Eye Candy #492 - "Tron Legacy"

Tron Legacy:  Way back in 1982, a little movie called “Tron” by a first-time director was savaged by critics, even though it incorporated computer-generated animation to tell the tale of a normal man, Kevin Flynn (played by Jeff Bridges in both films) brought into a computer world where he fights against tyranny and oppression to free “the Grid“.  Flash-forward 28 years and we get much the same hoopla - we get a new “Tron” movie by a first-time director, critics don’t like the film, and we get lots of pretty computer-generated animation.  Déjà vu all over again.  This time around, the son of Flynn, Sam (Garrett Hedlund), is sucked into the computer world while trying to find his missing father and finds more tyranny, his father’s evil electronic doppelganger Clu, and the ’games’, such as the dueling light-cycles remembered so fondly from the original, amped-up with more screen tme, as well as the light-disc duels.  The plot, which deals with responsibility, corruption, and the power of humanity, aims for a greater degree of profundity than the original, whose plot was relatively simple by comparison, but it misses the mark.  The acting is nothing to write home about, though Michael Sheen has a scene-stealing role as Caster (though it’s obvious that what he brings to the table wasn’t on the page).  Olivia Wilde also does well as the program Quorra, an ally of Sam’s.  Hedlund, who I usually abhor with a passion, at least I can stand him here.  Bridges has a dual role as the elder Flynn and, under a CGI freshening-up, Clu, though Clu doesn’t ever look real, he always looks like he fell off the “Polar Express“.  Saw the film in 3D, though there was absolutely no reason to do so.  There were more 3D elements in some of the trailers for coming attractions than in “Tron Legacy”.  I wasn’t expecting a whole lot and the film exceeded my expectations.  Not as good as the original, but still a suitable time-waster.  Woodchuck sez, “Worth a look.”

Eye Candy #491 - "Winter's Bone"

Winter’s Bone:  A phenomenal low-key drama/thriller about a young teenage girl, Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence), living with a mentally-ill mother and raising her two younger siblings in the poor Missouri Ozarks.  She’s quit school to raise the children, relies on the hand-outs from neighbors and relatives to get by, and is contemplating joining the military for the money it would provide, the effective head of her household at the age of 17.  When her absentee methamphetamine cook father puts their house up as collateral on his bail bond and then disappears, Ree has to track him down through the various local ne‘er-do-wells and the meth crowd, as well as various relatives including her uncle Teardrop (played by John Hawkes) to find her father so she can save the house for herself and her siblings.  It is a harrowing journey to say the least.  About as bleak as you can get,  this is a portrayal of a facet of contemporary rural America - these are hillbillies and not the fun Beverly Hills kind.  They live on the fringes of society, modern-day Hatfields and McCoys, living lives that are nasty, brutish, and short.  This is the dark side of the moon, where the women may be more awful than the men.  Anderson is a rock as Ree, wise beyond her years and willing to do whatever it takes to save her brother and sister.   Just great to watch on screen.  Hawkes is magnetic as Teardrop, a mercurial, violent man who may or may not be Ree’s ally, a man potent with menace.   Great use of local music, as well.  Director Debra Granik has crafted a fine, fine film here that has won just about every award it’s been nominated for.  Woodchuck sez, “Check it out.”

Eye Candy #490 - "The Last Airbender"

The Last Airbender:  Based on the anime of the same name (which I’ll admit freely I’ve never seen) and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, this film is arguably the most reviled of 2010.   Set in a world where humanity can control the four elements and is broken up into different “tribes“ based on what element they control, a lone youth, Aang (Noah Ringer, who was obviously *not* hired for his acting chops) can control all four elements as the avatar, which makes him the most powerful bender in the world and capable of fighting back against the power-hungry Fire Nation.  But first Aang must learn to master all the elements to successfully fight back.  Faux-eastern mysticism and chop-socky hijinks abound.    Ringer isn’t the sole liability of the picture; all three leads are fairly wooden.  Half the cast is flailing around, the other half is over-acting their rears off.  The script is also a bit of a quandary - based on an existing property, it’s always a tricky line between too much and too little exposition.  This script spends minimal time on character development and exposition, as it tries to squish the first season of the cartoon into one 103 minute film.  You don’t care about the characters because you are given no reason to like, much less care about them.   Most of the dialogue is quite simply terrible.  But worst movie I’ve ever seen?  Worst fantasy film of all time?  Not hardly.  Go watch “Gor” or “The Last Legion”, instead.  It’s obvious that M. Night is still obsessed with crafting a “good” fantasy film.  Woodchuck sez, “Disappointing, sure.”

Eye Candy #489 - "The Call of Cthulhu"

The Call of Cthulhu:  A high-end fanfic, produced for about $50k by the HP Lovecraft Historical Society, a fan group out of California, this is a silent, black-and-white film running just shy of an hour, adapted from the HPL story of the same name, about an ancient statue attached to other-worldly, horrific “old gods” and the bad things that befall those that come in contact with it.  This film does a great job with its limited budget, utilizing low-tech effects from community theater (fabric billowing replacing waves in the ocean, for example), and surrealist nightmare backgrounds that look like they were lifted from “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”.   The creators wanted the film to feel like it could have been made at the same time that Lovecraft’s work was initially seeing print and I think they are largely successful in their efforts.  Now, granted I’m a big nerd and this is right up my alley, but I think this was well-done.  Woodchuck sez, “Me likey.” 

Christmas cheer...

Can sometimes be more than a little awkward...

Eye Candy #488 - "Valhalla Rising"

Valhalla Rising:  Arguably the longest 90 minute film in the history of cinema, this is the story of One-Eye (Mads Mikkelsen), a mute Norseman who, after escaping slavery, journeys with several others to Jerusalem to participate in the Crusades.  Except instead of heading in their intended easterly direction, then end up being blown of course and arrive in North America.  Usually I’d say, “And there is where things got strange”, except the whole durn movie is an odd, quiet head trip, like if “Aguirre The Wrath of God” was accomplished with Vikings.  The Norsemen, upon arriving in North America, proceed to almost immediately lose their minds and engage in irrational behavior (for example, they are constantly beset by unseen attackers, but rather than defend themselves, they drink some psychotropic hooch and proceed to have an extended hopped-up freak-out a la “Young Guns“).  For being an “action/adventure” flick, there ain’t a whole lot of action to go around.  Mikkelsen literally says nothing for the duration of the film.   I have enjoyed other films by director Nicholas Winding Refn (he did the recent “Bronson”, which I thought was great).  But this film is so deliberately self-conscious technically, from sound-editing to cinematography, that it seems like Refn lost sight of the most important thing to any good movie - the plot, which is absolutely nothing to write home about here.   Purty pictures don’t make a great film, if there is nothing to support them.  Disappointed.  Woodchuck sez, "Pretentious hooey".