Lights, Camera, BURN

The Hunger Games franchise has become a great success in Hollywood out of nowhere. The first movie opens to more than $150 million and Jennifer Lawrence wasn't even as big as now. So it's a no-brainer for Lionsgate to milk the money while they can resulting in a two-parter finale Mockingjay, based on a lackluster book (IMHO). Let's blame it all on the boy who lived. This chapter introduces new players most notably Julianne Moore and Natalie Dormer. What I loved about The Hunger Games is that they successfully established strong women characters without even trying that hard (Wonder Woman, specifically asked for a woman director--which I don't mind. But that seems like a stunt decision to top Marvel).

Mockingjay - Part 1 continues the story right after Catching Fire, after Katniss "single-arrowedly" destroyed the Games forever. She and Finnick (in a criminally reduced role), was saved but Peeta and Johanna Mason was captured by the Capitol led by President Snow. Katniss now is projected to be the symbol of rebellion for District 13, led by President Alma Coin. Like usual, she's helped by Haymitch (also criminally reduced role), Effie (surprisingly expanded role), Plutarch (one of the last Phillip Seymour Hoffman's roles) and add the camera crew led by Cressida (Margaery Tyrell gone badass).

Mockingjay basically has no story. It's--at tops--a first and second act of something bigger. It's like when you go to a Romeo and Juliet play, and you don't see them die. Parting the film into two gives a false suspense as well. Rather than caring for the story, you're concerned where they're going to leave you on the cliff (wordplay--cliffhanger, got it? *smirks), same disease that plagues The Desolation of Smaug but at least that Hobbit-level stellar film has an amazing climactic scene with the titular subjects. But to console you, Mockingjay is a highly crafted Hollywood blockbuster that is deep on smart political issues. Like the film before, the film drags when they start talking in the love scenes. "you only kiss me when I'm in pain" bursts into a hysteria of laughter

The performance of the actors, especially--ESPECIALLY Jennifer Lawrence is amazing. If there's a category for Best Blockbuster Performance at the Oscars, you could bet all your savings and pension that Jennifer Lawrence would win. She showed determination and vulnerability that is so hard to project. Another terrifyingly great performance is Donald Sutherland and Julianne Moore. There's this one scene where two Oscar winners and a four-time nominee were discussing something at a meeting table. Add a host and you get your Oscars Roundtable video from The Hollywood Reporter. Story-wise, Mockingjay is flawed from the source material. The book was definitely not in the leagues with the other two. It has too many ideas, too many things, too many characters. I was hoping that the movie would fix those and in a small way, they did. And bro, that last fifteen minutes was so great that you hoped you're sitting at a 3.5-hour film that ties up everything. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1: rated 3.5/4

Next post:
SURPRISE!
I don't actually know but BRO,
HAVE YOU SEEN THE FORCE AWAKENS TRAILER?
BECAUSE THAT'S LITERALLY THE ONLY THING I CAN THINK OF RIGHT NOW

Lottery Ticket

Last week, I saw Interstellar again for the second time. And I still want to see it for the third time. Apart from that, I struggled in choosing between Nightcrawler and The Judge. Nightcrawler has Jake Gyllenhaal in full-on McConaissance mode and I've been hearing nothing but good things about The Judge. But I kinda want myself to be exposed to Gyllenhaal's madness than Downey's usual swagger. So, there I was 8.30 pm in a cinema (a good one too) watching Nightcrawler. I actually have very little idea about the film since I only watched the brilliantly creepy teaser trailer. I was definitely in for a treat.

The story revolves around Lou Bloom, a smooth-talking, unnoticed criminal of the night, stealing fences and then selling them to some builders. One time, he stumbled upon a freelance camera crew, shooting breaking news for the morning news. He gained interest in that and started his own amateur crew of two in his old car. He began to build a partnership with one of the TV channel and legalizing every deed he did.

One thing for sure, Jake Gyllenhaal is AWESOME. He really immersed himself with Lou Bloom. I'd choose this over his work in Prisoners last year. His speech, his movements is just creepily perfect. I'd be glad to see him recognized in the awards season but the competition, man. It's tough. His crazy performance brings out the greatness in his co-stars as well like Rene Russo and a brief Bill Paxton. But the one that could really be in the scene with him on the same level is Riz Ahmed, his 30-bucks-a-night employee. His last work, The Reluctant Fundamentalist is on my watchlist now. The film is unsettling. It gets to the point where you couldn't root for the lead actor. But it means that the film really involves you. It is a thrilling, dark drama about ambition and moral. It is also a critique to the media who will do anything for the sake of ratings, not the integrity of the news or the moral issue at hand. The film is sometimes hard to watch but it's just so damn good to see. Nightcrawler: rated 4/4

It seems like all the movie I watch lately are rated 4/4. Is it that's so easy to please?

Next up:
Mockingjay Part  1

The Park is WIDE OPEN

This is me, after watching the trailer and waiting for next year

I have my Nightcrawler review in the works. But this is a pressing matter. So, you know that the trailer for Jurassic World dropped out of nowhere an hour ago. I was still processing everything I saw within those 2.40 mins (times 5--Yes I watched it five times more, I'd watch more but wifi's being a huge bitch here). Verdict? As a boy who was deeply affected by Jurassic Park; as a boy whose dream job was an archaeologist because of that hit film; as a boy who memorized every dinosaur there is; as a boy who dragged his parents to museums to see dinosaur skeletons; as a boy whose daily job was drawing dinosaurs in epic battles (VELOCIRAPTOR VS. SPINOSAURUS!): It's pretty disappointing. Take a look at it and gimme your opinions.



Trust me, Universal (and apparently Legendary) could get me in theatres just with their 15-second tease with a haunting piano arrangement of John Williams' JP theme. But this full length trailer, released eight months prior the release date, clearly killed/handicapped the goodwill I had for this film. Don't get me wrong, I will still be there on (Japanese) opening day (FUCKING AUGUST 8). But like the future, we know it's gonna end sometime but we soldier on. So do Jurassic World, it might be bad but in Spielberg we trust. I'll break down TWO things that bugged me. Only TWO, but might be the biggest issues of all.

CGI Over-Reliance

The original Jurassic Park was 21 years ago. But the computer graphics still hold up until now. It looks like something they did yesterday. But 21 years later, why are we stuck with worse CGI quality? That picture above is definitely a homage to the stunning original scene where Dr. Grant was running with Lex and Tim and then there were horde of similar kind and then a T-Rex! The scene definitely pay homage to that, but the computer graphics seemed to pay homage to Terra Nova, which is the last Spielberg-produced property to pay homage to. And don't get me started on that Seaworld attraction. Okay, you ask for it. (Okay you didn't but I'm happy to oblige)

Every thing in this scene seemed off. The dinosaur's movement is off. The stadium structure is off. Even that wet shark seemed off. Let's just hope that this isn't the finished product. But even if it isn't why bother showing this imperfect scene to us? GUYS DON'T MESS WITH MY FEELINGS. I'm very vulnerable right now. You know what I miss? Practical effects. The Hobbit trilogy made me miss practical effects the most. Those films, although awesome, look artificial as fuck.

A genetically-modified what now?

I thought they ditched this plot. This may be a break-thru or a creative brilliance if I'm not a dinosaur fan back when I was still a boy. But I'm gonna put this on the WTF shelf along with Papa Terminator, replacing Luthor Zuckerberg which has dissolved. AND HYBRID OF WHAT AND WHAT EXACTLY. DON'T YOU DARE BRING UP THAT DINO-HUMAN HYBRID. Okay Marcel, inhale-exhale. Inhale-exhale. You're becoming that nerd who rages on everything that's wrong in the world that you don't want to be. Inhale-Exhale.

But despite these life-halting discoveries, we have some things to rejoice as well.
- It stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas-Howard, two magnificent actors
- Michael Giacchino is taking composer duty from John Williams. His reworked theme is easily the best thing from the trailer
- IT'S A SEQUEL TO JURASSIC PARK
- It couldn't be as strange as JPIII right? That telephone ringing from a Spinosaur stomach and shit. (But that Pterodactyl bridge sequence is ah-may-ZING)

The future doesn't seem that bleak then. At least not Genisys-level bleak. That film has the actors saving the show if it fails.

EDIT one hour after posting and thoroughly digesting the trailer:
WE HAVE A LOT TO BE EXCITED ABOUT THIS
The last minute of the trailer is pretty solid. If you chose to accept the ridiculousness of the first minute, then you're in for a treat.

But, I guess the only things we can do right now are
HOLD ON TO YOUR BUTTS
RE-WATCH THE TRILOGY

Upcoming posts:
Nightcrawler review
Mockingjay Part 1 review.

Six Less Stellar Moments in Interstellar

I've breathe it in. I've taken the time. I've stalled. I've been in cryo-sleep. I've been thinking about Christopher Nolan's visually flawless, story-wise flawed Interstellar. As a whole, the film's amazing. The lesser parts of the film is eclipsed by the far better part of the film. But during the film there's a moment here and there where you can't help but raise your eyebrows and cringe--or even giggle at the sheer stupidity. The lesser parts are actually the parts that the critics have no issue on. #lol

Oh btw, should I even need to write this warning?

S P O I L E R  A L E R T ! !

LEAVE NOW

STILL HERE?

OKAY.

6. Wes Bentley's death

A very poor death scene. A scientist decides to stare at the mountain-high wall of wave instead of running for his life. His death could be handled better, but this is what we get. At least the white guy dies first here.

How to improve it:
He gets swept by the waves while helping Brand or TARS get on the ship. An honorable death for a character who only spoke one memorable line.

5. Morse-coded watch

I don't know how a watch touched by a person from another dimension works but I'm pretty sure it's not that easy. Maybe it's just me nitpicking, but Jessica Chastain's Murph, did she just commit plagiarism? Someone took Rust Cohle's method to success.

How to improve it:
I have no idea. This part of the story is higher than my intelligence's clearance. But the stupidity in me expected Matthew McConaughey to break the bookshelf and be reunited with the old Murph. That's how stupid my expectations were.

4. Mann docking

This is the part where the film is most hilarious. Someone turned the humor level to 100% here. It's a hyper mundane action accompanied by stellar Zimmer music. It's almost like an Edgar Wright comedy scene.

How to improve it:
Cut those scenes where the lock doesn't want to lock. Make the whole affair shorter.

3. Bookshelf blackhole/wormhole

Hands down the longest cringe I did during the movie. It's so weird to have an all-out space scenes turned into the smallest place.

How to improve it:
I don't think it matters because the pay off is worth the weirdness. But still, the first time you see it, you can't help but mutter 'what the fuck' or stop paying attention to your empty popcorn bag.

2. Matt Damon

I don't mind Matt Damon. But his reveal is such an eye candy and it kinda distracts the whole story. Years from now we'll speak of this movie like this,
"Hey you've seen that great sci-fi film Interstellar?"
"Yeah, the one where Matt Damon popped out of nowhere in the middle of the film?"
Instead of,
"Hey you've seen that great sci-fi film Interstellar?"
"Yeah, that's the one with the amazing wormhole scenes right?"

How to improve it:
I'd imagine having someone moderately famous in it. Corey Stoll comes to mind. Or Nolan's regular Cillian Murphy but he's too ominous. Yeah, Corey Stoll's my only choice to replace Damon.

1. Damon turns into Pinbacker

Story-wise, this is the weakest moment for me. Or maybe it's my expectations that wanted too much. I've always imagined Interstellar as a full-on space exploration story, where the villain is the alien nature. Apparently not. To those who are unfamiliar, Pinbacker is the [spoiler alert] villain from Danny Boyle & Alex Garland's superb sci-fi Sunshine, played by the ultimate modern Brit bad guy Mark Strong. The space ruined his mind and he sets out to kill everybody else.

How to improve it:
There's a lot of scenarios where this could go. The fanboy rage is filling up the internet as I write and and as you read this very sentence.


Still, I love Interstellar. For me, the sentimental story is a plus point. Why couldn't we have a sentimental story in a full-blown sci-fi film? Heartless critics. I look forward to seeing the film for the second time. After that, for the third time. And so on.

Space Love

In case you're living under the rock, Interstellar is out in cinemas this weekend. Do I really need to introduce this film? It's directed by Christopher Nolan, who directed The Dark Knight trilogy (BAM!), Inception (BAM!), The Prestige (BAM!) and Memento (BAM!). What a filmography. It stars award winners Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain and Michael Caine. It's Nolan doing sci-fi. Nolan in space. McConaughey in astronaut suit. If you're not sold yet, something's wrong with you.

The movie's set in the future when the Earth are polluted with dust and it creates lung disease and also kills the crops. Cooper (McConaughey) is a pilot whose mission is to search for a potential planet for the people of Earth to survive. He must leave behind his daughter for the mission where he goes to unexplored new places through a discovered wormhole.

First of all, The McConaissance isn't fading. He might have delivered the best performance in a science-fiction film ever. Second, this is a Christopher Nolan film. You get what you expect, or that expectation turned out to be defied. The other cast member are great too. Anne Hathaway is great. Jessica Chastain gave a short but meaningful performance. There are people here and there like Hunger Games' Wes Bentley, Cloud Atlas' David Gyasi, Affleck brother Casey Affleck and Spidey 3's Topher Grace, which are all great. Hans Zimmer's music is also a step-up from his noisy, generic percussion music. And it's annoying that the soundtrack album isn't available until November 18! The scenes are beautiful, it's so epic and grounded at the same time. The wormhole scene was amazing, and don't get me started on that unbelievable climax. I don't want to spoil things too. The thing is, you're in it for the surprise. Especially, if you haven't seen the spoilery last trailer.

Chris Nolan turned to Spielberg, Lucas and Kubrick (for a chunk of the film, even Alex Garland and Danny Boyle) for this film, making Interstellar not just a brilliant sci-fi with outstanding effects, but also with incredible, emotional story. Let me tell you, my emotion was drained. It was amazing. The story itself is mesmerizing, and you add that with the great story. While it has big ideas of science, religion and the existence of humanity, like Spielberg, behind all this film is the story of family. Even like Harry Potter films, behind all that magic is the story of the power of love. How the power of love is actually strong. How science and magic is unequal to the power of love. This is what Interstellar truly is at heart. Beyond the technical and scientific explanation of singularity, time-space continuum, is the story of love. Inception, although it was great, it felt emotionally distant but Interstellar isn't. It's actually about dad and daughter love. I would strongly campaign for this movie on every level. Level with me, we had the extremely pompous and incredibly preposterous Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close as a Best Picture contender, why not the thousand light years better Interstellar? It's time The Academy recognize things properly. I'm not just saying this because I'm an alleged Nolan fanboy, but it's true. Nonetheless, you should see this at the biggest screen possible. If there's anything bigger than an IMAX screen, go for it. Interstellar: rated 5/4. GOING TO SEE THIS AGAIN UNTIL I RUN OUT OF MONEY! #spokenlikeatruefanboy

Next post
I still have no idea. I'm on the Interstellar withdrawal program which will commence as soon as I watch Contact and some Nolan movies. I hope they screen Nightcrawler in English next week. hashtag fingers crossed.

[added Nov 7] Just seen Contact! It's so good and it shares the same idea with Interstellar. You could totally pass that as a prequel or a companion piece.

Summer Recap in Winter Transission

I just finished my last summer film which was just released last week in Italy, Guardians of the Galaxy. Now I am competent enough to make a summer recap post. To be honest, this summer the films are quite tame. We didn't have anything that's incredibly badass like last year's Pacific Rim. When the top-grossing movie of the summer is a film with a raccoon and a talking tree, clearly something's wrong with Hollywood's blockbusters (or its audience).

Top 3 Films
1. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
This sequel is grand and brave. Parts of the films were communicated in ape language. The story is engaging, emotional and amazing. Apes franchise could easily be so laughable but they kept on elevating the level of this film. Jason Clarke was a great successor to James Franco, but the star is motion capture master Andy Serkis who, with Weta, created the superb Caesar. Toby Kebbell's Koba is equally awesome as well. Matt Reeves also prove himself to be worthy to take care of this franchise after Rupert Wyatt.




2. Guardians of the Galaxy
Guardians isn't necessarily a breakthrough film, but it's more like a perfect throwback to the age before gritty summer blockbuster films ala Christopher Nolan. Its fun atmosphere, expansion of Marvel Cinematic Universe and exceptionally well-cast actors definitely helped Guardians of the Galaxy to be immensely watchable. Don't forget the super funny script with amazingly quotable lines. Guardians work because its bravery to take C-list comic material and lifted into A-list. But I wouldn't be too confident to launch another quirky material like this (winking at Inhumans). Lightning doesn't strike the same place twice, otherwise it's War of the Worlds.


3. TIE Edge of Tomorrow & How to Train Your Dragon 2
Edge of Tomorrow (or now titled Live.Die.Repeat) was one of the smartest action sci-fi films ever put on film. With Tom Cruise at his sci-fi best and Emily Blunt being unbelievably badass, it has everything you want in a summer film: action, humor, explosions, famous actors, director with a cred. While How to Train Your Dragon 2 is just beautiful. It's not simply a cash grab film because the first one was immensely popular, it's amazing. The animation has never been better. The voice work is great (Dude Cate Blanchett's in it!). The story greatly expands the world that's established in the first one. It's an amazing work although the film's not as good as the original.

Honorable mentions:
- A sequel to the prequel which actually is a sequel to the original trilogy, X-Men: Days of Future Past which Avenger-ized the X-Men franchise by combining original trilogy actors with prequel actors and eventually erasing the original trilogy timeline and Brett Ratner's contribution.
- The hyper-funny and meta 22 Jump Street. Being a good sequel which base is the relationship between Channing and Jonah while also making fun of themselves, literally.

Most Surprising Film
Lucy
Lucy is Bad Boys meets Transporter meets Limitless meets The Tree of Life. It is a super high concept sci-fi action film starring Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman. It's about a human who's able to access the maximum cerebral capacity after being to a drug. Lucy is a very unconventional Hollywood film. It's surprising for me because it has a great premise and in the middle it sometimes became laughable and finally the ending mind-fucked you. It's fun to see Scarlett Johansson kick ass though.

Honorable mention:
The incredible improvement that is The Purge Anarchy, which is the film I was hoping for in the first one and also it has a great story for a B-movie premise while also setting up things for more Purging.

Worst Film
Transformers: Age of Extinction
I don't think this should be explained in a paragraph. This is coming from a person who enjoys the Shia LaBeouf-led Transformers trilogy. Age of Extinction is Hollywood being desperate. We have Dawn which successfully changed leading actors. We have Guardians that broke the innovation wall. We have an honest, crafted-from-the-heart sequel in HTTYD 2. This film is all the opposite of the films that were just mentioned. It is a lazy, bloated summer film. And what pains me that it still raked in more than 1 billion dollars. It was so bad.