How The West Was Won - Rango

3 out of 5 Popcorn Kernels

Watch Trailer Here

Rango was not the animation that I wanted to see - but things have a way of changing. I mean, an animated western tale, created by first time animators ILM (International Light & Magic), about a scaley lizard - and a posse of desert animals (none of which possess any Disney/Pixar type cuteness), with a theme that seemed more serious than entertaining...oh, and to be directed by Gore Verbinski (of Pirates of the Carribean fame).

I was quite suprised.


Rango has a depth and sophistication I found rather different than most animated fare. Although it may appear a kids movie, the underlying plot combined present-day complexity with a western's sense of honor. Of course, with characters that appear ripped from a child's nightmare, there would be little product-marketing, so I assume they had to at least make the story appealing across the generation board.


Rango (Johnny Depp), is the name of a chameleon, who begins by giving the audience a monologue of some sort of stage play that is going on in his head. We pull back to see that he is in some sort of tank, and instantly, realize that this tank is in the back of a pickup truck in the desert that goes awry and accidently tosses Rango over unto a desert roadway. He is now rather lost, and very out of his element. He meets an Armadillo named Roadkill (Alfred Molina), who just happens to be in the middle of the road with a tire impression run through his center. They speak about a destiny, what lies across the road, the Spirit of the West, and that there is a town in the distance that he may travel to called Dirt.


And so his adventure begins.

On his journey he narrowly escapes being eaten by a hawk, before discovering another lizard named Beans (Isla Fisher), who has the uncanny habit of blanking out during conversations to a near-petrified state. She is heading to the town known as Dirt, and he follows her. There he heads into a saloon occupied by a list of unsavory characters, and this is where he adopts the persona of Rango - a brave gunslinger who lets nothing stand in his way, except for the victims in his path. During this charade, the hawk returns to the town, remembers Rango, and through a series of mishaps, is accidently killed by Rango, which raises his status to Sherrif of the town, by the Mayor, Tortoise John (Ned Beatty), who resides over this town of Dirt, which Rango discovers, is going bone-dry because of the lack of water in its water reserves.

Johnny...Is that you

The reasons for this dryness sets him on another mission to restore the towns water, but the reasons for it being dry, and the value of the water they already have, invites trouble and scoundrals from other neighboring towns, and Rango is off to another adventure. 


During each of these adventures, there is an owl mariachi band commenting in song and guitars about the Legend of Rango.


Rango is very entertaining, fast paced, quick-witted, and extreemly adult. The look of the film is unique, and rich in detail, and the humor although on the low scale, is pretty funny (sorta sitcom funny). What really caught my attention was the plot. It seemed straight out of Chinatown (the film starring Jack Nicholson), with a western theme thrown in: a loner, a town, a woman, and town corruption. I was enthrawled. I am sure that the complexity of the script is what attracted Johnny Depp to the role - and provided him yet another opportunity to alter his voice into another character.


I haven't seen many westerns, but can immediatly tell that this was a great homage to them, their style, their sense of conviction, and their underlying message of good vs. evil.


Rango may have started off as a legend in his on mind, but he soon be came a hero in mine. 

You Take Me Round, Round, Round...baby! - The Adjustment Bureau

     4 our of 5 Popcorn Kernels

         

Watch Trailer Here

 The heart of The Adjustment Bureau is a Love Story. I just thought I'd warn you.
...and by the way, it's a pretty good one.


Philip K. Dick is an amazing science fiction writer, and when I saw his name as the inspiration to this film, it gave me hope. He creates sci-fi that has a humanity as its creamy and tasty center. Many of his stories have been the muse for films: Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report...and now Adjustment Bureau.

Although the story is very different from the movie - the premise is still there: that in some small way, our destinies are chosen, but in an even smaller part known as "free will" we have the ability to alter it to create a destiny all our own.

This is what happens in the movie when we meet two characters who are destined for greatness - but their ultimate meeting, and continued interactions, may in fact, be a diversion strong enough to shift those destinies in other unknown directions.


The first character is David Morris (Matt Damon), who is on the losing end of a U.S. Senate congressional campaign which he is a candidate. He visits a men's room in the hotel where the campaign is being held, in order to think of what he will say to the public before moving on. And in this restroom, out of one of the stalls, comes his destiny - dressed in high heels and a satin dress no less - in the name of Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt). She's overheard some of his ramblings about what he was going to say to the press and the longer she waited the weirder it would have been to just "pop out". So they talk. He laughs. She explains she has crashed another party in the hotel and must flee. He smiles (and isn't that all that Matt Damon really has to do), and there is an instant connection. Then she is gone.


That inspiration causes David to make a most engaging speech, which swells his popularity when he runs for the same campaign again...then comes the wrinkle: That meeting was not suppose to happen, because now he can't stop thinking about her.

Run Forest...I mean David...Run!

This is where the Adjustment Bureau gets tricky, because in life there can be one event, one meeting, one circumstance, that can divert our lives in whole different directions. The Adjustment Bureau calls this "Chance". Because three years later is when they were really were suppose to meet, in a chance meeting on a bus. But that meeting has to be thwarted - why? Because if they meet for a second time, their connection with each other will become stronger, their influence upon each other will change them from strangers to friends to possible lovers and what was once two separate paths have now become one uncertain one; because they will be on it together.


It is at this time we meet The Adjustment Bureau or "The Men In Hats". Richardson (John Slattery) is one of these men, the leader of sorts, who assigns another adjuster Harry Mitchell (Anthony Mackie), to distract David enough so that he misses the bus on which Elise is riding. Mind you...this is three years later, and David is still awe-struck. When these two meet...oh my goodness, the fireworks may light up the eastern skies. But being an adjuster is a tiring job I would hazard to guess; going through life causing such minor distractions in ordinary lives, so that those distractions can keep these chance meetings from interrupting what appears to be destiny that touches other lives, changing their destiny...and so on, and so on...whew!

Touched By An Angel

Well, Harry misses his chance at distracting David, and he and Elise meet. This causes David to get to work a little earlier than expected because he didn't catch the later bus - and when he gets to his office (because he is now a Senator), he finds his staff has been frozen in time, and dancing around them are these "Men in Hats". David freaks out, and heads for the hills...but he is caught.


In a separate facility, David is told about the Adjustment Bureau, and how his destiny is to be great, but it cannot happen if his continues to see Elise. Her destiny too will be great...if she does not see him. But to David, love creates its own destiny, and although he is warned not to tell her (or his mind will be erased completely), he isn't strong enough to do it. He isn't strong enough to be without her. He isn't strong enough to forget her...and as events unfold, he is on the run - with Elise pulled along with him, as she too is pushed into the back curtain of reality and sees what lies there. She is scared - but she too believes in love. They are already thinking as one.


The Adjustment Bureau is very fast paced, as the two lovers first find the strength to pursue their own paths, and run from the path given them. Anthony Mackie - who plays Harry, the one who misstep at the bus stop caused much of this - soon becomes an ally, and his portrayal of a man who has empathy for his boss and his "client", becomes the voice of the audience. He delivers a great performance, one that is reserved but filled with a quiet inner strength of a man who struggles with decisions he is not sure he can no longer agree with.


Matt Damon isn't doing his Borne-Thing this time, but his versatility as an action hero really pays off in this movie, because we feel his will and determination as an unstoppable force. It is this force, and the inner conflicts these characters have, that make this less of a science fiction adventure (although the various elements are there), it is grounded in this time, this moment, and that makes it real to us too. 


We are running along with them, determined to make it on our own...and if we fail, at least we tried.

One Ring To Rule Them All - The Fighter

       5 out of 5 Popcorn Kernels

See Trailer Here

Just when I thought it was safe to assume that everything about boxing had been done, every Round Girl had carried her last banner, every bloody nose had smeared yet another canvas, every motivated stair-climbing training session had reached its last apex...here comes a new and fresh approach, which taught me, what was old can indeed be new again. 


The Fighter is a different kind of boxing movie - this would be the boxing movie (albeit with a lot more staggering drama) if it were to be directed by, let's say...Francis Ford Coppola of The Godfather series. Here we have a boxing movie, that allows us to root for more than just the boxer. It is about a family, and how boxing itself, has become the protagonist driving a wedge into their seemingly perfectly-dysfunctional world. The hero tries to get out, but they keep pulling him back in, until an outside love interest comes in and shows him a way to lead his own path. It is about an underlying sibling rivalry and loyalty that is tested to its limits. It is about the boxing ring of everyone's life, and how they all fight each day to keep it.


The Fighter is about mainly about two brothers - as the opening sequence will tell you: The older brother Dicky (Christian Bale), was once a great fighter, and HBO is doing a series about him - but not as being a could-be legend who once knocked out Sugar Ray Leonard, but as a present crack-addict and how this drug has carried him (and anyone) down a rabbit hole of destruction. He however, in his Alice-of-Wonderland mind, believes that HBO is there to film his remarkable (and very unlikely) comeback into the ring of boxing. Next to him is his younger brother, whom he trains, and has hopes that he will bring not only himself redemption, but that of his whole family, as the next greatest boxer if the Century; Micky (Mark Wahlberg), who is being promoted by his mother Alice (Melissa Leo), who constantly miss-matches his fight bookings with people that can beat her son to a pulp but still leave him standing long enough to cash the check.


Then comes Charlene (Amy Adams), a barmaid with a bar-mouth and pretty eyes, who allows Micky to take her on a date, and immediately notices that it is not the fights in the ring he has to beat; his biggest competitors is his family. She sees his potential, if only he can get him away from them (and a roster of crazy sisters who look like the rejects from GLEE if it were filmed in the 80's).


And so the fighting begins...

Who Loves Ya Baby

Our main focus becomes the older brother in this story, as he deals with his loyalty in training his brother - which seems to be his only connection into the real world - and his drug addiction. Christian Bale is amazing in this role (he also lost enough weight to make him look like a waif), and his performance is sure to be a contender at the Oscars. He wears so many personalities that I would have loved to have seen the amount of energy it took during the retakes for him to get into character at each scene. Between him and Amy Adams I was mesmerized. For her, it was such a departure from her sweet personality in all her previous movies. She gives such determination in her role that I was really conflicted with who the real Amy Adams was in real life.


Micky is the string that pulls at this family, and the fighting scenes are us rooting less for the fights, and more for his freedom. We want him to win just because it will take him away from his addiction: his family. This is especially so for his mother Alice - and although Melissa Leo is getting a lot of praise for her portrait, and it is well deserved, I felt it paled in comparison with her colleague's. We feel her pain in dealing with this family, and her addiction with trying to make the dysfunction work - because this dysfunction gives her purpose, but she begins to fade into the background as the film ends.


The pacing of The Fighter is very captivating, and the only downside to all of this is the performance by Mark Wahlberg, who's character is dumbed down to a low simmer, and perhaps he should be, because in this family of estrogen and drama, maybe it is best to just disappear. Mark looks like a boxer, and so we believe him, and we admire his restraint, but we are left with concern that Charlene in time will be running his life as much as his present family does.


I was left with a very good feeling at the end of this movie, because it was more than I had expected, and delivered many victories. It showed me that when it comes to family - when one wins, we all win; whether we realize it or not.

Stung Again - Green Hornet

1 out of 5 Popcorn Kernels

See Trailer Here

There are some movies that arrive and I see, who's value is so below the radar that I am tempted to hold back in writing about it - but you can't account for taste, thus I have to give a modest review for all those that actually liked and was entertained by this movie which follows a long list of Superhero films. 


The Green Hornet comes from a radio program of the same name, and eventually from a similar film which starred Bruce Lee (non of which I have experienced). I am more attuned to the reality-based superhero movies which take on a more comic book feel - where situations mimic the lives we all live emotionally (The Dark Knight, Spiderman, Superman), but this movie falls between the realm of reality and slapstick...and not very well I might add. I had assumed that this movie would be one similar in its Suspension of Belief as Kick-Ass or Scott Williams vs The World (both great films), but this one came below My Ex-SuperGirlfriend or Hancock (still both good). This one was not.


This films stars a rich kid (or adult) Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) and his father, James (Tom Wilkinson - Why?) who runs a newspaper, and their coffee maker/chauffeur (really?) Kato (Jay Chou). After his father's untimely death, Britt has to run the paper and handle life of the rich & famous all by himself, so after a night or romping and rowdiness, he decides that the superhero life is for him...and why not bring along a guy that makes a great cup of coffee as your sidekick?

Exterminating Another Scene

Well, what sells a paper better than criminals - and if you can create crime better than the real criminals then wham! the criminals will be after you, which is better than running around the city actually LOOKING for crime. 


So The Green Hornet arrives in the guise of a criminal to...Catch-A-Thief (so to speak). It's a win-win if you ask me. The real criminal however, named Chudnofshy (who eventually becomes Bloodnofsky -  played by Christopher Waltz), is a drug king. Then there is the Evil Attorney, Scanlon (David Harbour), who wants the paper for his own ends; both go against the Green Hornet to advance their evil goals.


Oh yes, there is the love interest of Lenore Case (Cameron Diaz), who's only purpose I could see is to balance out all the testosterone in this feature.


Whew...there you have it. Good vs Evil, Love is in he air, and confusion within the public ensues as to who are the real criminals. The pacing of the movie is very quick, so much so, that at times I was wondering why so much meaninglessness was happening on the screen except to be able to meet the full running time the movie had to reach to be considered a movie and not a commercial. The fight scenes were nice, but I have seen them before. I did find that the sidekick Kato (Jay Chou) was at least an interesting study, and almost wished the roles were reversed, because Britt as the Green Hornet was a little too childish, lacking of skills, and inept to be successful as a superhero of anything. His arch as a playboy-type continues throughout the movie unchanged, while Kato appears very independent at first and has to learn to act as a team player (a very submissive role that I saw as quite deterring, but maybe this is how the radio program worked, but I doubt an Asian filled that voice), and that shift in personality makes him more watchable. 


I also ached for Christopher Waltz who won an Oscar for Inglorious Bastards (was this done as a favor?) who plays his part well with dedication and I could see how fun he would be if this story were a bit more serious, but when everybody is acting like a clown, what's the point of going to the circus? We needed a lion-tamer, a trapeze artist, anything to make this more real; even if it is suppose to be comedic. And I assume because Seth Rogen did his part in writing the screenplay - this was the reason for the miscasting (of himself). A shame. 


But as I have said, this movie appealed to many (based on the opening box office sales). The Rock-Soundtrack will let you know the age group this is catered to. And if recycled action, thin storyline, and great actors taking sub-par roles is for you...well enjoy. 


As for me...watching the butter dry on my popcorn was better entertainment.

She Loves Me...She Loves Me Not... - Blue Valentine

5 out of 5 Popcorn Kernels

See Trailer Here:

There is a scene within Blue Valentine, that depicts a road leading out of town, and a missing dog. The family of the missing dog - soon finds the animal dead along the road.

This is the full premise of Blue Valentine, a movie that elicits the ultimate destruction of a relationship. It is not a sad movie, nor is it a happy one; but that road is one we all travel in a relationship; it can either lead you out - or keep you in. In this movie however - each couple understands the road, but in different ways, and those ways are laid out in a motion picture that will have you thinking and pondering its true meaning well after you have gotten in the car to drive on your own road, in your own destiny. 


Blue Valentine combines two different stories about the same people in the course of a few years of their lives: Dean (Ryan Gossling) is a simple man, with simple values. All he wants is a job and a girlfriend (in that order) - once the job is found as a mover in a moving company, he then goes on pursuit of the girl. That girl is Cindy (Michelle Williams), who is dating the college jock Bobby( Mike Vogel ), but in all actions he just seems to be a distraction. FLASHFOWARD! We meet the same couple with their daughter, speaking once again about the dog, his job, her duties as a mother, and his complacency as a father. She remembers those times in her past when she chose him over the jock, and remembers his efforts at trying to woo her; oh how times have changed - for he has settled into his role as father, dad and bread-winner, and she is waiting for her own transition and a role to settle into - she never thought that THIS would be the end of her storybook romance; where is the sequel for godssake!

Look Out For Love

Blue Valentine is a powerful story, because it does NOT have a storybook ending; it does not have the violins of forgiveness, or the somber good-feel of a romance - but what it does offer is a real-view look into two peoples lives when just living and surviving has become their sole goal in life. It charges along like a slow moving train, where you can see the bridge ahead is out and hangs over a precipice of calamity; but even as it moves, one must continue to live as best one can until the end - but by that time, there has accumulated so much tension, anger, and regret that your eventual fall may be the only excitement left.  


Ryan Gosling as Dean creates an amazing performance, and although his co-star, Michelle Williams, is of equal caliber, you can understand why his Golden Globe nomination was forthcoming. He delivers such a change, such a full range of emotions in such a short span of time; because this relationship doesn't cover decades in their lives, only a few short years but in those years you can see the toll - you can see a man that has settled for what he has, and the fear that it could be changing and his struggle to fight to save his storybook...HIS happy ending.


There is an exchange they have on a drive home where Cindy has bumped into her college jock boyfriend at a grocery store, and he still looks...well...Jocky! She is at once struck by those feelings she had long since smothered (and some secrets within their union). When she mentions it to Dean, she tries to downplay it, but he can see and hear a change in her voice. Her guard is up and he wonders why she told him of their casual meeting in the first place. It's a small town, they were bound to eventually meet anyway, and she knows their history isn't a good one, so why? Eventually that drive becomes another one of tension and escapism.  


In Blue Valentine, that same road leads them to many things; a trip to her parents, a trip out of town, a trip to her place of employment, a trip that he may ultimately travel alone. Each encounter, each stripping away of their lives, each scene of love making (which has gotten a lot of buzz as erotic but really its more of a mental-copulation) which becomes less and less about love and more and more about control when in the beginning it was more about giving in...not giving up. 


It reminded me that in love, we can all travel the same road; but its how we handle the traffic along the way that will determine our ultimate destination.

Tea for T-T-T-Two - The Kings Speech

4 out of 5 Popcorn Kernels

See Trailer Here

How do they do it?

On paper, the Kings Speech sounds like it would be such a droll event (and in some instances it verged on that), but in the hands of a few British actors and a well thought-out screenplay, this has become a delightful movie of escapism. I wasn't surprised with this cinema achievement, but I was curious to see how a movie that didn't have any of the American elements of movie-making (Good vs Evil, Romance, Action Scenes, or High Drama), was gonna pan out; and of course the British didn't disappoint, and we have a movie that is charged by the heart and soul, where doing good for the greater good is enough.

The Kings Speech is about King George VI (Colin Firth) who in the beginning of the film is starting out as just as Prince Albert (his father is hanging on the thread of death) the second son in line for the title of King. The first son is Prince Edward (Guy Pierce), a man who may have the yearning to be the next King, but is single, and has his attentions on a divorced woman, which may lead him down the wrong path for the monarchy; Kings are not to wed women of a divorced nature (this is Britain afterall). But Prince Albert is hoping all will be forgiven, because if not, then he would be in line for the Kingship, and he doesn't want it, because as seen in many of the speeches he has made as part of his duties, he has a quite noticeable "stammer" (or stutter as we Americans say) - and that too, is quite unbecoming of the British hierarchy. 

During these trying times of speeches and public engagements, Prince Albert's wife, Elizabeth (Helen Bonham Carter) has been with him in search of someone who can cure him of this runaway-tongue; and comes across someone who's methods are quite controversial, a Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), who lives modestly with his wife and kids and treats Elizabeth as he does anyone; except for a bow or two here and there in respect of her position. She likes this, and has her husband come to see him, and through some dramatic scenes, he comes to trust this man; especially when it appears as if the people of England will not have Prince Edward as King after all - he is so in love with this divorcee, that he gives up the position to marry her.

Whew! Between the family values, the rich and the poor, the Prince and the Pauper, and the utter secrecy that has to be attained during this training; we have a movie that moves fluidly, with ramparts of comedy mixed in, and a closeness among people all around that is rare in a motion picture. Many British films are like this - taking the underdog and rallying him around people that believe he can do what may seem impossible. That type of film can make an audience also rally for the hero as if they too were a part of the crowd.

And all of this is happening in The Kings Speech, at a time when Hitler is gearing up for World War II - that background tension could almost be strung out into another film, but it gives the scenes a since of urgency, since the new King will undoubtedly be giving some very important announcements in his future.

The actors - all my favorites - are a marvel to behold. Geoffy Rush as the doctor is amazingly calm and real in this film, as he treats everyone the same, but has the same faith in human nature; that we can all achieve anything we want if we have the faith of those around us. Helen as the wife is so regal and staunch that I was at one amazed at her acting ability to melt into any character so fully that one forgets what the real Helen is really like. And of course there is Colin Firth (who as of this writing has won a 2010 Golden Globe Award for Best Actor), takes on a handicap with dignity, and gives a performance that shows he has studied the nuances of both that affliction as well as those of the monarchy, and does it without making either seem like a burden.

At times The Kings speech moves along slowly, but that is because as an American, we are used to plots being driven by action or drama, and this is very emotionally driven. We are a fly on the wall of their lives, and sometimes when a thing isn't jumping out at us, the mind may tend to wander...at least mine did. But that happens when the the characters have become real, and as they move on in their lives, and encounter real issues, we are right there with them hoping for he best.

...and this one delivers...not pass the tea and crumpets.

Oh, what a tangled web we weave... - TANGLED

4 out of 5 Popcorn Kernals

See Trailer Here

Animation is not what it used to be.

From the days of rotoscoping and acetate-cell paintings to the newest advent of computer imagery, animaiton has taken new wings in the realm of cinema that have gone beyond those of childhood entertainment and have become more for the adult audience than the little munchkins from the past. No other company can achieve this delicate balance than that of Disney - with their ability to pull a string of emotions from one production that can attract young and old alike.

I had my misgivings when seeing Tangled - a remake of the Repunzel tale (which was the original name) - because I have become a Pixar champion, but since seeing both Despicible Me and Tangled (and The Princess and the Frog), I was reminded that a good screenplay with clear sides of good and evil always makes a good story regardless of the medium used. Disney knowsa how to do this, and in this fairy tale, they are no less successful.

Seeing Eye 2 Eye and Hair 2 Hair

Tangled is the story about a young princess who was born with the gift of the fountain of youth locked within her hair - which only a certain song can cause to extract. This child is stolen by an old woman; Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy) who knows the secret, and guises as the young girls mother, who keeps Repunzel in a tower and away from the world so that she can stay young forever. on her 18th Birthday, Repunzel (Mandy Moore) wants to leave the tower and explore the kingdom just beyond the horizon of her window, but Mother Gothel refuses, but does go to make her her favorie meal which is a 2-day walk for the ingredients. During that time a rouge thief named Flynn Ryder (Zachary Levi) who is in hiding, runs into Repunzel's tower thinking it a good place to evade his captors, only to discover Repunzel...and so the tale begins.

I went into this movie thinking it would be a childish fanfare, and was pleasently suprised at what I encountered. There was the downsize of the "white-washing" of Disney, but we are used to that in the Magic Kingdom (even with The Princess and the Frog - which I will comment on in Disporia soon). But this is a FANTASY as well as a FARY TALE, so sure the beckground characters can elicit a few rainbows of color here and there...I'm just saying. But the overall message in this movie is a very adult one.

I've studied animation for a few years in college, and the mannerisms and direction in this movie is very good. The jokes are timed right, and the pacing is good. The tention that Mother Gothes brings reminded me of the evil Queen in The Little Mermaid and a little of Snow White's - her actions are very modern (which is difficult to explain - but true), in that we expect and are suprised at how she is treating this young woman and the way she twists her words to keep Repunzel in check - and even later, when she  discovers Flynn Ryder having taken her. I was moved right up until the very end of this movie. And suprisingly, I had not known the plot of this tale except for her mother climbing Repunzel's hair (this was not one of my bedtime stories).

The 3D is adequate, and actually very lovely in some cases. But as I have discovered (and you will too, when you take the shades off), is that the colors and hues that Disney has put into place on this film, have been sourly muted to darker tones because of the glasses. But with such a fast-moving and very touching tale, it was forgiven - and there is a lantern scent in this movie that uses the 3D to full effect and is amazing; I only wish there were more moments like that in the movie.

All in all, this is a great tale to see. The only large downside of it all, is the musical numbers: nothing to be remembrered. I don't know what happened to Disney after Beauty and the Beast, but their musical animation series have fallen way below expectations when it comes to memoriable and moving melodies. It's a good think that your mind will only ignore them, and remember a great tale about another little plucky girl who grows up to become a woman, and the power she has in choosing the man she wants to be with her.

My stomach gets all tangled with emotions just thinking about it.