Trailer Tuesday: Looper

One film that's been making waves at the Toronto International Film Festival this past week is Looper: the ambitious time-hopping sci-fi, starring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. From visionary writer/director, Rian Johnson, Looper looks set to thrill with its no-holds-barred high concepts and wiz-bang action set pieces, all the while walking the very thin tight rope that is making time travel work. Here's the surprisingly detailed synopsis, from Wikipedia:

"In a futuristic gangland in the year 2044, a 25-year-old assassin named Joseph Simmons (Gordon-Levitt) works for a mafia company in Kansas City as a "Looper." Loopers kill and dispose of agents sent by their employers from corporate headquarters in Shanghai from the year 2074. Loopers are foot soldiers, paid on the condition that all targets must never escape. When Simmons recognizes his target as a future version of himself (Willis), his older self escapes after incapacitating him. The failure of his job causes his employers to come after him, forcing him to fight for his life as he hunts his older self" - Wikipedia

And now the pretty darn impressive trailer: 



Breakdown:

• 0:19 - "I don't want to talk about time travel" -- are we getting a tongue-in-cheek, direct reference to how difficult time travel is to explain and how Looper's going to potentially side step that? Meta nod + cut the crap = awesome.
• 0:24 - Yes, it is hard to believe that this is Joseph Gordon-Levitt, what with all the digital refiguring of his face to look like a younger Willis. Ah, Technology, will your limits ever be reached?
• 1:01 - English actress Emily Blunt co-stars as Sara, Simmon's love interest it seems.
• 1:04 - The tone of the city is said to be a mix of futuristic and retro themes, particularly focusing on a 1940s and 50s vibe with architecture, clothing and even the "gangster lifestyle".
• 1:21 - Hell yeah; The Newsroom star, Jeff Daniels portrays what looks like the Looper leader.
• 1:35 - Spin shots, motion runs -- Johnson's directional style will certainly be present.
• 2:09 - Perhaps time travel isn't the only Sci-Fi trope we'll be seeing as telekinesis and other physics-bending abilities come into play.
• 2:12 - Oh and Burlesque. Very physics-bendy. Well, bendy at least.
• 2:24 - The flashy title card is a refreshing break from the looming, solid metal fonts of the big-budget blockbusters of late, presenting a slight indie feel to this one (hence its place at opening TIIF).

And you don't even have to wait long for what is already being described as "this generation's Matrix", as it releases 28th of September. Originality, talent and a hell of a lot of potential; definitely one not to be missed. 

ATR

Step back in time with Trailers of the past!

RE:View: Mission:Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Minor Spoilers Forth-Coming

Doing a fourth instalment of a well known franchise is always a risky move in Hollywood, especially when that 4th film is being directed by someone who's previous works have all been purely animated (Brad Bird). Add to that the fact that the flagship star of it all, Tom Cruise, is now getting on a bit (coming on to 50 this year), and you've got yourself a shaky foundation to start from. But luckily, M:I - Ghost Protocol doesn't just excite with its baffling gadgetry and all-out epic stunts, but also entertains and delivers something a little more than just adrenaline action.

   Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his highly skilled spy team, the IMF, are shut down after being accused of bombing the Kremlin during a simple intel mission. Now underground, the group (mostly fresh faces) find themselves traversing the globe in search of the conspiracy that led to their current rogue status, and discover that the entire world is at stake; with only them to stop it, and everyone on their backs.

    Within the first 10 minutes the tone is set and the pace identified, as Simon Pegg's Benji and Paula Patton's Carter hatch a daring escape plan to bust Ethan out of a high security Russian Prison. It doesn't take long for us to establish Bird's style with a  humour fuelled action sequence played out delightfully between the banter of Cruise and Pegg, with the two agents squabbling aimlessly while prisoners riot to the sound of Dean Martin's "Ain't That a Kick In The Head". From this early scene alone, it's obvious that Bird has defied the odds.

Holy Shiiiiiii...

 From there on, it carries this sense of entertainment into some truly spectacular set pieces; the highly publicised and highly high acrobats of Cruise around Dubai's notorious Burj Khalifa, (which includes some terrifying "edge of the seat" moments), an intense simultaneous dual-con scene involving deadly assassins and silicon masks, and a desert storm chase that's sure to get the popcorn flowing. With all this fast paced action, you'd think the plot would fail, but thanks to some neatly placed and neatly written dialogue the story hangs on just enough for it to be clear, but not patronising.

    Of course, Cruise keeps Ethan the same as ever, the all-american hero type, albeit slightly bitter since the whole "Your team is shut down" thing and an apparent "Your wife has left you" issue. Naturally, the guy's going to be a little pissed. Remarkably though, he's still able to keep up with the hugely demanding physical stunts without the aid of "Cutting Corners" CGI and gels well with the rest of the team. Pegg, as always, nails the comic relief of gadget geek Benji, with just the right expressions, tone and timing to fit into the story without becoming a plot device, while Jeremy Renner's secretive Agent Brandt compliments this during the third act, simultaneously pulling off the kick-ass moments too. But no team would be complete without the female companion, and Paula Patton manages to keep up with the boys, despite the predictability and misfired themes of her role.

I can see where this is going...

   As the third act take shape, the pace remains the same, but the writing weakens slightly. There's a couple of predictable turns (Of course, the woman has to seduce the enemy... *Groan*), and mismatched situations where the gadgetry steps out of realism and borders on "Spy Kids" territory, which seem cheap compared to the gripping nature of the previous scenes. The ending, while cheesy as it gets, still has a certain roundness to it, although it doesn't try to bend the genre with any unexpected final thrills, but I guess that's not what you're paying for.

  For a film that had such low expectations (from me at least), these discrepancies aren't too major when you consider how well the rest of the pay-off was. For a big-budget action movie, Ghost Protocol pulls enough of the right punches to secure it a success among a graveyard of failures within the same genre. While it may not nail everything, at the very least it's got some of the best action and surprisingly good laughs that I've seen in a long time, without sacrificing too much of the narrative.


3.75/5 Stars


ATR

RE:View: In Time

Time is a valuable thing, no matter how you spin it. It could be spent watching movies, much like sci-fi/action flick, In Time, starring Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried. Alternatively it could be spent reading reviews, much like this one. Or even, it could be spent protesting against corporate greed, much like the recent Occupy Wall Street campaign sweeping over the world. Because if In Time doesn't soar in some aspects, it certainly makes up for it in relevancy, giving us a tale that speaks volumes of social and economic inequality in a time that reeks of the stuff.

Taking place in an undisclosed point in the future, In Time has one very central idea; time is money. People are bio-engineered to stop ageing post-25, and instead must rely on how much time there is left on their forearm's ticker until they kick the bucket. But while some of the world live in poverty (whereby absolute poverty = sure death), the upper classes coast by with a potential of immortality. But one man defies that lifestyle, after being framed for murder. And he, along with gal-pal Sylvia, will stop at nothing to tear down the rotten system and give hope to the struggling people.

When everyone is 25, who can tell between mother, wife or daughter?

 That man is Will Salas, played by none other than pop-superstar Justin Timberlake. Still fresh from his sudden change of career paths, Timberlake gives a solid performance that (while not quite a match for his smart and smooth delivery in The Social Network) proves further his place in today's Hollywood scene. After a slight weak patch in the introductory slum scenes, Timberlake comes into his own with action, romance and emotion as we see Will's journey to truly "stick it to the man", taking him on risky poker games, car chases and lots and lots of running.

Sexy Back: a predictable couple, but gorgeous none-the-less.

So it's a good job his running mate, Amanda Seyfried, is also on par, giving us the naive rich girl, Sylvia Weis, as she comes to terms with the fact her lifestyle really might be superficial. The contrast of their characters gives the narrative a neat dynamic of opposites attracting and an obvious romantic element that works, despite the predictability, while they work together as a futuristic Bonnie and Clyde/Robin Hood. Then Cillian Murphy pulls off a great show with his head TimeKeeper role, (a cop) managing to really embody a 50 year old man in a 25 year old's body, through tone and movement with his deadpan way.

The setting and ideas involved are really unique, and will keep you interested despite the numerous plot holes and continuity errors that pop up. It's good to see an entirely fresh and independent story hit our screens for once, as opposed to the wave of adaptations, reboots and true-stories recently, so kudos to writer/director Andrew Niccol. Could you just imagine, a world where time is your money? Haunting, deep and somehow eerily believable despite its ridiculousness.

Released at any other time, In Time may not have been as poignant, being seen as merely some science fiction fun with a fast pace and neat scripting. However, as mentioned, in these times of economic imbalance the film stands for a lot more, even going to the extent of a near-social commentary of a film. Whether this was pure coincidence or an intention of Niccol's (who previously wrote The Truman Show) is unknown, but it sure gives it a relatable and intelligible edge that it may have lacked otherwise.

There still remains a plethitude of minor nuances to be found, such as a weak sub-plot, loose ends that never get fully established and an ending quite unfit to the rest of the tone. A couple things get dusted off in cheap ways, which seem like a harsh rushed way of finishing for certain parts and some directions don't quite justify themselves to full extent.

In Time is, above all things, a thought-provoking piece of cinema, blending a unique sci-fi plot with real world issues into a quick and punctual movie. It's got a real sense of independence, never borrowing from an identified source too long to be noticeable (although the nods to Logan's Run, Bonnie and Clyde etc are unavoidable) and when action picks up the pulse starts racing after some subtle subdued moments of tension. Slight niggles bring the overall quality down though and its running time of 109 minutes seems a little too generous.

Nevertheless, In Time is a film certainly worthy of your time, if just for the coolness of its plot and the significance of era-specific themes.
3.5/5 Stars

ATR

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RE:View: Immortals

The hype based around Greek-mythology-action film Immortals was a tale of two halves. The first, with obvious reason, was whether this could be the natural successor to 2006's swords-and-sandals epic, 300, boasting a visual flair and some truly spectacular slow-mo fight sequences. The other buzz-inducing topic was its lead actor, Henry Cavill. The rising British born star (a relative unknown for most) will be donning the cape and tights for Zach Snyder's Man of Steel in 2013, and as such, Immortals was seen as a proving ground for the 28 year old, as to whether his performing prowess can lend itself to a believable and relatable Clark Kent. While they're both lofty asks, it's safe to say that Immortals does indeed deliver to a certain extent on either side.

   The story is straight forward enough, as it follows Greek hero Theseus (Cavill) on his journey to prevent the evil forces of Hyperion (Mickey Rourke, no less) from unleashing the God-forsaken (literally) Titans and bringing about war between the worlds of God and Man. Putting new spins on ancient legends along the way (such as the Minotaur), Theseus finds himself in love with a worshipped oracle (Freida Pinto), leading a mass army of men, and battling alongside the gods themselves.

The plot and story-telling, however, doesn't hold so strong against its epic prose. The script can be sloppy in places to the point where things get a little tedious, with the narrative feeling more like a scrapbook of bits and pieces, rather than a ravelling novel of grandeur. Sure, Theseus is out adventuring the lands, but there's a lot of to and fro between places, a back and forth cycle of sets and scenes.  And although they look great, thanks to the unique style of director Tarsem Singh, the golden back drops and luscious colour contrasts get tired because of these flaws, teasing the viewer with a fresh, even grander picture on the horizon, but never pulling through.

Visually Stunning

That's not to say that the art direction is sub-standard by any means. Singh has a definite vision throughout the film, which is evident in the richness of cinematography involved. Despite the repetitive discrepancies, we're given some bizarrely fantastic situations to look at that will resonate in the mind for a little while, be it a clash of golden-clad gods or the sight of blackened drenched heroes by the sea. Coupled with the mesmerising costume design, ranging from red, vibrant Indian gowns and gold, shining armours to the swathe of  the iron grey drab of Hyperion's menacingly masked army, and you've got a sure spectacle of a movie.

At its heart, of course, Immortals is an action film, taking no prisoners in its execution of blood, guts and gore, as warriors exchange blows and gods exchange mega-blows. Masterfully choreographed and beautifully shot, these battle sequences provide the movie's best moments - especially when gods get involved. Heads explode, flesh rips and screams fly; often in a show of awesome slow-mo. It may reverberate that of 300's unforgettable action scenes, but when it looks this spectacular and exciting, who can blame them?

May the best god win!

 But when we get outside of the action, the quality sags again. It's not that these parts aren't necessary, it's just they are staggeringly boring. Don't get me wrong, I hate pure action movies where the characters don't stop for a breather once in a while, but here it just doesn't flow so well. And its for one good reason; I don't particularly care about these people. The characters are never given enough chance to flesh themselves out, coming off with an alarming lack of depth. Theseus never questions "Why me?", we never really know why Hyperion is the evil bastard he is, and the attempts of humour by Theseus's newly befriended roguish thief fall flat because his personality is so one dimensional.

A small step...

  Regardless of the near transparency of his character, Cavill manages to pull off a decent performance, playing out emotions of anger, sorrow and determination confidently and fluently, especially in this selfless, leader-warrior role. His ability to perform well in action is an indication of his overall talent, proving himself worthy to be the next Son of Krypton as well as everyone's favourite Daily Planet reporter. Meanwhile Mickey Rourke gives us a frighteningly grim Hyperion, capable of the dirtiest of deeds thanks to his dedicated execution, and John Hurt drops by as the archetypical old man with his usual graceful ease.

If you just take Immortals as what it is - 110 minutes of action pumped, CGI prettiness - then you can't help but walk away from the cinema happy. Those hoping for a bit more depth and a journey into some deep mythology should look elsewhere, but at least stick around to check out Cavill's performance. 3D, once again, is a 'meh', but the look and feel of the thing is a rare breed entirely and one that can be admired for many a year.

It may not be winning awards any time soon, but at least it's not Clash of The Titans:
3/5 Stars

  Either way, I think Supes is in safe hands...


ATR

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Trailer Wednesday: The Avengers

HELL-FRIGGIN-YES! The OFFICIAL trailer for The Avengers has arrived and is jam packed with awesome. I think I can skip the synopsis, so shall we begin?
(Full screen please. It deserves it!)



Breakdown, anyone? Hit the jump for it!

Trailer... Thursday?: The Hunger Games

Yes, The Hunger Games teaser has finally arrived. Are you ready for one whole minute of "Strong-minded girl running round a burning forest with a bow and arrow"? Because I surely am! Synopsisation Time:

"Katniss Everdeen takes her sister's place in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to death on live television. The story is in a post-apocalyptic setting in which the country of Panem contains twelve districts, with the Capitol in the center. The Capitol controls the Hunger Games in a reminder of the failed rebellion against the Capitol 74 years ago." - Wikipedia

And some personal points of my own:

Katniss Looks Perfect
Obviously the main part of this trailer is our hero Katniss herself, portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence. Now I for one had my doubts to begin with (Lawrence was a natural blonde, *gasp*), but the film makers have totally nailed the look in terms of what I had in my head when reading the books. And the best thing is she looks grimy; broken, tough, edgy. I had these horrible visions of a "Glamorous" take on The Hunger Games, another dull attempt to take a great series and turn it into another Twilight, but fortunately this trailer looks to be taking it the other, proper, way. Of course, they've left her eyes blue (brown in the books), but I'll cope.

The Little Things
As a big fan of the books, my eyes were peeled throughout the trailer for canonical references and luckily, it didn't disappoint. The orange back-pack, given to each contestant at the start of the games makes a welcome appearance and the mocking-jay pin at the end heavily reflects that of the books. Also, that whistle at the end has got to be Rue's; a young girl Katniss allies with in the arena. Goosebumps a-plenty to be had from that tune...

The Direction Style
I know, I know: it's only a minute long clip, but I think what we're seeing here is deeply representing what else we can expect in terms of direction and style. Just look at how the camera shakes and wobbles and the use of CGI (falling tree). Again, going to the point of "non-glamorising" the production, this holds true here too; shots that look rough and sketchy, mirroring that of Katniss's personality versus that of the perfect Capitol (in which I'm hoping shots there will be all straight up and professional, just to further this subtext). Looking too much in to it? Never!

Gale's Voice-Over
That's certainly Gale (Liam Hemsworth), Katniss' hunting buddy talking over the teaser, most likely taken from a scene just after she is chosen to enter the games. I'm not going to lie, it does sound slightly wooden compared to the dramaticness the dialogue on page might have suggested, and kind of unnecessary. Hopefully the film won't be littered with cheesey voice-overs like this (I doubt it would), becasue I've become very wary of them ever since The Last Airbender. *Shudders*

That's all for today's off-schedule trailer, but keep coming back for more of that informative-movie goodness. Also, whenever a proper, full trailer drops for this (I predict late Oct/early Nov), I'm sure to break it down with tons of background knowledge and all that razzle-dazzle. But for now, tar-ah, and may the odds be ever in your favour.


ATR


Also, fancy new follow button on the left! Ka-ching!

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RE:View: iBoy

iBoy is a short novel by acclaimed young-adult author, Kevin Brooks. The premise is exactly what the title suggests; a teenage boy is granted the powers of an iPhone after an "accident" embedded one of Apple's popular mobile device into his brain. The boy, Tom Harvey, must now work out his powers (including zapping dudes, hacking into phones and surfing the web through his mind, all while keeping up an impenetrable electrical skin) and use them to right the wrongs of his gritty London council estate. But he'll soon learn that his powers might just be a curse rather than a blessing...

    It's a fun idea that in the wrong hands could end up being a little childish or even camp, but luckily Brooks keeps some very adult themes running through, such as gang violence, drugs and rape. I for one was certainly not expecting this level of grittiness when I first picked up the book, and have to say I was not quite ready for the many f-bombs that started dropping. Plus there is a sense of good and evil throughout that questions our hero's morals as he fights not only the gangs, but himself for his love, Lucy.

  iBoy feels like a very internal story about the main character, Tom/iBoy, as he struggles to cope with his abilities in the dangerous and violent world just outside his flat. As a first person novel, it delves deep into the protagonist's feelings and emotions, making for some emotive reading outside of the few action sequences. And the structure as a whole takes a unique turn with chapters listed in binary code (10011, 10100 etc) and a variety of relevant quotes at the start of each chapter, often involving gangs, technology or feelings.

    At times it can be light hearted with strains of humour and pop-culture references (Spider-Man gets mentioned more that a few times), and then take a heavy, darker tone as iBoy attempts to take down the gang underworld. In between this there's a lot of filler that at times doesn't seem particularly productive to the overall narrative, but is still easy page-turning fodder.

     But when the story hits climax point, things get incredibly tense and will have you on the edge of your seat (despite the near-twist that borders on cheesy). Once its done however, I doubt it'll stick in your mind that long and isn't exactly what I'd call re-read material, but it works as a nice little hero-complex story to wind down with. I'm not sure whether it would've worked out better as a graphic novel of some sort, due to its firm "superhero origin story" roots, but that's an argument for another day. For now, I'll just accept it as a decent emotive story about love, fear, good and evil, that thankfully isn't what the cover might suggest.

6.5/10

RE:View: Sucker Punch

If I asked you to think of every action movie convention you could, and then told you that they would all be in one movie, what would you say? No way, right? Well director Zack Snyder has attempted just that in his latest cinema outing, Sucker Punch. A hybrid between fantasy/action and thriller/sci-fi, Sucker Punch aims for the same mind-bending plot devices seen in the likes of Inception, but with all the heavy action, can the story keep up?

    The tale follows 5 girls :

• Emily Browning as Babydoll
• Abbie Cornish as Sweet Pea
• Jena Malone as Rocket
• Vanessa Hudgens (Yep - from High School Musical!) as Blondie
• Jamie Chung as Amber

 Locked up in a mental asylum, they attempt to escape by using the power of their minds to find five items that will set them free. Ever seen Rugrats? Well the way that they imagine stuff around them when they're playing is kind of like what happens here, just with more violence and scantily-clothed women. This complex idea however, doesn't always work and will leave you wondering why the hell a battle between a girl and 3 huge Gatling gun-wielding samurai's just took place.

    However, the style and action of these bizarre fight scenes really can't be flawed. Every battle runs smoothly with slow-mo cuts, close up combat and some stunning camera work in places to capture the beautiful choreography at work. Action-junkies will feel right at home here as fights with dragons, steam-punk German zombies and robots, unfold into some truly awesome set-pieces.

The action is crazy-awesome

          As for the multi-layered plot setup, it seems to struggle at times. Most things look to be based on implying things, rather than actually executing them which creates some plot holes and bad pacing issues. If you looked deep into it, there are some real serious themes of rape and abuse going on, but unfortunately these aren't built upon largely due to the 12A rating, leaving the finished product slightly sloppy. Plus the fairytale setup of "3 problems" (i.e. the three pigs houses) gets tiresome after a while and feels like the easy route of plot progression that really doesn't benefit the wannabe-complex script.

          The girls (although none really stand out) give fairly decent performances and manage to carry it well enough. Some more dialogue during fight scenes could have helped build some chemistry between them all though, and a couple characters seem a bit dispensable and only there to make up numbers (namely Hudgens and Chung's roles). On the whole though, the acting is fine.

You can't deny them their hotness...

     I can see what Snyder is getting at here and when closely analysed this could be viewed as a master-piece, but obviously the everyday movie-goer isn't going to get that deep, or even the critics. It seems a bit too like Snyder's film and no one else's, which is why it comes off a little rough. Granted, Snyder's cinematography and imagery is spot on and the action is handled expertly, but that's not going to satisfy everyone, especially those who came for a "mind-bending vision of reality" and instead got what came off like a video-game adaptation. I guess some slack should be given due to the fact that this is the first time Snyder's using his own material and can be somewhat forgiven due to his lack of guidance in the story-telling department this time round.

3/5 Stars - It's certainly fun to watch, just don't go expecting the next Shutter Island.

What did HeSaidSheSaid think of Sucker Punch? Click here to find out.