McKidd, and Craig Ferguson are other Scots in Brave's cast, and of course, Cheers and Pixar alumnus John Ratzenberger is also aurally present. Brave's character designs are cartoonish but manage not to be too jarring against the realistic landscapes. As an archery fan, I enjoyed the tournament scene, even if most of it had already been shown in commercials and trailers.
The script and plot are a bit more straightforward than other Disney flicks, but I appreciated the fact that the movie is somewhat less sentimental — or emotionally manipulative — than other Pixar films (see Up). Some reviews focus on Merida as a stronger young woman than past Disney princesses, but what about Mulan?
Others have noted that most of Pixar's pics have been more boy-oriented, such as Toy Story and Cars, but Brave actually has more in common with recent movies from Dreamworks, such as How To Train Your Dragon or Kung-Fu Panda. Brave also bears a strong resemblance to Dragon Hunters and Brother Bear, but isn't as tragic in tone as Sintel. In addition, Brave's Celtic knotwork and mythic medieval setting reminded me of the delightful Secret of Kells.
I was pleased to see Brave tackle mother-daughter relationships, since much folklore and more recent movies tend to focus on father-son or father-daughter ones. Merida's suitors and three younger brothers are also a source of some amusement.
Overall, I'd give Brave, which is rated PG for some violent scenes, three out of five stars, an 8 out of 10, or a B+. Brave might not go down as a classic, but it's still solid family entertainment. (See a linked version of this review and more at Gene's Worlds.)
Pros great story, great actors, visuals
Cons predictable
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
3
/
5
Who's the fairest of them all?
PostedJune 5, 2012
GeneD5
from Waltham, Mass.
Age:35 to 44
Gender:Male
Goes to the movies:monthly
Dialogue
2
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5
Special Effects
4
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5
Art Direction
4
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5
Acting
4
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5
Story
2
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5
Camerawork
3
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5
I've been following only some of the recent wave of movies and television shows based on fairy tales, so I can't compare Snow White and the Huntsman to Red Riding Hood, Once Upon a Time, or Mirror, Mirror. I do like NBC's Grimm, but that's more of a modern supernatural police procedural.
Snow White and the Huntsman only loosely follows the story recounted by the Brothers Grimm and Walt Disney. There's still a princess, a wicked stepmother, a magic mirror, and seven dwarves, but this Snow White reminded me more of the wave of high-minded but inconsistent fantasy flicks from the 1980s, such as Dragonslayer or Labyrinth.
Twilight's Kristen Stewart acquits herself well as the eponymous princess, who is more like Joan of Arc than Disney's cheerful heroine. Charlize Theron (soon also to be seen in Prometheus) happily chews the scenery as Queen Ravenna and needs to be "uglied up" with computer-generated effects for her younger rival to be the fairest in the land.
Thor's Chris Hemsworth is appropriately gruff as the drunken widower hired by Ravenna to find Snow White. Sam Clafin (from Pillars of the Earth and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) is a swashbuckling nobleman and potential live interest similar to Robin Hood, and Sam Spruell is Ravenna's cruel brother Finn.
Snow White and the Huntsman's dwarves have less of a role than you might expect, even with clever casting — including the heads of veteran British character actors Bob Hoskins, Ian McShane, Ray Winstone, Nick Frost, and Brian Gleeson put onto little people's bodies. The effect was seamless, but it only serves to whet the appetite for Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in December.
Speaking of Jackson's example, the production values of Snow White and the Huntsman are very good, with nicely unified sets, costumes, and armor. James Newton Howard's orchestral soundtrack is a bit heavy-handed during the set-piece battles. I think the direction could have been better, since the movie starts slowly and the ending feels rushed. There are also few memorable lines in the script, which felt like a middling Dungeons & Dragons game (and I've participated in many of these).
In addition to the dwarves and Ravenna's sorcery, the brief scene where Snow White and her companions enter a faerie glade is a hint of how this movie could have used visual effects for a more fantastic setting (see The Dark Crystal or Legend for examples). Instead, the movie focuses on more mundane matters like raising an army and the princess realizing her birthright, closer in style to Ladyhawke but without the simple but strong plot magical device of that movie.
Overall, I'd give Snow White and the Huntsman, which has finally dethroned The Avengers at the box office, a 7 out of 10, a B, or two and a half out of five stars. It's rated PG-13 for violence.
Pros great actors, strong visuals
Cons slow, plays it safe
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
Thor
PostedMay 10, 2011
GeneD5
from Needham, Mass.
A solid superhero movie, with good humor, cosmic action, and human drama. The 3-D doesn't add much to the movie.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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