THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN (1974)

THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN

Guy Hamilton • 1974

Screenplay: Richard Maibaum, Tom Mankiewicz; Based on The Man with the Golden Gun by Ian Fleming

Producers: Harry Saltzman, Albert R. Broccoli

Cast: Roger Moore, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland, Maud Adams, Hervé Villechaize

Cinematography: Ted Moore, Oswald Morris

Music: John Barry

United Artists

- A duel between titans… my golden gun against your Walther PPK.

- One bullet against my six?

- I only need one, Mr. Bond. 

James Bond investigates a notorious assassin, Francisco Scaramanga… or, the Man with the Golden Gun. I’m assuming most Gen X and Millenial readers have played the legendary Goldeneye for the Nintendo 64, one of the best video games of all time. And what makes it so damn fun is the player vs player mode where you can run around military bases and match wits against your friends. One of the modes in the game is “Golden Gun.” In this mode, you have to find the Golden Gun and when you shoot your opponent, one shot is all it takes and you win.

Well, they got that concept from this movie. The golden gun in question belongs to Francisco Scaramanga, an international hitman with an island full of gadgets, half-naked women, and a little person. Scaramanga uses said golden gun to kill his targets, and he NEVER misses. One shot is all it takes. So, this makes him already one of the coolest James Bond villains ever, right? Well, it gets better, because the Man with the Golden Gun is played by none other than Christopher Lee.

It’s not a perfect Bond movie, by any stretch of the imagination. The plot is nonsensical, as a lot of Roger Moore Bonds were. Expect lots of goofy campy fun. But really you’re watching this movie for Christopher Lee playing the heavy. Can’t get much better than that. The final face-off between Bond and Scaramanga is one of the best in the history of Bond films.

LIVE AND LET DIE (1973)

LIVE AND LET DIE

1973 • Guy Hamilton

Screenplay: Tom Mankiewicz; Based on Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming

Producer: Harry Saltzman, Albert R. Broccoli

Cast: Roger Moore, Yaphet Kotto, Jane Seymour, Clifton James, Geoffrey Holder

Cinematography: Ted Moore

Music: George Martin, Theme song “Live and Let Die” by Paul McCartney

United Artists

A man comes. He travels quickly. He has purpose. He comes over water. He travels with others. He will oppose. He brings violence and destruction.

James Bond is back, and this time he's facing a villain like no other – a powerful heroin drug lord with a sinister worldwide network, bolstered by psychics and voodoo mysticism. But don't expect a dark and brooding Bond this time around. In Live and Let Die we are introduced to a whole new flavor of 007 – one that embraces campiness with open arms.

Throughout the years, we've seen various actors breathe life into the iconic character, each bringing their own unique touch to the role. Roger Moore's interpretation of Bond is no exception. With a wry and dark sense of humor, he adds a distinctive charm to the character. While all the Moore-era Bond films exhibit an endearing level of silliness and campiness, Live and Let Die serves as the introduction to this lighter take on the beloved spy.

In an era replete with Blaxploitation films like Shaft and Superfly, the 1970s gave birth to a Bond/Blaxploitation crossover. The result is wacky and, at times, a hilarious ride. The film has its fair share of quirks, with the word "Honky" playfully thrown around and a voodoo witch doctor adding a touch of mysticism to the plot. Watching James Bond dash through the vibrant streets of Harlem only adds to the film's charm.

Live and Let Die marks the beginning of the Moore era, embracing a lighter and more whimsical approach to the character. Some might argue it veers away from the traditional Bond formula, but at its core, it's still unmistakably James Bond. The movie delivers thrilling car chases, jaw-dropping explosions, an array of alluring women, and, of course, a healthy dose of bad guys meeting their timely demise.

So, if you're in the mood for some pure, unapologetic escapism, Live and Let Die is the perfect choice. It's a Bond film that revels in its campy goofiness, and you'll find yourself thoroughly entertained from start to finish. After all, who doesn't want to witness the world's most famous spy tackle voodoo, psychics, and a powerful drug lord with a grin on their face? In the end, this movie delivers precisely what you'd expect from a Bond film – action, intrigue, and a whole lot of fun. And there ain't nothing wrong with that.

Plus, how awesome is the Paul McCartney song?

- There seems to be some mistake. My name is...

- Names is for tombstones, baby! Y'all take this honky out and waste him! Now!

Notable Awards & Accomplishments

• Academy Award Nominee: Best Song - “Live and Let Die” by Paul McCartney & Linda McCartney

• Grammy Nominee: Best Score for a Motion Picture

• 7th Highest Grossing Movie of 1973, $161.8 Million worldwide ($1.1 Billion adjusted for inflation)

Batman On Film: Part 11 - Batman: The Killing Joke (2016)

NOTE: This film is part of our ongoing "Batman on Film" series. It is not part of The Essential Films series.

BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE

Sam Liu

2016 • 76 Minutes • United States

Color • English • Warner Bros.

Cast: Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Tara Strong, Ray Wise, John DiMaggio

Screenplay: Brian Azzarello based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland

In 1988, DC Comics published Batman: The Killing Joke, a one-shot graphic novel written by Alan Moore (Watchmen) and illustrated by Brian Bolland (Judge Dredd). It told the story of The Joker's escape from Arkham Asylum and his mission to drive Commissioner Gordon mad. It's also notable for featuring the origin (possibly) of the enigmatic Clown Prince of Crime.  The comics has long been a favorite among comic book fans as one of the definitive Batman and Joker stories. The comic has influenced everything from comic books to the movies. Tim Burton has called this his favorite comic book and the influence of this story can be felt in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight (2008.)  Warner Bros. animation has had a recent string of successes in adapting famous storylines into animated features including Justice League: The New Frontier, Superman: Doomsday, Under the Red Hood, The Dark Knight Returns and Flashpoint. It only seemed natural that they should adapt what many consider to be THE Joker story. Add to that, this is the first DC animated film to receive an R-rating and the fact that they are wading into the theatrical release pool (the film was released last night in select theaters for a limited run through Fathom Events), fan anticipation was at critical mass. So, did the film pay off?

Sort of.

SPOILERS AHEAD. You've been warned.

The screening began with a 10 minute documentary featuring Mark Hamill as he talked about getting his big break in Star Wars through his casting on Batman: The Animated Series to portraying Joker in the Batman Arkham video games. It was a very enjoyable short film in what will most certainly be on the Blu-ray special features.

The film begins with a storyline not from the original graphic novel. Batman and Batgirl are on the trail of Paris Franz (really) an up-and-coming gangster who narrowly slips through their fingers. As Batgirl becomes increasingly obsessed with catching Paris, Paris also becomes increasingly obsessed with Batgirl as an object of sexual desire. Batman realizes this and wants to keep Batgirl as far away from the situation as possible. Batgirl, resents Batman's over protection, and becomes frustrated with his lack of feeling towards her, especially when she harbors romantic feelings for him. This culminates in an extremely controversial sex scene, where Batman and Batgirl consummate their sexual tension. When Batman draws even further away from her afterwards, Batgirl loses her temper while apprehending Paris and nearly beats him to death. Batgirl at this point decides to hang up the cape and cowl.

It is at this point that the Killing Joke, as most comic readers know the story, truly begins in what is an almost direct adaptation of the material.  Batman arrives at Arkham to question the Joker on a series of murders, only to find that an imposter is in his place. Joker has escaped Arkham and taken over an abandoned carnival as his new base of operations. He's on a mission to make Commissioner Gordon (and Batman, for that matter) go insane by doing something so heinous, that it breaks him. After all, all it takes is "one bad day." Interspersed in flashbacks are memories from Joker's "one bad day" that broke his mind and turned him into the Joker (or so we think.) Exactly like the comic it's based on, Joker arrives at the Gordons' house and shoots Barbara "Batgirl" Gordon point blank through the spine paralyzing her. He then takes pictures of her prone, naked, bloody body and displays them for Jim Gordon's horror. Batman eventually tracks down the Joker and defeats him, and the two enemies square off one final time, but this time Batman tries to reach out and "save" the Joker's sanity. What follows is pretty much line for line the dialogue from the end of the original book.

The voice cast is very strong here. Three original animated series voice cast members return to their roles. Tara Strong reprises her role as Batgirl, and brings to life one of comics' most underrated characters. Kevin Conroy, the definitive Batman, is the gravely-voiced Dark Knight. He sounds slightly different than his Batman: TAS and Justice League days, but it's still definitely him and he brings every ounce of anti-hero menace that the audience will love. Of course, the film is all about The Joker (or it's supposed to be) and you can't talk about the cast without talking about Mark Hamill. Hamill, to me, will always be the voice of the Joker. Others have done him well, but never as good as Mark Hamill. Hamill plays him slightly differently than the TAS days. This being a darker film than the original series, his portrayal is darkly funny. But he brings a lot of empathy in the flashback sequences as well. This is an A+ performance for Hamill.

Now let's talk about THE scene. Batman and Batgirl have sex. This happens. It's obvious and there's no denying it. Now, there's no "nudity" in the scene. There's a brief shot of Barbara tearing off her batsuit to reveal her underwear underneath as she kisses Batman, and that's about it. It's not vulgar... but it's extraordinarily out of place. It almost feels like the creators wanted to justify their R-Rating and they threw in a sex scene. It's clumsy and it's very awkward, much like the Batgirl portion of the story turned out to be. Now, I love Batgirl, she is a fantastic character, and I understand the reason for adding the story to the film. By itself, literally translated, The Killing Joke is not long enough to justify a feature, so the creators padded it out with this story. MY main concern is how awkwardly it's accomplished. There is a noticeable shift as soon as her story ends and Killing Joke begins, almost like it's two different films altogether. I also understand wanting to give Barbara more depth so that her paralysis at the hands of the Joker gives the viewer a greater empathy for her. It's just very poorly executed.

Ultimately, the Killing Joke portion of the film is executed almost perfectly, but the 30 minute Batgirl mini-movie that's tied into it just doesn't flow and feels like a DVD extra. (And don't get me started on the cliche gay best friend. Yikes.) It's an interesting experiment for DC/WB and I hope this is not the end of seeing DC animated films on the big screen.

Grade: B-

Non-Essential Review: Fantastic Four (2015) – The Worst Superhero Movie of the Modern Era

Recently I wrote a movie review for our affiliate site, Superfriends Universe, about the recent Fantastic Four reboot.  Needless to say, I was not happy.  Read the full article HERE

Blue Jasmine (2013)

BLUE JASMINE
Woody Allen
2013 • 98 Minutes • 2.35:1 • United States
Color • English • Sony Pictures Classics

Cast: Cate Blanchett, Alex Baldwin, Sally Hawkins, Andrew Dice Clay, Bobby Cannavale, Louis CK, Peter Sarsgaard, Michael Stuhlbarg
Writer: Woody Allen
Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum, Edward Walson
Cinematography: Javier Aguirresarobe

Anxiety, nightmares and a nervous breakdown, there’s only so many traumas a person can withstand until they take to the streets and start screaming.

(MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD)

Blue Jasmine, Woody Allen's 2013 re-structuring of A Streetcar Named Desire, proves that the constantly working writer/director still has plenty left in the gas tank.  While some of his more recent films have failed to connect critically, the success of films like Midnight in Paris, Match Point and Blue Jasmine, more than make up for the shortcomings of other films.  

As mentioned, the similarities between  Jasmine and Streetcar can't be ignored, nor do I think, where they intended to be.  In this updated version, the titular Jasmine fills in for the Blanche Du Bois archetype. She has had a complete mental breakdown after her philandering husband committed suicide after being sent to prison when he was exposed as a corrupt financier.  Her wealth taken by the government, Jasmine moves out to San Francisco to live with her sister Ginger, who it turns out was also left broke due to her and her now ex-husband investing in her brother-in-law's financial schemes.  Ginger, much like Streetcar's Stella, is romantically involved (though not married to) with a blue collar oaf by the name of Chilli, who is none too pleased about Jasmine's sudden intrusion into his life.  Slowly but surely, Jasmine's prospects start to look up when she begins to date an aspiring Congressman, who knows nothing about her past.

Cate Blanchett is the reason to watch this film. She gives an amazing performance that is sure to garner her attention during awards season.  While there are the obvious "raw performance" (i.e. screaming/crying) scenes that critics and audiences equate with good acting, it would be criminal to reduce the performance to just that. Yes, she does have those kinds of scenes, but Jasmine is a much more layered character than that.  Blanchett displays a broad emotional range for the character. In the flashback sequences where she is living the high-life as an entitled society wife to her millionaire husband, she pretends not to notice Hal's shady business practices or his obvious infidelities. She's comfortable and she's happy in her deliberate ignorance.  In the San Francisco scenes, where she has moved in with her sister, her resentment and disgust is not even remotely hidden by her phony gratitude. She is here because she has no choice, and regardless of whether or not Ginger is her sister, there are many other places she'd rather be. To her, family doesn't matter. Status does.  Even when, in a flashback sequence, her sister comes to visit her in New York, she is embarrassed and ashamed of her. She buys her things and tries to bring her to her level. The act of having her and her then-husband Augie invest in Hal's scheme was not an act of charity or sisterly goodwill, it was a selfish act. Perhaps if Ginger and Augie were wealthy, she would no longer be ashamed of them.  It's much the same later in the film when she begins her courtship with Dwight, the handsome politician. Up until this point, Jasmine had half-heartedly been trying to better her life with a menial job as a secretary and by taking a computer class. She throws it out the window the second a successful man shows interest in her.  She lies and manipulates Dwight so she can once again achieve the status she once had and she so desperately craves.  The entire film Blanchett's Jasmine is on the very precipice of a complete and total mental snap, and when it finally happens, it's quite haunting. The last image of the film, with Jasmine, completely devoid of make-up, sitting on a bench muttering to herself and recalling her past life is all at once pathetic and sad.  As she has the entire film, she retreats back into what made her happy, what made her comfortable, by reliving her past experiences once again. The film is bookended by her telling the same story: in the opening scenes she is nostalgic where as towards the end of the film she is defeated.

Blanchett is bolstered by a wonderful cast of supporting actors.  Woody Allen has always had a good eye for casting, and this film proves to be no different.  Alec Baldwin is Hal, Jasmine's ex-husband. On the surface this may seem like a natural fit for Baldwin, who has portrayed similar characters in the past Glengarry Glenn Ross and 30 Rock.  Sally Hawkins as the put-upon Ginger is also quite good and with a "working-class" American accent so convincing you can't tell the actress is really from the UK. Bobby Cannavale has big Brando-sized shoes to fill in the Kowalski role from Streetcar, but he makes it his own. The character does have the brutish quality of Kowalski, but with a much lighter twist on it. Chilli, while obnoxious, crass and hot-tempered, he's much more likeable.  Cannavale is joined by some Boardwalk Empire companions in Max Casella and Michael Stuhlbarg in small but memorable performances. The cast is rounded out by fine performances by Peter Sarsgaard and comedians Louis CK and Andrew Dice Clay. Clay, in particular, delivers a surprisingly strong supporting performance as Ginger's ex-husband. I know, I couldn't believe it either.

in

Blue Jasmine is Woody Allen at his best and proves that at almost 80 years old and over 40 years of directing, he knows a thing or two about making movies.

Captain America – The First Avenger (2011)

READ THE ESSENTIAL FILMS ON SUBSTACK

MOVIE: Captain America: The First Avenger
RELEASE DATE: July 22, 2011
DIRECTOR: Joe Johnston
SCREENPLAY: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely based on characters created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby
CAST: Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper, Toby Jones, Neal McDonough, Stanley Tucci

Captain America is the 5th film in Marvel’s Avengers Phase One series of comic book adaptations, a never-before-attempted crossover of movie characters culminating in a big screen climax known as the record-breaking THE AVENGERS. While it’s the 5th film in the series, it serves almost as a prequel. Not only because it is set in the 1940s during World War II, but without this film, none of the events in the other films are possible. The film blends superhero action with a little fantasy and some out there sci-fi goofiness that actually creates a solid superhero film. It tells the story of Steve Rogers, a frail weakling that wants with all his heart to join the military, not because he wants to kill Nazis, but because he “doesn’t like bullies, he doesn’t care where they’re from.” This is the very essence of the Marvel Comics character, Captain America, and the filmmakers did right by him. It’s this quality that makes Rogers the perfect candidate for the secret Super Soldier experiment that turns him into a perfect human physical specimen. Soon after, Captain America joins the frontlines, leading special ops teams to take down the operations of the villainous Red Skull. What makes this film memorable is the style. The cinematography of the film by Shelly Johnson really captures a nostalgic quality that only helps bring the visual design of the film to life. The production design and costuming add to this element as well, and the film looks and feels like an old 1940s comic book come to life. An underrated comic book film with phenomenal performances by Evans, Tommy Lee Jones and Hayley Atwell.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER is available on DVD, Blu-Ray and Digital Download. It is currently available for streaming via Netflix and Amazon Prime.

MORE CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER
Click here to listen to the Forced Perspective Review of the Film
Click here to check out The Top 25 Superhero Movies

Marvel VS DC: Why Marvel Has Won the Movie War

Since Superman: The Movie hit movie screens in 1978, essentially creating the modern superhero movie, DC characters have appeared on screen in 21 films.  In these 21 films, we’ve had 6 Superman movies, 2 Superman spinoffs (Supergirl, Steel), 7 Batman movies, 1 Batman spinoff (Catwoman), 1 Watchmen movie and 4 movies based on Swamp Thing, Jonah Hex and Green Lantern. Now, Superman and  Superman II are classics, as is Tim Burton’s Batman (and Batman Returns which I have soft spot for.)  The Dark Knight Trilogy is arguably the greatest comic book series of all time.  Watchmen and Man of Steel are debatable films, as a lot of comic book fans are divided on these. But the rest of DC’s filmography? Absolute garbage.

Meanwhile Marvel, who has not been in the movie business nearly as long DC, after some major missteps with Howard the Duck and an unproduced Fantastic Four, have managed to release 29 films in about 15 years.  And it’s not top heavy on two franchises like DC is with Superman and Batman is.  You have the obvious ones like Spider-Man (4 movies) and Wolverine/X-Men (6 movies), but Marvel also took B-List characters and made them A-List. Don’t believe me? No one cared about Iron Man ten years ago. Now? 3 enormous movies that have grossed over 2 BILLION dollars together.  Captain America? Thor? Those guys are kinda corny, right… oh, they both had succesful features? And they have sequels coming out in the next year?  Oh.  Well, that first Hulk movie sucked! Yeah, but the second one was decent and it was part of a 5 movie plan to bring together Marvel superheroes in the FIRST EVER cross-movie team-up that led to the record-breaking Avengers, legitimately the 3rd biggest movie of all time.

Have there been stumbles along the way? Of course. Daredevil, The Fantastic Four, The Punisher and Ghost Rider have not had the success (critically or financially) as some of their other Marvel brotherhood. But hey, at least there ARE Daredevil, Fantastic Four, Punisher and Ghost Rider movies. This is my point. Marvel isn’t afraid to take their properties and try to cinematize them. Sometimes you get The Avengers and sometimes you get Elektra.  But more often than not, the results are good.  Coming down the pike we have the afore-mentioned Thor and Captain America sequels, Amazing Spider-Man 2, X-Men Days of Future Past and Guardians of the Galaxy. GAURDIANS OF THE GALAXY! A team with a talking tree and a racoon with a gun.  Plus the planned Avengers sequel, Ant Man and a Fantastic Four reboot.  Avengers created an opportunity for an Agents of SHIELD TV show and characters like Black Widow, Hawkeye, Nick Fury, Deadpool, Justin Hammer, Nightcrawler, Bucky and Silver Samurai have all appeared on the big screen.

Over at DC, what do you have? A planned Superman/Batman team-up film. OK, admittedly that’s awesome. But it’s more of the same.  Where’s Wonder Woman? The Flash? Green Arrow? Aquaman? The JLA? Martian Manhunter? Booster Gold? The Teen Titans? The Atom?

The fact that ROCKET RACCOON has a movie before Wonder Woman is complete insanity.

In the comic book movie wars, even though DC has heavy hitters like The Dark Knight trilogy, Marvel has clearly taken the lead.  DC/Warner Bros. need to embrace their deep character history instead of being embarrassed by it.  You can only do Superman and Batman so many times before fans want to see what else you got.

Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

ZERO DARK THIRTY
Kathryn Bigelow
2012 • 157 Minutes • 1.85:1 • United States
Color • English • Columbia Pictures

Cast:  Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt, James Gandolfini
Screenplay: Mark Boal
Producers: Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Megan Ellison
Cinematography: Greig Fraser

Awards & Honors

Academy Awards
Nominated: Best Motion Picture of the Year
Nominated: Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role - Jessica Chastain
Nominated: Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Nominated: Best Achievement in Editing
Nominated: Best Achievement in Sound Editing

American Film Institute
Official Selection of 2012

BAFTA Awards
Nominated: Best Film
Nominated: Director
Nominated: Leading Actress - Jessica Chastain
Nominated: Original Screenplay
Nominated: Best Editing

Director's Guild of America
Nominated: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures

Golden Globes
Winner: Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama - Jessica Chastain

Nominated: Best Director - Motion Picture
Nominated: Best Motion Picture - Drama
Nominated: Best Screenplay - Motion Picture

Screen Actors Guild Awards

Nominated: Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role - Jessica Chastain

Writers Guild of America
Nominated: Best Original Screenplay

Quite frankly, I didn't even want to use you guys, with your dip and velcro and all your gear bullshit. I wanted to drop a bomb. But people didn't believe in this lead enough to drop a bomb. So they're using you guys as canaries. And, in theory, if bin Laden isn't there, you can sneak away and no one will be the wiser. But bin Laden is there. And you're going to kill him for me.

It's right there on the poster: "The Greatest Manhunt in History."  Zero Dark Thirty is the procedural dramatization of the investigation to capture and kill the man the United States held responsible for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and leader of al Queda: Osama bin Laden.  A film of such weighty subject matter was already going to controversial, but Bigelow's direction and Boal's screenplay made sure that this film would be on the minds of everyone who saw it long after the credits rolled. It's impossible to not have an opinion, positive or negative, on this film.

Chief among the controversy is how the filmmakers depicted brutal scenes of torture. Some critics (some who have not even seen the film) claim that depicting CIA agents torturing suspects during interrogation sequences is tantamount to the filmmakers condoning acts of torture as a justifiable method of obtaining information.  If one were to watch and analyze the film, one would realize that this is not the filmmakers' intent. Firstly, there are many close-ups upon the torture victim, forcing the audience to sympathise with him. Secondly, the results they achieve with the torture are negligible and the agents actually achieve better results when they treat the suspect with dignity.  The film does not set out to justify torture or aggressive tactics. However, don't mistake that it condemns it either.  The film is a procedural, and it shows the steps that Maya (an apparent composite of different real-life CIA agents) and her team took to capture bin Laden. Torture just happens to be one of those tools.  The rest of film plays out almost like a standard serial-killer film. In this case instead of a detective, you have a CIA agent. Instead of a serial killer, you have the world's most infamous terrorist. There are good leads, bad leads, chases, close calls and close captures. 

The film begins with a black screen. Playing in the background are sounds of phone calls and news reports and political speeches from the tragic day that came to be known as 9/11.  Immediately following this is the film's first torture sequence.  As stated before, the film neither condmens nor justifies torture... but by the end of the film it forces the audience to think: Was it worth it? Was killing Osama bin Laden and avenging the deaths of thousands of Americans worth losing our soul as a nation? The last shot of the film will leave you with that question.  You know how the film ends. S.E.A.L. Team 6 kills Osama bin Laden. But even though you know this fact, Bigelow keeps you on the edge of your seat with the built-up tension. There's no musical score during this sequence.  Just the silence of night and squawking of radio communication.  When bin Laden is finally killed... there's no celebration, no swelling musical score. It just happens and the film treats as just another event in the procedure. Anyone who watches this film and feels it is a pro-American patriotic film is not watching it close enough.  This is a movie about revenge.

We're in the middle of awards season and this film has been showered, deservedly so, with many nominations. Consistent among the award nominations is recognition for Jessica Chastain's performance as Maya. Maya, as stated before, is a composite character of several real-life agents. Much like S.E.A.L. Team 6, the identity of the real agents responsible for the investigation remain classified. (A sticking point with right-wing critics of the film is that perhaps the filmmakers had unauthorized access to top secret documents while making this film. This claim has been denied by the Obama administration.)  Chastain is heavy-favorite to win Best Actress at this year's Academy Awards, and it's easy to see why.  Chastain's Maya is at first seemingly unprepared to handle the investigation and unnerved by the tactics her team feels is needed to gain information. As the film progresses, however, she develops a toughness that is only outmatched by her determination.  This job defines her. She IS the  mission.  She has the final shot in the film all to herself, and the acting on display in this final moment before the credits roll earns her every nomination she has received.

Zero Dark Thirty is a difficult film with difficult subject matter.  Difficult subject matter leads controversy, controversy sparks debate. No film of the last year or, I predict, in the near future, will spark as much debate as this film has. It will be analyzed by both film students and historians for decades to come and will warrant multiple viewings.  Zero Dark Thirty is the best film of 2012.

Star Wars: The Complete Saga – Blu-ray Review

(Before we get started… a disclaimer.  Let’s not kid ourselves… we’ve ALL seen the movies. We all have our opinions, there’s no need for in-depth reviews.  I will be reviewing the actual quality of the discs: sound, video quality, special features, etc.)

 Disc 1 – Episode I: The Phantom Menace

The Movie: The much maligned Episode I lives up to its reputation. 13 years later and it’s still not good… which Sportsguy515 and I discussed back in February on an episode of Forced Perspective while reviewing the 3D release. However, it’s not actually my least favorite. Attack of the Clones is clearly the worst movie in the series. Don’t get me wrong, Menace is right behind it, but at least it doesn’t overly rely on CG like Attack of the Clones does. There are real props, sets and location shots… unlike Clones. But at the very least it has one of the best lightsaber battles of the entire series and the introduction of one of the cooler characters: Darth Maul. Of course, Maul dies in the end (it’s not a spoiler, you’ve seen it)… but that won’t stop fanboys from worshipping him to Boba Fett-like levels for years to come. And then there’s Jar Jar… the movie comes to a screeching halt everytime he appears on screen.

The HD Picture: A sharp, nice picture, but I feel like it doesn’t fully utilize the HD medium. It looks better than DVD, but not by a lot. One very noticeable drawback is that the CGI characters end up looking faker than they already do. That’s not good.

The Sound: Currently, my entertainment center isn’t set-up for surround sound, etc, to fully optimize the sound capabilities of blu-ray. That said, the sound is incredible. The sound mixing, specifically in the pod racing sequence, is just a thing of beauty.

What Did They Change: They replaced the puppet Yoda from the original release to a CGI version. Not a big fan of that move, as I always prefer practical effects to CG ones.

Special Features:

Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, John Knoll, Dennis Muren and Scott Squires.

Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

Lucas’ commentary often comes off as justifying all his decisions… almost like he’s saying “I know you hate this, but you’re wrong and here’s why.”

Overall: They do their best to make a crappy film look good. It cleans up ok visually, and it sounds amazing, but in the end you are still left with a lackluster Star Wars movie.

Disc 2 – Attack of the Clones

The Movie: My LEAST favorite. I actively dislike this film. From the overlong and way too contrived opening chase sequence, to the AWFUL love story and the wooden acting. With the exception of the scenes on Naboo, the entire movie looks fake and synthetic. The Clone Troopers are all CGI. Adding Christopher Lee to the cast is a plus and the drastic reduction of Jar Jar are both plusses, but honestly, I didn’t need to see a tiny little Yoda jumping around doing flips. It looked ridiculous. Half of Yoda’s aura was that you always wondered how this little frog creature was able to be the most powerful Jedi master… actually SHOWING US breaks the aura and it just looks silly. This movie just plain sucks.

The HD Picture: Somehow there doesn’t seem to be ANY improvement on the picture. Maybe I’m just blind, but it doesn’t look that much better than DVD.

The Sound: Again, amazing. At least Skywalker Sound is on top of things.

What Did They Change: Nothing too noticeable. I think they added some extra screams of Annakin’s mom while he was dreaming of her.

Special Features:

Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, Pablo Helman, John Knoll and Ben Snow

Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

Again, it’s amazing how much work goes into a crappy movie. More justifying from Lucas on the commentary tracks.

Overall: With the exception of the sound quality, not much “improved” on this one.

Disc 3: Revenge of the Sith

The Movie: The best of prequels, though admittedly, that’s not saying much. Thankfully only one quick shot of Jar Jar (which is enough to make it the best by default.) The story is still way too contrived, especially the action sequences. The opening “one-take” shot is really cool, but I guess it’s easy to look cool when you’re filming everything in CG. Much like Episode II, this thing uses 99.9% digital sets. Most of the movie is pretty awful, truth be told, but the last hour of the film starting at the point where Anakin finally turns to the dark side… that’s nearly perfect. All of the following are awesome well-executed moments: Anakin leading the Clone Troopers to the Jedi Temple, the execution of Order 66, Anakin killing the children, the epic Anakin VS Obi-Wan battle and Anakin’s physical transformation into Vader. Of course, all that is balanced with the crappy Emperor vs Yoda fight, Natalie Portman’s “You’re breaking my heart” line, Amidala dying of a broken heart (seriously WTF?), and awkwardly shoving Chewbacca into the movie. And of course, who could forget “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” The last shot of the movie, admittedly, is super cool.

The HD Picture: Absolutely gorgeous Hi Def picture. The opening space battle looks so crisp and sharp. It is one of the best looking films in the set from a picture quality point of view. This is what Blu-ray was made for.

The Sound: Not as good as the other prequels, surprisingly. I didn’t notice much of an upgrade from DVD sound.

What Did They Change: Nothing that I could notice.

Special Features:

Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Rob Coleman, John Knoll and Roger Guyett

Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

More of the same.

Overall: The best disc of the prequels. Watch the opening space battle in the most gorgeous hi-def you’ll ever see, then fast forward to the end of the movie.

Disc 4: A New Hope

The Movie: Honestly, if you haven’t seen this movie yet, then I have nothing to say to you. I remember in 1997 when the Special Editions came out, I was so excited to see the movie on the big screen, and it didn’t disappoint. I was so happy to see Star Wars in the theaters that I was able to look past the Special Edition changes. Unfortunately I can no longer do that. Still, This is the second best movie in the saga… but if you think it’s the best, I can’t argue that.

The HD Picture: Holy crap. I didn’t know a movie this old could look THIS beautiful. Amazing transfer.  The attack on the Death Star? You haven’t seen it until you see it on Blu-ray.

The Sound: The movie sounds amazing. The ships, the blasters, the lightsabers… all of it. And John Williams’ score sounds even better somehow.

What Did They Change: This is the ’97 Special Edition. So you get all that garbage. Greedo still shoots first. (Sigh.) And the terrible Jabba scene doesn’t look better in HD. I think they may have replaced an alien or two in the Cantina sequence… but more eagle-eyed viewers would be better equipped to tell me that.

Special Features:

Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren

Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

The commentaries, especially the ones with archival interviews, are really informative and fascinating.

Overall: The first great disc on the set. Nearly flawless.

Disc 5: The Empire Strikes Back

The Movie: The BEST movie in the series. This movie is absolutely perfect, start to finish. It’s such an incredibly dark and dismal film, that adds depth and weight to series. Han Solo’s sacrifice and Leia’s profession of love is one of the greatest scenes in movie history, but then it gets beaten 20 minutes later… Darth Vader’s revelation to this day still sends chills down my spine.

The HD Picture: God, it looks beautiful. Everything from Hoth to Degobah to the Cloud City looks crystal clear.

The Sound: Not much to say here, other than awesome. You haven’t heard “The Imperial March” until you hear it on this blu-ray.

What Did They Change: Again, this is the ’97 Special Edition, so expect that.

Special Features:

Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren

Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

Both commentary tracks are worth listening to if you are into this sort of thing.

Overall: The Best disc in the set. Hands down.

Disc 6: Return of the Jedi

The Movie: Before the prequels, this was the “worst” movie according to a lot of SW fans. I never understood this line of thinking. Yes, the teddy bears beat the Empire… that IS silly. But I get what he was going for: Even the simplest creatures can stand up to oppression. But it also has Jabba the Hut who is such an awesome memorable character (and looks much better as a puppet), a BAD ASS Luke Skywalker and an attack on the Death Star that’s almost as good as the original from Episode IV. (Almost) But most of all it has the emotional climax of Luke VS Vader. Luke has Obi Wan in one ear telling him to kill Vader and The Emperor in the other ear telling him to kill Vader, and in the end, he says “F You” to both of them and refuses to kill his father. This of course leads to the Darth Vader’s redemption, which if you don’t like… I don’t understand how you still like Star Wars.

The HD Picture: Once again, amazing transfer. The original trilogy looks so beautiful on blu-ray.

The Sound: Once again, good stuff. One thing I’ve failed to mention thus far is the sound Vader’s raspy breath. Sounds excellent.

What Did They Change: Again, Special Edition version. Of all the SE releases, this is the one they screwed with the most. They added a ridiculously over the top song in Jabba’s palace that STILL looks stupid. They completley change the ending! I mean, all the same stuff happens, but they change the original Ewok song to something less than stellar, plus add a whole bunch of scenes from around the Star Wars galaxy where the oppressed citizens are now celebrating The Emperor’s downfall. And of course they erase the original Anakin Skywalker actor in the blue ghost scene at the end and replace him with Hayden Christiansen. Fuck that change, seriously. As far as Blu-ray changes, only thing I noticed was the Ewoks now blink. I noticed immediately, but honestly, it’s not the bad. You forget they do it after a while. They also add a “No… Nooooo!” right before Vader saves Luke from the Emperor. I initially heard about this change and thought it was going to be the awful “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” from Episode III, but it’s not that bad. It’s not terribly offensive, but I liked the original better.

Special Features:

Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren

Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

Great commentary tracks.

Overall: Once you get past the BS Special Edition changes, this is also a high quality blu-ray.

Disc 7: The Prequels Special Features

Interviews:  The interviews aren’t complete interviews, but rather clips of interviews on different episodes. For example there’s a brief interview of Liam Neeson’s take on the Qui-Gon character, another interview with George Lucas on preparing to write Episode I, and another one with Ewan MacGregor’s connection to Star Wars (his uncle played Wedge in the original Trilogy.)

Deleted/Extended Scenes: Honestly, all of this stuff is skippable. It’s a little interesting, but nothing cool. It doesn’t make the movies any more watchable or make more sense.

The Collection:  This is actually really cool. They’ll show preproduction and production models of things like costumes, sets, ships, creatures, props, etc. and then have the production talk about how they came to be, how they were designed, how they were used in the movie. It’s the best feature of the special features and really goes to show that even though the movies sucked… from a PRODUCTION aspect, a lot of people worked their asses off. It’s not their fault the writing and directing were so poor.

Concept Art Galleries: Interesting if you like this sort of thing.

Disc 8: The Original Trilogy Special Features

Interviews: Tons of great archival interview clips with Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Carrie Fisher, George Lucas, Irvin Kershner and Harrison Ford. Really good stuff.

Deleted/Extra Scenes: There are a lot of sweet scenes that have never been seen before. There’s a scene at Tosche Station, an extension of Han & Leia kissing on the Falcon and a shot of Jedi Knight Skywalker building his lightsaber. Tons of geek material here.

The Collection: Same as The Collection from the prequel disc, but this time with original trilogy stuff (obviously). It’s really impressive to learn from the model makers, SFX artists and production designers how the movies we loved as a kid all came together in the planning stages.

Concept Art Gallery: Tons of Ralph MacQuarrie stuff, which if you’re into (like I am) is beautiful to look at.

Overall, this special features disc is better than the Prequels one. Big shocker.

Disc 9: The Star Wars Documentaries

The Making of Star Wars (1977): This is an ULTRA cheesy TV special from the 70s. It’s honestly hard to sit through and doesn’t give you much information you don’t already know. Hosted by C3PO

The Empire Strikes Back: SPFX (1980): Another TV special, this time released around the time Empire hit theaters. Interesting as a time capsule. Hosted by Mark Hamill

Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi (1983): A TV Special from 1983 that looks at some of the production going into Jedi. Hosted by Carrie Fischer and Billy Dee Williams.

Anatomy of a Dewback (1997): A documentary on how they added Dewbacks to the Special Edition of A New Hope. That’s it…

Star Warriors (2007): A documentary on fans that dress up as Stormtroopers. It’s OK, and pretty skippable.

Star Wars Tech (2007): TV Special looking at Star Wars technology and if it would actually work by consulting scientists, engineers, etc. This one is a lot of fun.

A Conversation with the Masters: THe Empire Strikes Back 30 Years Later (2010): All the archival interviews from the Empire commentary track is included here in a 25 minute documentary. IF you listened to the commentary track you can skip this and vice versa.

Star Wars Spoofs (2011): This makes the whole disc. From Weird Al’s “The Saga Begins” to the Family Guy Star Wars specials… it’s 90 minutes of editing together practically every Star Wars reference from Film and Television. Spaceballs, That 70’s Show, How I Met Your Mother, Clerks, Robot Chicken… it’s all in here. This one is awesome.

What’s Missing from the 9-Disc Set:

As you could probably guess, Lucas neglected to include a lot of stuff from previous DVD releases. Such as:

“The Beginning: Making Episode I” – The hour-long documentary on the original DVD of Phantom Menace that was much more engaging than the film itself.

The Duel of the Fates Music Video – Remember how awesome this was when it first debuted?

The Empire of Dreams – The AWESOME documentary included on a Bonus Disc when the originally trilogy was released on DVD.

The Original Theatrical Cuts – All the original trilogy movies are the Special Editions. The Theatrical Cuts are not included.

Trailers – Not a single damn one.

Final Verdict

The team at LucasFilm overall did an amazing job transferring the saga onto Blu-ray.  The Hi-Def quality, ESPECIALLY on the original trilogy, is beautiful and the sound is extraordinary across the board.  The commentary tracks are informative, and some of the special features are a lot of fun, especially the ones dealing with Eps. 4-6.  If you’re someone that wants to have all 6 movies, then I’d recommend the set.  If you only care about the original Trilogy, they do sell both trilogies as individual sets for a cheaper price.  However, they don’t include all the special features.  Or, you could just wait another few years until he re-releases them… AGAIN.  Me?  I have the blu-rays… but I also smartly held on to my DVD versions of the original theatrical cuts.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
Tomas Alfredson
2011 • 127 Minutes • 2.35:1 • United Kingdom

Principal Cast: Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Toby Jones, John Hurt, Mark Strong, Tom Hardy
Screenplay: Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan from the novel by John le Carré
Producers: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Robyn Slovo
Cinematography: Hoyte Van Hoytema

For twenty-five years we’ve been the only thing standing between Moscow and the Third World War!

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a troubling film to review. By this I do not mean to imply that it is not a good film. In fact it’s quite good. Very good. Also, very deserving of the recent Oscar nominations it has earned. The problem with this film is that the one major criticism that most critics have of the film is one that I as well echo, but I will nonetheless recommend to you fine viewers. But more on that in a minute.

We’ve been brought up in a culture where spy movies are, for lack of a better term, “cool.” James Bond, the most famous fictional spy of all time, is the height of every male fantasy combined into one slick package. He’s a bad ass. He gets all the ladies. He dresses to the nines. He gets to play with cool toys. He blows stuff up. He drives fast cars. In a word, he’s awesome. Even modern day spies like Jason Bourne or Ethan Hunt play off of this archetype. Even a parody like Austin Powers pretty much follows the exact same pattern.

What we get in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a spy movie that, well, is actually about SPIES. What a concept. Instead of running around blowing stuff up and having sex with gorgeous woman (as awesome as THAT is), this film focuses on the day-to-day life, intrigue and danger of actually spying for another country, becoming a double agent (in some cases a triple agent) and all the people that get caught in the literal and figurative cross-fire.

To describe this plot is a little troubling, and that’s where the criticism comes in. The film has so many twists and turns that most critics (including this one) had a hard time actually following the plot to the point that when the double-crossing secret agent is revealed at the end of the film, it’s almost anti-climactic. That said, as confusing as the film can be, I can’t really knock it. Let’s face it as much I love Goldfinger or The Man with The Golden Gun, those films have highly improbably plots with over-the-top supervillains, improbable action sequences and ridiculous end-of-the-world scenarios. Yes… that is all great fun, but it ends up being filed away as escapist entertainment (not that there’s anything wrong with that.) This film’s plot revolves around a covert British espionage organization trying to find a Russian mole within its ranks during the Cold War in the 1970s. Revealing any more of the plot would head into spoiler territory, so I’ll leave it at that. What results is actual spy work. Agents work to investigate the situation. Can we trust him? Whose side is he working for? Who is the mole? What information does the informant have? etc.

There’s no explosions. No gun play. No cool gadgets. No hot blondes in bikinis. Yet, the film still works and it works well… mostly because of its incredibly strong supporting cast.

There’s been a long running joke that in the last 10 years the Harry Potter films have kept every British actor employed as it seems every famous English face has appeared in that franchise. Well, now that the series has finally wrapped up, looks like Tinker Tailor has managed to keep most of them working.

Gary Oldman plays the lead character in George Smiley, perhaps the most ridiculously named spy in the history of… ever. Don’t let the name fool you though, as Smiley is decidedly bad ass. He doesn’t punch anyone or cut the wires on a bomb at the last second, but he is certainly a spy you never want to cross. Does this come as a suprise to anyone, however? Oldman is a consistently amazing actor that delivers every single time. It doesn’t matter if he’s playing Sex Pistols legend Sid Vicious, the prince of Darkness Count Dracula, Stansfield the psycho cop, Sirius Black, Commissioner Gordon or a semi-retired spy… slam dunk performance every single time.

Mark Strong shows up in a supporting role, shockingly NOT playing a villain. (NOTE: I don’t consider this a spoiler because even though everyone in this film is a suspect, it’s pretty clear early on that Strong’s character is not the mole.) Strong has played the villain in Sherlock Holmes, Green Lantern and Kick-Ass and he finally gets a mainstream role that doesn’t require pure villainy. He is understated and fascinating as a spy-in-hiding.

This is Colin Firth’s first mainstream film since winning the Oscar last year for The King’s Speech, and surprisingly this is more of a supporting performance. Firth is good as always, but his screen time is limited, which doesn’t give the audience enough time to see him stretch his acting muscles.

Tom Hardy, Toby Jones and John Hurt also pop up in supporting roles, giving the usual strong performances that we have come to expect from them at this point.

From a production standpoint, everything works. The costuming, make-up/hair and art direction seem to fit the 1970s UK atmosphere that this world is set in. The cinematography is beautiful and the film is edited at a decent enough pace.

In short, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a movie you’ll have to pay extremely close attention to, because literally everything and anything could be the clue to who the Russian mole is. It is confusing, no doubt, and you may have to watch it at least twice to catch the subtle clues and understand the ending. That said I applaud the filmmakers for not dumbing down the final product. An excellent, albeit confusing, spy thriller.

Thor (2011)

In honor of the The Avengers being released, here is the original review I did for last year's Thor, originally published on May 6, 2011.

THE STATS:

The Director: Kenneth Branagh
The Writers: Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz, Don Payne
The Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgård, Kat Dennings, Clark Gregg, Idris Elba, Colm Feore, Ray Stevenson
The Producer: Kevin Feige

Release Date: May 6, 2011
The Running Time: 114 Minutes
Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1
Language: English

Whosoever wields this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.

THE PLOT

Thor is the mighty but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions that enters his mythic realm of Asgard into war with the fearsome Frost Giants. He is cast down to Earth as punishment, with his power stripped from him. Now as his deceitful brother Loki plots to take over the throne, Thor must regain his power and find his way back home.

WHY IS IT SO GOOD?

MARVEL DOES IT AGAIN

Ever since Marvel started taking over production of their properties starting with the X-Men franchise in 2000, their iconic characters have been treated with a lot more respect on the big screen. Certainly there were some missteps like Elektra or Hulk… and let’s all forget about Spider-Man 3. But overall, they’ve been great cinematic treats for comic book geeks every where. Marvel especially has done a phenomenal job in building the Avengers brand, starting with the outstanding 2008 film Iron Man. Followed by The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man 2, each of these films has connected with the next. Thor is the next in the series, followed by this summer’s Captain America: The First Avenger and culminating with next year’s The Avengers. Marvel knows what they’re doing because they are their characters and know exactly which direction to take them.

KENNETH BRANAGH

When I heard that Branagh was directing this film, I had my doubts. As a director he’s mostly known for directing Shakespearean adaptations like Hamlet and Henry V… not exactly action movies, let alone super hero genre pictures. I was afraid he would either not treat the characters with respect, or worse, try to over-interpret them like Ang Lee did in 2003′s Hulk. But it turns out his Shakespearean background works perfectly telling the story of a dying father (Odin) dealing with the succession of the throne between his two sons (Thor and Loki). Also, his camera work is stylish and yet not distracting, and he keeps the story moving, giving you enough action beats and plot developments along the way.

ASGARD

The depiction of Asgard, which could have been disastrously cheesy, looks really, really cool on the big screen. Unlike the Star Wars prequels which are 100% green screen, Thor uses a combination of green screen AND real sets. Come Oscar time, I hope this film gets some attention for the Art Direction. On top of that, the costumes don’t look good as well. They look functional and also cool. You buy that these are things the Norse gods would wear.

THE DESTROYER

One of the biggest threats Thor faces in the film is The Destroyer, which is essentially a 20 foot tall robot with spikes covering his entire body and a face that can blow you up. Seriously. It looks like this and it’s by far the coolest thing in the film.

EASTER EGGS

Much like Iron Man 1 & 2 and The Incredible Hulk… make sure you stay after the credits to catch a neat little Easter Egg. Also an unadvertised cameo from another marvel hero in the middle of the film will keep comic geeks happy.

Overall, Thor is a fun, entertaining and thoroughly geek-satisfying comic book superhero movie and a great way to start the summer blockbuster season.

HOW CAN YOU WATCH IT?

It’s in theatres TODAY!