Roger Ebert: The Essential Man

Roger Ebert has been a favorite film critic of mine since I first saw At the Movies with him and the late Gene Siskel. I may not have agreed with him on some movies, but you could tell he truly loved the filmmaking process.

This article written by Chris Jones of Esquire has been floating throughout the net right now and is a great read on his recent life:

http://www.esquire.com/features/roger-ebert-0310

Comments on the Oscar Nominations

http://www.imdb.com/features/rto/2010/oscars

• I'm glad DISTRICT 9 got a Best Picture nomination. One of the good points of switching to ten nominations.
• Jeremy Renner gets his just reward. Take that you stupid Golden Globes!
• Really hoping Bigelow wins it this time.
• A lot of pissed off people at the snub of WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE. Still haven't seen it yet nor do I have a great urge to despite liking the book. A.O. Scott is crying some where in New York.
• Apparently, the really dark and hard to see shots in the Harry Potter film deserved getting a nom in Cinematography.
• I do kinda wish Zoe Saldana would have gotten some respect instead of some art film no one saw with Helen Mirren.
• Suck on it TRANSFORMERS! Your visual effects of robot scrotums deserve nothing.
• The exclusion of PONYO was odd. The Academy likes Miyazaki and his work. I do now want to see this THE SECRET OF KELLS and I'm glad it took away a spot from any of the mediocre animated films released in America.

Overall, I expected the selection and okay with it for the large part. And now, let the battle of the ex-spouses continue.

Worst Films of 2009

And now, for the worst of last year.

As I stated, 2009 was a pretty awful year in film. With so many high-profiled fiascos and flops along with the pretentious and the trash, the selection of 10 terrible movies was way too plentiful. I may not have seen all of them or had an urge to, but these selected few really ruined my viewing experiences and/or made me truly angry at the art of filmmaking.


10. THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE

Steven Soderbergh seems to want to be Godard. The guy may have created a lot of great films, his ever-expanding selfish attitude of filmmaking is causing both Hollywood and myself to lose patience. Case in point, this film released months before his more celebrated THE INFORMANT!. This may have a short running time, but the sheer pretentiousness in every frame overwhelms the viewer. Sure, real-life porn actress Sasha Grey does fit in with the main character and there are some really effective scenes, but the unlikability of all the characters and the constant whining of the now-current economic woes take away all hope. But the direction and cinematography truly are the main culprits. Get ready to view a scene where the foreground characters are out of focus and f-stopped out so we can look at a hanging chandelier. Or, the climax where Sasha argues with her boyfriend but hidden from frame behind a giant couch. Soderbergh, please stop making these stupid pet projects.

9. 12 ROUNDS

The perfect example of bad schlock. This convoulted combined mess of SPEED and DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE has no suspense since it literally follows the same beats as those films. The main villain is absolute stupid as he takes vengeance on a cop for the death of his girlfriend despite the fact that he is more at fault for it. Oh, and his "12 rounds" plan, which results in the massive destruction of New Orleans, is just so he can steal money with a firetruck hose. It gets more stupid if I explain more of it.

8. MY LIFE IN RUINS

Nia Vardalos's career, ladies and gentlemen. One of two projects produced last year, Vardalos desperately tries to recreate success for herself with the abysmal romantic comedy set in Italy. Thrill at the sights of terrible stereotypes and bad characterization. Laugh at a character with the name of "Poopie Cacas." Marvel at how stiff as a board Vardalos is. Instead of the more joyful and bountiful exuberance from her past films, Vardalos commands this feature with everything being forced and no chance for honest laughs.

7. THE INFORMERS

6. GIGANTIC

I'm a big fan of absurdism but this travesty shouldn't be labeled as an example. It is just a very banal and stupid independent film with a plot that is an explosion of annoyingly quirkness. It is a bad Mad Libs creation, as a bed-salesman waits to achieve his dream of getting a Chinese baby while getting attacked by a violent hobo and courting the Maniac Pixie herself Zooey Deschanel. Why are characters randomly in and out of the story? Why is there a scene where men are getting a "happy ending"? Why did I need to see Zooey throwing up? Is it supposed to be hilarious, Mark Aselton? Well, it isn't and you have no sense of making a nonsense film.

5. STREET FIGHTER: THE LEGEND OF CHUN-LI

4. THE BOONDOCK SAINTS II: ALL SAINT'S DAY

3. LAND OF THE LOST

2. THE UGLY TRUTH

1. TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

The absolute prime example of the shear stupidity of the Hollywood machine. This wasn't the bigger and better sequel to the very mediocre first TRANSFORMERS. It was an endless abyss of bad comedy, offensive stereotypes, and badly constructed action and storytelling. Nothing worked.

Best Films of 2009

Ah, 2009. What a great year in film. It had....



Oh, wait. 2009 was a terrible year in film. Sundance was a joke, Cannes was either pretentious or "look at me" controversial, and the Summer lineup and Oscar month were both mishandled and suffered from a lot of duds. From the piles of disposable celluloid, there rose a select few films that made for great entertainment, interesting artistic direction, and/or brought up issues surrounding the human condition.



I wanted to do a Top 15 list, since I don't like the strict construct of a Top 10 and the expected reactions/opinions of viewers. However, since I couldn't find or didn't see five other worthwhile films for myself, this countdown will just follow the status quo.



First, some Honorable Mentions or films that made me indifferent to include:



INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS had some great scenes and the fine performance of Christoph Waltz, but the possible re-doing of Black Book, the dumb characterization and directional problems ruined my expectations. WATCHMEN suffered heavily from two truly awful lead performances and a perplexing changed ending but the art direction and the acting of Patrick Wilson and Jackie Earle Haley made it a treat for this fan of the comic book. GOMORRAH had a very good cinema verite and some fascinating storylines but the pace was sometimes too slow and two of the plot lines hardly had any reason to be told.





10. AVATAR

9. MOON

When I first saw this in theaters, I was a little conflicted about it. Maybe it was the obvious comparisons to 2001. However, time has helped pave over the problems and it has become one of the best sci-fi films of the year where the science is more important than action. Duncan Jones, who somehow can't be described without including that he is David Bowie's son, created a great debut film for himself thanks to a tight script and good mise en scene. Sam Rockwell pulled off a great performance, making you feel truly care for his character as he faces certain death and a crisis in his personal identity. A special mention also must go out to GERTY, the helper robot voiced by Kevin Spacey who is well constructed and lovable thanks to a smiley interface.

8. NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD

It might not be for everyone, but this documentary on the history of exploitation film in Australia is highly entertaining and enlightening. Rather than just be an extensive showcase of film clips, the film brings up many issues surrounding the Australian film industry including nationalism, art vs. entertainment, and the casting of Hollywood actors. It's edited very well, except for the constant Flash animation, and has an unbiased attitude towards its interviewees. The Ozploitation may still be hidden from the rest of the world, but this documentary is a giant thank you to the genre filmmakers of Australia.

7. ZOMBIELAND

6. PONYO

5. STAR TREK

4. AWAY WE GO

Many film critics were very harsh against the film upon its release and in the year roundups, declaring it as utter "smug." I do see what might have caused this outlook, but Sam Mendes' latest film was one of my few real treats in theaters this year. It has a very hilarious and bittersweet script from Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida and a great cast.

3. DISTRICT 9

2. THE HURT LOCKER

1. UP

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays....

And, for the special ones, have a merry Patrick Swayze Christmas.

Avatar - Review

Let me just cut to the chase: James Cameron's AVATAR lives up to its expectations. At least a majority of them. He paints a magnificent world of wonder and makes the CGI work perfectly with the real-life actors. The animation of the Na'vi characters through extensive motion capture is very natural and organic, with perfect facial expressions and body language. I may be hyping strictly the visual effects so far but that is because it is most obvious and notable aspect of this film that can help viewers forgive the stock plot of its script.

Though the many detractors may link this up with the enviromentalistic FERN GULLY as a joke, AVATAR is more simply a very glossy coating of DANCES WITH WOLVES. On the floral planet of Pandora, there is a substance called laughably "Unobtainium", a special mineral that Earth corporations want to take control of for profit. However, the planet's race of indigenous humanoids dubbed the Na'vi refuse to move from their forest residences and have created a tense environment with the hired military units. Meanwhile, a paraplegic Marine named Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) has taken over his twin brother's lucrative and informative position as a subject for the Avatar program. This scientific program was created to make genetically engineered Na'vi-like bodies as a way to democratically handle the racial situation and for their own private gain. Jake if forced to break away during an expedition and gets himself impeded with a Na'vi tribe and in a destined relationship with the leader's daughter Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). Cue the juggling of duty between the military leader (Stephen Lang) and head scientist (Sigourney Weaver), romantic melodrama, and a action-packed finale.

The plot may be expected and I may have treated it cynically, but Cameron has written it with entertaining dialogue and special story elements that makes his dream idea seem truly unique. One noteworthy moment is when Jake's status as a being is deeply questioned due to his constant jumping between his Avatar body and his human form. He becomes depressed and loses his track of thinking and the timelines imposed on to his missions. Another thing I enjoyed thoroughly was that Cameron gave all of the characters a gray morality instead of the "black and white" trope. For instance, the military colonel actually upholds the Marine code and seems to truly care for Jake by keeping his promise to repair his legs for his sleeper mission. As for the scientists, they have been caught up with their work and their sought-after goal that they have forgotten the reality of the situation and what the Na'vi truly want. This is best shown in the scene where Weaver tries to tell the corporate head about her theory of a collected nervous system among the plants and appears to be out of her mind. It's kinda of a nice callback to Weaver's work in GORILLAS IN THE MIST.

While the script has some good touches, there are some holes and big problems that aren't address. The "Unobtainium" MacGuffin isn't fully explained, only in a quick scene. I forgot why it is so important and the film did too, since you hardly ever see any mining or the crews working in a special area that had been violently conquered. The romance between Jake and Neytiri doesn't fully developed properly and is rushed due to the constant focus on Jake's viewpoint. It starts off on the right note but dropped in the many training scenes until returning again in the obvious moments. Speaking of Neytiri, she is the only Na'vi character with characterization, as the other important Na'vis get barely any time or lines to be flesh out. They simply stick to the selected roles. The same goes to some minor military characters who are intended to be enjoyable killed later but get no attention to warrant a response. As a last note, the ending theme is no "My Heart Will Go On" and is a bloated mess to play over the credits.

I have talked more about the criticisms than the positives, but AVATAR is an enjoyable adventure in the theaters. I say adventure in both the sense of its script and its visual effects. Cameron has created a film that wisely builds up the tension slowly between the Humans and the Na'vis until the climatic final battle. While it could have been as great as some of his previous sci-fi films, it still gets the job done and deserves to be discussed and enjoyed later on with them.

FINAL REVIEW: 4 / 5

Thirst - Review

Park Chan-wook has made a career mixing brutal violence with social critique. His recent film, THIRST, was highly anticipated thanks to the cult popularity of his Vengeance Trilogy here in the States. Its premiere at Cannes left some critics in the cold, but it nonetheless won the Jury Prize. I can see why this twisted take of vampire romance has been praised however it remains a creative misfire within my own eyes.

Often, films with unique or creative ideas tend to fall in the same trap: Interesting opening and middle but loses steam fast when entering into the third act. THIRST has the mirrored effect; The film doesn't enter creative territory until the last 40 minutes, where it finally brings the expected payoff and becomes more of a black comedy. It opens with a Christian priest (Song Kang-ho) as he walks away from his distressing job in a hospital to volunteer to take a experimental vaccine for a deadly virus. He dies shortly there after but comes back to life miraculously on his death bed. He resumes his life but with the new stigma of a faith healer. He eventually meets up with an childhood friend, Tae-Ju (Kim Ok-bin), who was forcefully married to another old friend of his. The two begin to have an affair while the priest has started to notice his new body changes and a taste for blood.

The previous plot description might sound boring and generic in both a horror and melodrama sense. And you will be right; THIRST moves at a really slow speed as the two wrestle with their emotions and family/faith problems. Park tries to change or simply shock the proceedings by including long sex scenes and having Tae-Ju mentally unstable due to her horrible life. But it simply doesn't help cover up that the film is going through the motions. As stated, the story doesn't become very interesting until after the husband has been killed and Tae-Ju has become a vampire. The latter finally sets off the slow burn of Tae-Ju's manipulative nature and sadomasochistic sexual tendencies. The film stops being an ordinary "vampire man/human woman" romance and becomes a twisted view of it that Park intended to be.

If the the film cut a lot of the fat from the first two acts, especially the blind mentor subplot, THIRST could have been an enjoyable experience and worthy to be seen. While I might recommend it to those who enjoy Korean horror or Park's other films, it just can't be justified for everyone else. Even the great performances from the main leads and the nearly-voiceless ending are unable to make this a must see in my opinion.

FINAL REVIEW: 2 / 5