“Dredd” Movie Review – Mega City Masterpiece

by iconmatthew1

Karl Urban making us forget “Doom”

I’ve only sparsely read the Judge Dredd comics which are the basis of this film and the awful 1996 Stallone flick “Judge Dredd.” I was hesitant to read the comics due to the 90’s version of the character and story being so off putting. But when the trailer for “Dredd” dropped my interest in the character and world was piqued again. “Dredd” which was directed by Pete Travis (“Vantage Point”, “Omagh”) and written by producer Alex Garland (“Sunshine”, “28 Days Later”) was a film I wanted to see in theaters but the day I planned to go see it my car battery died and my plans were derailed. Since the movie didn’t do well at the box office despite high praise from critics it was out of cinemas fast. Now I’ve finally gotten a chance to see the film and I must say I was very impressed. I’ve seen a lot of good films this year and this is one of the best, in my humble opinion.

A rare moment not featuring gore

It’s a real shame that “Dredd” didn’t produce box officer numbers that Lionsgate had hoped for, primarily due to it’s slated release in August against an action heavy summer of superheroes/comic adaptations such as “The Avengers” “The Amazing Spider-Man” and “The Dark Knight Rises.” But thankfully due to an already promising DVD life and good reviews there is a planned sequel and possible trilogy. I highly recommend fans of action, science fiction and or comics seek this hidden gem out. Yes, the violence is a bit over the top at times, and some of imagery is at times more provocative than necessary but it works. It’s a gritty, dirty, unforgiving action flick and it does do it without an annoying smirk either.

“Lincoln” Movie Review – No Vampires This Time

by iconmatthew1

Daniel Day-Lewis only did “Lincoln” because he wasn’t offered part in “The Expendables 2”

“Lincoln” was a film I saw with my grandma and father. I knew that it was going to be good when I walked in. The question was: how good was it really? I had heard varying things, some opinions were positive but some were fairly negative. Some historians scoffed at some historical accuracies (no historical piece is without it’s factual critics) while others criticized a lack of character development and following through with certain more supporting characters. Obviously this film isn’t perfect, and I’m not even sure if it should win it’s seemingly preordained Academy Award for Best Picture, but it’s one of the best films of the year without a doubt.

Director of Photography, Janusz Kaminski

“Lincoln” stars Daniel Day-Lewis as the titular President of the United States. Day-Lewis nails the performance and is sure to win an Oscar for it, he’s just an elite actor with few equals in peers. He has a magnetic draw and handles some of the more difficult scenes with ease, he disappears into role. Helped in part by the stellar make up and costuming. Academy Award winner Sally Field stars as Mary Todd Lincoln and does a solid job, but at times I must admit it felt more like Sally Fields playing Mary Todd than the first lady. There are too many stars in this film to name, all doing splendid work. A testament to their pedigree and director Steven Spielberg’s honed craft. It was nice to see Lee Pace (“Pushing Daisies”,”The Good Shepherd”) and Walton Goggins (“Justified”, “Django Unchained”) getting some good parts in. Tommy Lee Jones was terrific as always as was Joseph Gordon-Levitt, but the scene stealer was James Spader (“Boston Legal”, “Stargate”) as Bilbo a behind the scenes wheeler and dealer employed by Abraham Lincoln. He’s hilarious throughout the entire film and was for me one of the premiere highlights of the performances.

“Lincoln” focuses primarily on the President’s push in getting congress to pass an amendment abolishing slavery. Instead of focusing on the civil war or even the atmosphere of the country Spielberg wisely keeps it for the most part contained in the politics of it all. Showcasing how little American politics has really changed. That can be enlightening or perhaps depressing depending on your viewpoint. John Williams of course places a beautiful score into the film that mixes beautifully with the images. “Lincoln” is a great film no doubt, it at times lacks a bit in completeness and benefits from a grand historical perspective in some of it’s more “look how good these people are and look how bad these guys were” scenes. But why not take advantage of having history be on your side?

It is a near masterpiece by default, arguably a straight up masterpiece. The acting is one of the best ensembles you’ll find this year and Spielberg continues to rack up the amazing resume he’s worked so hard to create. While it might leave you with a bit of a longing for something more to be executed you will most likely be satisfied with what you get, and that’s a different perspective on how slavery ended in America. It was not the war on the battlefield it was the grimy war in the halls of congress. Final Grade: 90/100

— Matthew S. Robinson

“Django Unchained” Movie Review – Revenge is a Dish Best Served Fun

by iconmatthew1

  Quentin Tarantino is by all means an eccentric filmmaker. He’d probably be the first to admit it too. I like Tarantino’s films though; there is always such an energy behind them and few can write dialogue like he can. I’m glad that he’s finally becoming a true box office draw, but that’s really only because the studios are finally putting faith in him and promoting his films heavily. His stories have always been interesting, I guess now mainstream Hollywood is telling everyone it’s okay to go watch them. “Django Unchained” is his latest film, and it’s one of his absolute best.

Without spoiling much “Django Unchianed” stars Jamie Foxx as Django a slave who has been sold and thus separated from his wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington). This was a actually a fairly common occurrence during slavery, in particular on larger sized plantations. Slaves were hesitant to get married and attached because they could be sold at any moment by their masters. Obviously I don’t need to tell people about the horrors of American slavery (hopefully) but it sets up some pretty high and brutal stakes for our titular hero and his partner a German bounty hunter named Schultz (Christoph Waltz). Schultz buys Django in order to hunt down the Brittle Brothers, mean slave traders (were there any nice slave traders?) whom Django has seen in person. Since Schultz doesn’t know what they look like he needs Django’s help to track them down. While Schultz buys Django he even admits its only to acquire a business partner, who will have a little more incentive to stick around. But the master/slave relationship is never formed truly between the two and they become partners and friends. Django is really free to go, but Schultz and him decide to form a plan to rescue his wife before they go their separate ways. His wife is now the property of a flamboyant and crazed plantation owner named Calvin Candie (Leondaro DiCaprio). Django and Schultz must outwit Calvin and his surly head house slave Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson) in order to rescue Broomhilda.

Hitting it up with the Stars: Playstation All Stars Battle Royale Review

by Anthony Bonilla

Playstation All Stars

Hey guys, how’s it going? I hope you are all having a good time and a good Thanksgiving Week. But let’s get off to business, yesterday; Playstation All Stars Battle Royale was released. When Playstation All Stars was announced, everyone thought that it was just going to be another Smash Brothers, as released by Nintendo. There was major speculation until we actually saw what this game was. With a veteran of fighting games like Seth Killian helping out the project, could this game be a hit like Street Fighter and Marvel vs. Capcom 3 were or shall this be a bust? Find out in the review, after the break.

“Skyfall” Movie Review – 50 Years and Better Than Ever

by iconmatthew1

Bond is back!

“Skyfall” is one of the biggest Bond movies ever. Not necessarily in scope but in the depth that it delves into the characters. That might seem fairly standard of a film but it’s quite different with the Bond franchise. With 50 years of films to look back on: the man of James Bond is rarely examined. Every once in a while you’ll get a spark into what makes him tick such as “Dr. No”, “From Russia With Love”, “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” and of course “Casino Royale”. But in a general sense James Bond is more defined by his gadgets, his villains, the women he swoons and the mission. Even less examined is the usually fairly mysterious “M” (Judi Dench) who here is basically the focal point of the entire story. An old enemy named Silva (Javier Bardem) is out for revenge against “M” and only her most valued agent; James Bond (Daniel Craig) can stop him.

Directed by Sam Mendes (“American Beauty”, “Away We Go”, “Road to Perdition”) it’s no surprise that this Bond is a few notches away from an intense character study. Bond has lost a step, he’s out of shape, lost his touch with a gun and seems more seduced than seducer of his field partner Eve (Naomie Harris). This is the first Bond I can recall watching and actually having a sense of dread, a strong feeling that this time Bond might fail in his mission. That perhaps he can’t win as he usually does, he’s not the smooth Bond we are used to, he’s an aging agent so tired of the endless missions he’d rather just sit on a beach and drink. It’s a bold move handled brilliantly by screenwriters Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan. After 5 decades of Bond films it’s time to truly take Bond in a new direction. This isn’t a gadget filled Bond nor a Bond with a particular sense of humor so well portrayed by Sean Connery and Roger Moore (who sometimes went a little overboard with the humor). His gadgets are simple, nothing flashy all extremely practical. The new Q (Ben Whishaw) even makes a quip: “What were you expecting? An exploding pen? We don’t really go for that anymore.” In a sense it’s sad to see the old era of Bond be put on the shelf (at least for now) but in this neo-realistic generation of filmgoers we want to feel that our heroes can exist, that their actions can be somewhat duplicated. Bond isn’t a superhero anymore, we have those in The Avengers and Spiderman. We want a man, a highly skilled man. Someone we feel can actually exist, and this Bond is very, very human.

“Flight” Movie Review: Denzel Washington Reaches New Heights

by iconmatthew1

I’m a big fan of Denzel Washington as an actor, I believe he is one of the best of all time. A 2 time Oscar winner who brings life and energy to any part he plays. “Flight” shows Denzel as an anti-hero pilot who manages to miraculously land a plane in one of the most impressive aerial set pieces I’ve ever seen. This includes having to literally turn to plane upside down. It’s an amazing feat, one that few if any other pilots could ever successfully pull off. The problem is Denzel was drunk as a skunk when he did it off and now he is being investigated as a criminal. To say anymore would be to spoil the movie and I’m not going to spoil anything major in this review, it’s a great film that people should go and see. Denzel gives an Oscar worthy performance and there are other fine acting performances from Don Cheadle, Tamara Tunie, Melissa Leo, Bruce Greenwood, Kelly Reilly and John Goodman who is in particular top form as Denzel’s drug dealing friend.

Robert Zemeckis (“Forrest Gump”, “Back to the Future”) has finally returned to live action films after the awkward foray into stop motion capture films like “Mars Needs Moms” and he shows he still has what it takes to direct a full fledged cast. The plane crash sequence alone makes him a strong candidate for a directing Oscar nomination, but it’s his control over the actors and the pacing of the film that also shows his craft. Kelly Reilly (“Sherlock Holmes” 1&2) is probably poised for a lot more roles after this film, as she is starting to show a nice range with her acting ability. She’s surrounded by some big names here but holds her own.

Washington and Reilly in “Flight”.

“Flight” is not the movie that I expected, but I mean that in a good way. Yes it obviously is about Denzel’s battle with alcoholism, but to say that it’s only that would be selling the film short of it’s very thoughtful and sometimes uncomfortably honest portrayal of people. Denzel is one of the few actors who could pull off a complex role like this, we all know someone like him. He is the epitome of the high functioning alcoholic, the man who can drive perfectly, heck even land a freaking plane while chugging down shots on vodka. He can hold a job for sure, but his life seems to always be falling apart at the seams.

There are some issues with the script by John Gatins (“Real Steel, Hardball, Coach Carter), not necessarily in plot or pacing but with some of the dialogue. Some of the conversations come off a bit too heavy handed and there is a scene or two that go on a bit too long. But for the most part everything works, and even some of the more traditionally flat lines are elevated by the immensely strong cast. Of all the movies I’ve seen this year this probably has the best chance of winning the coveted SAG Acting Ensemble award. It would be well deserved. If you are a fan of Denzel it’s obviously a must see, but I think if you just want to experience a mature and smart human drama it’s worth a visit to the local cinema. It’s cliche to say “Flight” soars, but I really don’t know how else to put it. Final Grade: 87/100

–Matthew S. Robinson

“Argo” Film Review: Ben Affleck Enters the Elite Class

by iconmatthew1

“Argo” is based off the true story of the Iranian hostage crisis of the late 70’s/early 80’s that captivated the United States, Iran and other parts of the world. The film focuses primarily however on 6 U.S. Embassy employees who managed to escape the embassy right as it was being stormed. Hiding out in the Canadian ambassador’s home for months eventually the CIA devised an unorthodox plan to get them out of the country: create a fake movie as a cover. It seems like almost the plot of a really bizarre episode of “Hogan’s Heroes” or something you’d find in a Saturday morning cartoon but the tale is very real.

I remember reading about the Iranian hostage crisis and hearing about it from Bruce Herschensohn at a roundtable/lecture event. I always thought “Man this would make a great movie.” I admit I was worried it would somehow flop. It’s a tricky story to pull off in many ways because of the passage of time and that “Argo” requires the viewer to know some basics about film production and foreign policy. Not a lot mind you, but they can’t fill in every gap for the casual admirer of the craft or political intrigue. Still if you have a basic knowledge of the two you will probably find this movie engaging and quite enjoyable.

Alan Arkin and Ben Affleck

“Argo” touts a strong cast with: Alan Arkin, Bryan Cranston, Kyle Chandler, John Goodman and Ben Affleck. Affleck to me has never been a great actor, but he does good work here in the role. The more emotionally heavy scenes are left for Cranston, Arkin and Goodman. A wise decision, but I think my biggest complaint with “Argo” is that Affleck is the star. He does a great job behind the camera but I feel the role of Tony Mendez could have been better preformed by another actor. This seems like the perfect role for George Clooney (who produced the film), or perhaps a Gabriel Macht or Edward Norton. But again: it’s not like Affleck does a bad job at all. It just seemed to be missing something that the other performances had.

“Argo” finds its strength in the directing of Ben Affleck, a fast moving script from Chris Terrio, a great musical score from Alexandre Desplant and a look and style that makes you feel like you are watching a pseduo – 70’s movie thanks to film editor William Goldenberg and the director of photography Rodrigo Prieto. “Argo” feels like the time it represents and that helps build the tension and even gave me a taste of the fear and uncertainty that America had to be feeling during the tumultuous days of the crisis.

For me personally “Argo” has elevated Ben Affleck into the elite class of directors. It may not be a popular consensus among many but his previous works “Gone Baby Gone” and “The Town” are all fine pieces of work and have earned actors Oscar nominations for their performances. A good director, directs actors to act. Everyone in this movie does a good job of that and transform into their characters quite nicely. “Argo” has a slightly deflated ending that seems to have a difficult time wrapping so much information up but in the end I felt satisfied and convinced that I saw a true Oscar contender. If you love history, spy thrillers, espionage or escapist acts “Argo” is one film you can’t afford to miss. Final Grade: 91/100

–Matthew S. Robinson

“Looper” Film Review: Joseph looks like Bruce

by iconmatthew1

Rian Johnson has worked with Joseph Gordon-Levitt before; with the indie hit “Brick.” Now the duo are working together again in one of the most anticipated sci-fi movies in recent years “Looper.” The movie deals with time travel and any movie dealing with time travel can become complicated but in short: Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Joe and Bruce Willis plays Joe as well, except 30 year older. The movie takes place in 2047 and 30 years from that date time travel has been invented. Instantly outlawed, the mob now controls it and sends back people they want dead to 2047 so they can be killed off and the crime of murder technically doesn’t exist. A brilliant and equally horrific plan. Joe is one of these hired assassins called “Loopers” and he’s living the life with his job, but there is a catch. Eventually all loopers will end up killing the future versions of themselves it’s called “closing your loop.” So it’s a job with an extreme expiration date. “Looper” takes off when Bruce Willis (Joe older) is zapped back to the past but escapes and now it’s up to Joesph Gordon-Levitt to stop his older self from changing the future and getting the both of them killed.

“Looper” is an effective and well done film, and one that certainly deserves multiple viewings to take everything in. That being said this movie is good, not great. There has been a lot of hype and high praise for the film, so maybe my expectations were too high and I recognized that so I waited a few days to review the film. And while I find is satisfactory it’s missing something. I’m not sure what it is but it’s missing something that would take it to that level from “Entertaining” to “Classic.” Without spoiling anything the 1st and 2nd acts of this movie are outstanding, tense, inventive and the stuff of masterpieces. The third act though causes a lot of issues and the film almost collapses under it’s own weight. And I wouldn’t even say it packed on that many pounds.

If you like science fiction it’s surely a movie to see for the technology and fine acting performances. For me the single most impressive aspect of this film is the make up. Joseph Gordon-Levitt looks strikingly like a young Bruce Willis in many shots and even was able to nail some of Willis’ mannerisms like that cool cockeyed smile. The make up was done by Brent Baker, Jamie Kelman and Kazuhiro Tsuji among others. The prosthetic work on Joseph’s face alone in my opinion makes it worthy of an Academy award nomination. You may not notice how similar they look in the commercials but trust me once the subtlties sink in during the course of the film you’ll be convinced they are the same person. Joseph and Bruce do tremendous work acting as does Jeff Daniels in a very cold but never distant performance. Emily Blunt is solid in her role but I don’t think her character is written strongly enough. There is a serious lack of connection with her and her motivations. Alright so if you want to know more about my thoughts on this film you can click to read more, but there will be SPOILERSso I feel it’s fair to warn you as the only way I can articulate my major disappointment with this film is by revealing the ending. I recommend this movie to science fiction fans, but I feel those not familiar with the genre will be lost and won’t care for it very much. Though I could always be wrong.

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Review: ‘King With Iron Fists’

by Anthony Bonilla

Tekken Tag Tournament 2

TTT2 Logo

Hello guys, how are you all, so sorry for the sudden disappearance and the things I tried to review but could not review for you all, life went haywire and well, I just truly quit on a lot of things. Regardless, I am back and probably will be around a lot more that what you guys would normally expect. For those of you that know me, well it’s awesome, for those that don’t, well, I am DA1825 or most commonly known in the videogame industry or in the gaming interwebs as Anthony1825. Other than that, I’m still on high school, so yeah… 🙂

Anyways, after a long, long time without releasing a new Tekken game, Namco decided to put their hands to work. After getting little to no input on Street Fighter X Tekken Namco decided to put their hands to work on ‘several games.’ The first one of this batch: Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (TTT2 for short). Now, this shall be kind of an overview on everything that I’ve tried of the game in a couple of days which is basically about 4 hours in total. Head on past the break after this hype as hell TTT2 trailer.

“Predaturs” Film Review

by iconmatthew1

“Predaturs” (yes it’s purposefully misspelled) is a 30 minute short film from Cameron Haines. Made under the banner of Heavy Heart Productions and One Man Army films. It is a brutal and unforgiving take on pedophilia, rape, power, violence and a few other topics that to even mention would spoil some major plot points. This is something I always ask myself when I recommend a dark film: “Is it too dark?” I don’t find “Predaturs” to be too depressing or even violent to not recommend it. That being said I can say safely that it’s not for everyone.

Haines does a good job as a 1st time director, he has a good sense of his scope and the story he is trying to tell. Haines is a story minded director, at least at this point. His focus is on developing the plot, that’s a good strength to have. It allowed me to be invested in the project. The actors all seem to know who they are portraying and have a grasp on the gravity of their performances. That being said some of the acting comes off a bit too distant at times and while it never took me out of the film it was noticeably flat at some key moments.

I’ll come back to the acting performances in a moment. I think one of the highlights of “Predaturs” is the simple but effective cinematography done by Frank Gotay. As far as my knowledge goes this is the 1st film I’ve seen him credited on, and he does a good job. He never tries to do too much, but he has a solid grip on long shots and placing talent in the foreground of elaborate backgrounds. I won’t spoil anything but there is a great dolly shot at the end of the film that I think any aspiring cinematographer could take notes on. It gave me a slight feeling of the superb “Children of Men”. It’s not on that level of course but I still appreciated the craft.

Heidi Everly

When it comes to the acting the two leads are for the most part pretty well executed. Heidi Everly gives arguably the best performance in the film. She has this look on her face that aides her complex character narrative and she delivers some unsettling lines that stuck with me after the film was over. Still if I have one major complaint about her performance it was her movement. While her delivery of dialogue was good her movements at time seemed a bit too restricted. It felt like she had memorized her every step and it just didn’t look too natural. That is a small part of what she brings to the film overall however. After all it is she that drives the films’ philosophy and brutality. She has potential and I’d like to see her get more roles.

Patrick Lamb may have had the most difficult job portraying a dirty old pedophile. Actually the word “dirty” might be a bit too kind. He’s a sadistic and unnerving monster for lack of a better term and that is not easy to play when it involves the subject matter of pedophilia. Playing a serial killer or a terrorist is one thing, you just kill people. (Not to say that doesn’t come with it’s own special challenges for actors) but to play the scum of the earth takes some gusto and Lamb has to get props for that. This had to be especially difficult for both Lamb and Haines to pull off considering the story is told through his eyes for a good portion. That was a risky move, but I believe it was a good stylistic choice. Lamb isn’t perfect in his performance but he nails the intended goal: disgust.

Kristen Moore

Kristen Moore is an actress I feel like I’ve seen before from another Kansas City Production but I can’t place my finger on it. Moore is beautiful and has the body language down of her cold character but I also felt like she was being restrained, held back in some way. I think it’s a character that if expanded upon could become very interesting to watch. She has the aura but it lacked the fire I expected. I think it’s well within Moore’s range however to nail a character like this. She reminds me a bit of the talented Jordan Wilkin, once given the opportunity she will most likely seize it. Patrick Lee Davis who was in another film I recently reviewed called “Peace”. Has a supporting role as well, he does solid work. He stretches his character as much as possible considering the limited screen time he has. Davis after seeing two works with him in a supporting role is rising in the ranks in my humble opinion of Kansas City Film. He has the makings of a leading role star. But for now I enjoy his reliability as a supporting cast member.

Baron Redman edited this film, I don’t have much to say bad about the editing of the film. It serves it’s purpose it’s never too flashy and paces itself well. Redman and Gotay obviously had some sort of understanding as the cuts flow quite nicely even with their extended pace. Haines probably deserves credit for this as well, as far as I can tell this was a tight ship and it sailed off and docked at all the right moments.

Is “Predaturs” a great film? I wouldn’t say that, but it shows a glimpse into a promising directing career for Haines whom is already making a name for himself as an actor. It’s a solid first effort and if you can stomach the harsh atmosphere it is worth a watch. It could probably find itself in a few smaller festivals but I think the real reward from this film is seeing an ever growing presence of Kansas City film. I think that the city with all it’s great talent is on the cusp of creating something people will be in awe of. “Predaturs” is one more step in the right direction. Final Grade: 72/100

–Matthew S. Robinson