The 86th Academy Awards

I would've liked to have done a post on this year's Oscar nominations back when they were announced but had to focus on getting caught up instead. It also doesn't help that, yet again, I didn't see a ton of movies that came out in 2013. One year I'd like to see all the Best Picture nominations before the awards. The 86th Academy Awards took place on March 2, 2014. This was a week later than usual due to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

I missed most of the last two award shows so the last one I watched in full was the 83rd Academy Awards on February 27th 2011 which was hosted by Anne Hathaway and James Franco. I'm not familiar with Ellen DeGeneres outside of knowing who she is, but I thought she was fine and certainly performed better than Hathaway and Franco did. I think Ellen was a safe pick but it worked out as her show had a better reception than Seth MacFarlane's hosting duties last year.

While a pizza delivery and the 'selfie' seen around the world may have been surprises, the awards pretty much lined up to what I thought would win. I didn't expect Matthew McConaughey, Cate Blanchett, 20 Feet from Stardom, or Her to win their awards but predicted everything else.

I only saw eight 2013 films so I'm going to do a brief run down of what I saw and how they did at the Oscars. Gravity, which I felt the best film of what I saw last year, took home the most awards with seven out of ten total nominations. A technical masterwork, Gravity certainly deserved the attention of the Academy, winning such awards as Best Director (Alfonso Cuaron) and Best Cinematography (Emmanuel Lubezki). I'm glad Lubezki finally won his first Oscar since he was previously nominated five times and always came up empty. Despite receiving the most awards, Gravity was unable to win the big one, Best Picture, which went to 12 Years a Slave. American Hustle matched the ten nominations of Gravity but didn't win a single award. Christian Bale and Jennifer Lawrence have recently won Oscars and with the stiff competition I wasn't surprised American Hustle was left out in the cold. That said, I still thought it would win something due to its sheer number of nominations. Given the circumstances I wouldn't say the film was snubbed, but I felt American Hustle was certainly deserving of some wins.

Besides Gravity and American Hustle the rest of the most I saw didn't get many nominations, though this was to be expected. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug received three nominations for Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing but lost out to Gravity in each category. The Desolation of Smaug did a great job in all of those areas, but had no chance against Gravity. Gravity not only had revolutionary visual effects but also looked amazing on a relatively low budget ($100 million) given the film's huge scope.

I would've liked to have seen The Desolation of Smaug get a nomination for Best Production Design but it was a very tough category this year. I don't understand why the film didn't get nominated for Best Makeup and Hairstyling as there were only three nominations, two of which were The Lone Ranger and Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa. The previous Hobbit film, An Unexpected Journey, had nominations in both these categories but like its sequel was unable to win anything.

Iron Man 3 got a nomination for Best Visual Effects. Like The Desolation of Smaug it was deserved but no contest when compared to Gravity. Star Trek Into Darkness also received a nomination in this category. I thought the movie had good special effects but they didn't blow me away. I was disappointed that Star Trek Into Darkness and The Lone Ranger (which to be fair I'm judging only by the trailers) were recognized here but Pacific Rim (which also had top notch production design) was unable to score a nomination. Thor: The Dark World (which had better visuals and production design than I was expecting) and Man of Steel didn't get any Oscar nominations which was no surprise. Still, they would've be decent choices in the Visual Effects category since Star Trek Into Darkness and The Lone Ranger did get nominations there.

It wouldn't be an Academy Awards post without discussing the Razzie awards! The winners of the 34th Golden Raspberry Awards were announced the day before the Oscars. Grown Ups 2 received the most nominations with nine but got shutout. The dubious prize of Worst Picture went to the sketch comedy Movie 43 which tied M. Night Shyamalan and Will Smith's After Earth with three award wins. I'd still like to see a version of the Razzies that includes non-Hollywood movies so stuff like The Room or Birdemic would have a shot!

Fun fact: Now that Matthew McConaughey has won an Oscar, the two leads of Reign of Fire (the other being Christian Bale) are now Academy Award winners. Does this mean Gerard Butler has an Oscar win in his future?!

Gravity (2013)

Gravity (2013)
My favorite movie released in 2013 is Gravity. I only saw eight theatrically released films in 2013 but was lucky to see two Best Picture nominations (the other being American Hustle).
Gravity is an amazing cinematic experience. I'm sure it will look good on Blu-ray but see it in IMAX 3D if you still can. The IMAX 3D experience is immersive and will make you feel like you left Earth. It's also stressful to watch at times, especially on a first viewing!
Gravity had a $100 million budget which for this type of movie isn't as much as you would expect. They certainly got their money's worth as Gravity is an incredible piece of filmmaking with fantastic visual effects.
The excellent cinematography is from Emmanuel Lubezki, who finally won his first Oscar this year for Gravity. I was impressed with Lubezki's work on The Tree of Life and he knocked another one out of the park here. Lubezki frequently works with Terrence Malick and Alfonso Cuarón and has also been the director of photography for Tim Burton (Sleepy Hollow) and the Cohen Brothers (Burn After Reading). Somehow he worked on The Cat in the Hat so I guess the cinematography was the least of that movie's problems!

Gravity is the second movie I've seen from director Cuarón, the first being Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I know that I saw A Little Princess as a kid but don't really remember it. I still need to get around to seeing Children of Men at some point.
Both leads, Sandra Bullock as Dr. Ryan Stone and George Clooney as veteran astronaut Kowalski, do a good job. Clooney is likeable and witty while Bullock does a nice job portraying a vulnerable scientist trying to survive her first space mission.
Stone's backstory of having a daughter who died didn't work for me. I think this could've been replaced with something that would have enhanced the themes of isolation and survival in a better way or perhaps simply been cut altogether.
Gravity is not really science fiction as there are no aliens or advanced technology. The film is still in the realm of speculative fiction but more of a thriller set in space.
If you want to know my thoughts on how Gravity did at the Oscars then read my post on the 86th Academy Awards.
9/10

American Hustle (2013)

American Hustle (2013)
This is the first movie I've seen from director David O. Russell and the final 2013 film I watched in a theater. American Hustle begins with the disclaimer "some of these things happened." I thought this was a good idea since it allows the film to use the true events (Abscam) as a starting point and tell the story in the most interesting way possible. I don't have a problem with films based on historical events doing this, as long as they state it up front like American Hustle. Most films based on true stories make changes anyway so it was nice to see a film, about con men no less, be honest about it. Plus this encourages people to find out more about the real people and events, which is always a good thing.

The acting was great all around from the four leads to the supporting cast. Comedian Louis C.K. only has a minor role but steals every scene he is in. There's a fantastic surprise cameo which I didn't know about coming into the movie. I won't spoil it so you'll have to watch the film to find out who it is! There are a good amount of main characters but I thought they were all handled well, not just in regard to acting but also with the writing and their roles in the story. Jeremy Renner was fantastic as Mayor Carmine Polito and deserved an Oscar nomination even though he didn't get as much screen time as Christan Bale or Bradley Cooper. American Hustle became only the 15th film to score Oscar nominations in all four acting categories. Check out my post on the 86th Academy Awards for my thoughts on how American Hustle fared at the Oscars.

When I first saw the trailer for American Hustle I was very interested in the film but thought it looked like the characters were playing 1970s dress-up. While the clothes and hairstyles of the main characters are over the top, even for the period, it's there to hammer home the themes of the film. These con artists are affiliated with government agents in exchange for their freedom, but still must make use of fakery and deception, often on multiple levels and in several different ways.
I was talking to somebody about the film and they mentioned "the villain." I stopped to think for a moment then asked who they thought the villain was because I didn't think this movie had one. The person viewed Bradley Cooper's character, Richie DiMaso, as the bad guy but I didn't see it that way. DiMaso is a government agent who doesn't have a great life and tries to turn nabbing a pair of con artists (Irving Rosenfeld and Sydney Prosser, played by Christian Bale and Amy Adams respectively) into improving his career and living a glamorous life. DiMaso is blinded by the pursuit of these goals as he is willing to stoop to entrapment to bust politicians, even honest ones. DiMaso's work with the con men is a form of escapism as he gets to leave his world (he lives with his shrill mother and has a fiancée only to make her happy) to work with the con artists. We see how eager DiMaso is when he keeps trying to skip to the climax of his boss's ice fishing story and therefore never gets to hear how it ends. DiMaso thinks he can hang with the big boys and take down anyone, con man, politician, or gangster. However, DiMaso may not have the amount of control he thinks he has over these convicted con artists and finds himself way out of his league. Since Irving and Sydney are our protagonists I guess DiMaso could be considered an antagonist, but he is on their side for most of the film.

Russell's directing is very good and there is also some nice cinematography, such as the dry cleaning scenes. While watching American Hustle I could definitely see the influences of Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino. I could also hear the influences since like many Scorsese and Tarantino films, American Hustle has an awesome soundtrack! If there was an Oscar for best soundtrack made of up previously recorded songs American Hustle would easily win that category with its mix of great 70s songs from different genres such as pop, rock, R&B, and disco.
Just before the movie began I looked around the theater and noticed the audience was a full house and made up mostly of senior citizens. American Hustle had already been out about a month so the packed house was a bit of a surprise, though to be fair this was around the time the Oscar nominations were announced. I expected the audience to be older, especially with a late afternoon showing, but not mostly made up of people in their 60s, 70s, and 80s. Most of these people were older than I am now back when this movie takes place!
American Hustle has a running time of 138 minutes and while watching the film it felt even longer. I mean this in a good way though since I was never bored and always interested in what would happen to the characters. American Hustle seems like it would hold up on multiple viewings and I look forward to watching it again.

Fun Facts:
Before American Hustle, the last film to receive Oscar nominations in all four categories was David O. Russell's movie from the previous year, Silver Linings Playbook. But before Silver Linings Playbook this hadn't happened since Reds (1981). Besides American Hustle, the only films to have been nominated in all Oscar categories but not win any are Sunset Boulevard (1950) and My Man Godfrey (1936). None of these films won Best Picture either, with My Man Godfrey not even being nominated in that category.
9/10

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

I wrote about my background on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit in my post on The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey so I'm just going to jump right into this one and keep things fairly short. I found The Desolation of Smaug to be an improvement over the first. However, this is mostly because the characters and story are now set up and more fun by this point.

Unlike the first Hobbit movie, I watched The Desolation of Smaug in the theater in IMAX 3D with the 48 frames per second frame rate. Overall I thought it was a great, immersive experience. I can see why some people didn't like the look of the 48 fps as it does kinda have a shot on video feel and exposes the makeup a bit. I don't think that 48 fps will ever catch on for all movies as it simply isn't meant for that. There is no reason a Will Ferrell movie needs the high frame rate! However, for a film like this one on a big scope with a lot of outside landscape shots the 48 fps generally looks magnificent and the pros outweigh the cons.
The film's action and visual effects are excellent. My favorite scene was the barrel sequence which besides looking great flowed well and had nice choreography.

Other than the barrel scene, another standout moment for the special effects is Smaug the dragon. Smaug is brought to life by Benedict Cumberbatch who did a nice job not only voicing the character but also performing the motion capture for the role.
If you still can't get past the fact that Peter Jackson's Hobbit films are more prequels to his LOTR movies than an adaptation of the book, The Desolation of Smaug won't win you over. There is a love story added for the movie which involved one of the dwarves and a female elf. Although this subplot is unnecessary and could've been cut, I actually thought it worked well and fit naturally with the story. It also helped tie in the elves to this movie more which makes sense given the stronger connection to LOTR the Hobbit movies have when compared to the books.
The decision to make three movies out of The Hobbit is still a stretch but the pacing is better this time around. That said, The Desolation of Smaug leaves the story off near the end of the book. I guess this means we'll see a lot more of the final battles and there will be more added material in the next one. The final part of this film trilogy, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, comes out in December 2014.
7/10

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Thor: The Dark World (2013)
As I wrote in my Iron Man 3 review I am a fan of the Marvel Studios movies. My least favorite movie of the series was Thor so I wasn't too excited about this one. I held out hope that Thor: The Dark World would be an improvement over the original but found it to be a lateral move. Director Alan Taylor has mostly done TV work but I guess his Game of Thrones credits helped get him this job. The only other thing I've seen from Taylor was the pilot for the TV show The Playboy Club. I didn't care for it but thought the premise could've made for a good movie. Taylor's next film will be Terminator: Genesis.

The best part of Thor: The Dark World, like the first Thor movie, is Loki. Tom Hiddleston puts in yet another dynamic performance as Loki and does a great job drawing from his background as a Shakespearean actor. It's kinda funny that Loki is a more interesting and nuanced character than Thor, who is supposed to be our main character. But since Loki has been portrayed so well I can't really complain about this. I'm also not sure if there was much more to the Thor character in the comics as I have never read them. While Chris Hemsworth has a nice presence as Thor, he's not the greatest actor. However, he has a good chemistry with Hiddleston and their scenes together are not just the best in the movies of some of highlights of the entire franchise. Thor's companions, the Warriors Three along with Heimdall (Idris Elba) and Sif (Jaimie Alexander), get a bit more screen time in The Dark World. I particularly liked the scenes where they plan to break Loki out of prison and how each one kept telling Loki not to betray Thor, or else! I thought the humor worked in Thor and it's just as good this time around. Another strong point of the film are the stunning visuals ranging from the Aether to alien planets and even creative portal battles.

The Dark World has Loki and great production values but there are several flaws. The weakest part of the movie is the bad guy, the Dark Elf Malekith (Christopher Eccleston). Malekith's motivations aren't strong. He once battled Thor's grandfather, Bor, over a powerful weapon called the Aether. Bor defeated Malekith, gained the Aether, and hid it in safe place, but Malekith is able to escape into suspended animation. Malekith wakes up due to the release of the Aether and wants it back. Malekith doesn't even get that much screen time which is odd since he is supposed to be the main villain. We should've gotten to know this character and his motivations much better as it would've made the conflict and final battle more meaningful.
The relationship between Thor and the human Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) is phoned in again. It doesn't help that Portman is one of the least convincing scientists I've ever seen in a movie. While Loki is trying to discover who he is and what his place is in the universe, Thor's biggest decision is whether his love interest should be Jane or Sif. This brings in some conflict but is basically dropped as the story progresses to include Loki more.

Also like in the original Thor movie, the scenes on Earth aren't as good as the Asgard and cosmic scenes. While it made sense for Thor to be on Earth a lot in the first movie, this time there is too much time spent on Earth that could've been used to play up the fantasy elements.
Some people found Darcy (Kat Dennings) annoying in Thor but I thought she was fine as the comic relief and at the very least had more of a persona than Jane. This time I just didn't find her schtick funny except for one joke that was a callback to the first movie and the fact that she has her own intern despite being an intern herself.

The Dark World brings us a little more into the cosmic aspect of the Marvel Cinematic Universe but not much is set up for Phase 2 outside of the after credits scene. I've been watching the TV show Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and there was an episode, "The Well," which followed up on the events of The Dark World. I would've liked a stronger tie-in to the movie such as a cameo appearance but the Asgardian Beserker staff made for a cool MacGuffin.
I don't need another Thor movie (honestly I'd rather have a solo Loki movie or give a new Marvel character a chance) but Thor 3 was recently announced thanks to the success of the first two as well as the popularity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole. Next up for Marvel Studios is Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which will be released in April 2014.
6/10

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
As a Star Trek fan I was cautiously optimistic about Star Trek Into Darkness. I liked the 2009 Star Trek reboot a lot when I first it in theaters but watched it a couple more times and enjoyed it less and less each time. I'm glad '09 Trek brought back the joyful optimism and fun of the original series but just wished it had more substance to it. I was hoping that the sequel would fix this problem now that the crew has been introduced but we still don't get much social commentary or philosophy here. I'm not asking for a dissertation, just something to think about while leaving the theater.

I didn't like the clunky title since it was first announced. I guess they wanted to avoid using numbers or the one word subtitles of the Next Generation movies but is this really the best they could come up with? It also doesn't help that the acronym is close to both STD (sexually transmitted disease) and STI (sexually transmitted infection)!
Star Trek Into Darkness was actually better than I expected and I liked it more than '09 Trek. The villain of this movie is much better than the over the top Eric "Fire everything!" Bana as Nero. I also liked how each main character had more to do this time around. I understand that this was partially because '09 Trek had to set up the characters but it was still nice to have Scotty do more than simply be comic relief. The opening scene felt like classic Trek to me and I would've liked to have seen more of it. I enjoyed this cast the first time around and thought they did a good job with the roles again. I particularly liked the addition of Peter Weller as Admiral Marcus, the father of Kirk's love interest, Carol Marcus. The Klingons are re-introduced and while I was glad to see them back instead of the Romulans yet again, I was not a fan of the re-design. It looked too CGI to me and if it ain't broke don't fix it. The planet Vulcan was destroyed in '09 Trek which I thought was interesting as it opened up a lot of new story telling possibilities. However, the idea is never followed up in this film other than a line from Spock Prime (Leonard Nimoy does make a brief cameo, probably so his last movie didn't have to be Transformers 3!) about helping Vulcan survivors. I have a bad feeling that the destruction of Vulcan was not done as a commentary on attempted genocide or displaced persons but just because Alderaan blew up in Star Wars and to show that anything can happen in this new timeline.

Now it's time to get to the elephant in the room. By this point anybody who is a Star Trek fan and hasn't seen Star Trek Into Darkness yet probably knows that the villain of the movie is Khan from the original series episode "Space Seed" and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, one of my all-time favorite films. Unlike a lot of Star Trek fans, I had no problem with Khan being used in a reboot. In fact, I actually thought it could be a good idea as long as it was handled in a "what if" way. For instance, Khan could be discovered by a different Federation ship and then start to build up a new empire. This could shake things up in various ways by for example, causing a split in the Federation or making peace with the Klingons or starting a war with the Romulans. Into Darkness certainly does things different such as how Khan and Kirk interact as well as the lack of the Genesis device subplot. However, simply using Khan at all forces an unfair comparison. This isn't like when a comic book movie uses a well-known villain since Khan only has two canonical appearances while a character such as Joker for instance has had many incarnations over the years.

It also doesn't help that Khan is played by a white man when the character is supposed to Indian. Ricardo Montalban was not Indian either but first played the role in the 1960s when actors like him played a wide range of ethnic characters so it's understandable in that context. I don't think the casting of Benedict Cumberbatch was racist since the character is never referred to as Indian and really is a new character merely inspired by Khan. It seems to me that Cumberbatch was cast more for his marketability than fitting the role, even though he is a fine actor and does a good job here. Still, I don't know why somebody like Faran Tahir couldn't have played the part. Besides fitting the ethnicity of Khan, he is not unknown to audiences as was in Iron Man and even very briefly at the beginning of '09 Trek. I doubt that most viewers would've remembered him from the last film, and casting the same actor in different subsequent roles is nothing new for Star Trek. But what I really don't understand is why the marketing and movie go out of their way to make the reveal of Khan (who is referred to as "John Harrison" for half the film) a surprise. Maybe they were afraid of the fanboy backlash but if that was the case then why do it at all? I think this is just J.J. Abrams' mystery box at play but after all the buildup whatever is in the "box" will seem underwhelming no matter what.

I felt that Into Darkness was an improvement over the last one and had fun with it. But like '09 Trek it wasn't as memorable as other Star Trek movies, partially because it plays off of Wrath of Khan more than it tells a brand new story. I didn't have a problem with the callbacks as they usually changed things up from Wrath of Khan or other episodes/movies, but would've rather had something completely different than anything done before. I'm surprised that many Star Trek fans hated Into Darkness yet had no problems with '09 Trek as the tone, style, and characters aren't much different. If you couldn't accept Star Trek as a popcorn movie the first time around then Into Darkness won't win you over. However, if you liked '09 Trek I think you will enjoy this one as well. I liked Into Darkness as a sci-fi action blockbuster. But as a Star Trek movie, like '09 Trek, it still misses the mark.

While there have been some very good Star Trek movies it really works best as a TV show and I hope to see it return to that medium at some point. In the meantime I just hope that the next Star Trek movie more evenly balances ideas and exploration with the action and villains. Many recent movies have tried to copy how The Dark Knight accomplished this but in the wrong ways ("dark" in the title, focus on the villain, etc.) instead of doing so in a unique and organic fashion like TDK did.
Fun Fact: Two actors in this movie have voiced Batman (Bruce Greenwood and Peter Weller). We also have Robocop (Peter Weller), and Judge Dredd (Karl Urban).
7/10

Iron Man 3 (2013)

Iron Man 3 (2013)
As a fan of the Marvel Studios movie since I first saw Iron Man in the theaters in 2008, of course I was going to see Iron Man 3 the weekend it came out. Iron Man 3 was the first Marvel Studios movie to follow the huge 2012 blockbuster The Avengers so even though it was highly anticipated, this was one of those movies that was going to make a lot of money regardless of quality. Iron Man 3 was the top grossing movie worldwide in 2013 (second in the USA behind The Hunger Games: Catching Fire) making over $1.2 billion internationally. Coming in to Iron Man 3 I was just hoping it would be on par with Iron Man 2. Iron Man 3 met my expectations, though the movie is pretty different than the last two films in both story and tone.

Jon Favreau directed the first two Iron Man movies but was replaced for Iron Man 3 with Shane Black, who gives the film a noticeably different feel. I found this a refreshing change of pace as Black puts his own sense of style and humor into the picture. I found the comedy to be the film's strong point as I was already in stitches as soon as Eiffel 65's "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" started playing over the opening credits! Robert Downey Jr. is hilarious as usual in these movies with some great snappy dialogue. Downey tends to ad-lib a lot and there are some hilarious moments where he is basically riffing the movie with references to A Christmas Story and Westworld. I laughed more throughout this movie than I do for many straight-up comedies, though to be fair I tend to find humor can work better in non-comedies simply because it's not expected as much. There is more to Iron Man 3 than just comedy as there are some cool action sequences such as the "monkeys in a barrel" scene. It's also interesting to see Tony Stark out of the suit for the majority of the movie since he is Iron Man and the question is raised if he more than just a guy in powerful battle armor. This also allowed supporting characters Happy Hogan, Pepper Potts, and War Machine/Rhodey to be more involved with the story.

Besides directing Iron Man 3, Shane Black also has a writing credit on the film. I discovered that
Black also worked on the screenplays for The Monster Squad and Last Action Hero which is evident in this one with the meta humor and way the kid (Harley played by Ty Simpkins) was handled. I liked the portrayal of the Mandarin and the tacked on kid sidekick as a satirical commentary on more serious superhero and action movies. I wonder if the Mandarin was intended as a parody of Ra's al Ghul and Bane in Christopher Nolan's Batman films. I'm guessing it was probably playing off them a little but was more of a riff on movie villains in general. Either way I liked the take on the Mandarin and thought it worked well here, but can see why fans of the Iron Man comics (which I never read) would've preferred a more traditional approach.

Despite the clever and witty writing there are some issues here. For example, what are Aldrich Killian's motivations? I understand his beef with Tony Stark but we're supposed to believe that he turned evil just because Stark, an idiosyncratic playboy, didn't show up for a meeting one time? I know this incident was supposed to be the last straw for Killian but it simply doesn't work. If we saw Killian pushed to the edge before meeting Stark or if he was truly wronged by Stark it would've been fine but it seems that he's only bad guy because that's what it says in the script. This is an odd incongruity given the meta stuff in the rest of the movie which you'd think would parody something like this. I'm guessing Killian came from the film's other writer (Drew Pearce) or they just ran out of time to develop Killian more.

I think the Iron Man trilogy may be a bit underrated as a whole since it is part of the Marvel Studios franchise and most people focus on the first one. I still think that the original Iron Man movie is the best of the three. To be fair though I need to re-watch that one as it's been a while since I've last seen it and I've watched the other two more recently. I had a ton of fun with Iron Man 3 in the theaters and it held up a second time, which is great given the film's surprises and emphasis on humor. Iron Man 3 is neither as consistent as the first nor as thought provoking as the second, but despite some plot and pacing issues it's a still fun ride that is always entertaining
It will be interesting to see how exactly Iron Man will come back for Avengers: Age of Ultron since Iron Man 3 felt like an ending story, especially with the montage over the closing credits. Will Tony Stark return to the suit or contribute to the team in a different way? We'll have to wait until May 2015 to find out.
7/10

Pacific Rim (2013)

Pacific Rim (2013)
Guillermo del Toro is one of my favorite current directors. I still need to catch up with some of his earlier work as Pacific Rim is the third del Toro film I have seen with the others being Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy.
Pacific Rim is a great summer movie and I wish that more blockbusters could be like it since it's a fun ride that knows what it is without ever getting cheesy or stupid. The film is about giant monsters that come to Earth from an interdimensional portal located at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. These monsters, dubbed Kaiju, (as a throwback to the Japanese giant creature feature films such as Godzilla) begin attacking major cities. Humanity responds by building Jaegers, giant robot machines controlled by human pilots, to fight the Kaiju. The Jaegers are successful at first but eventually most are destroyed by the Kaiju which are increasing in size and number. The Jaeger project is discontinued, but the remaining Jaegers and their pilots must band together in a last ditch effort planned by Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba) to save Earth from the Kaiju. Our main character is Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam), a former Jaeger pilot who retired after the death of his brother and co-pilot but returns in order to end the war between the humans and the Kaiju.

I liked the characters in Pacfic Rim. Sure, their arcs may not be the best ever, but this is a big action movie with a decent amount of characters not a one man character study. The characterizations are fine for what is required in a film like this and are done better than those in many of its peers. For example, the Raleigh/Mako relationship was well written and felt organic, especially compared to the forced, afterthought relationships in other blockbusters like Thor or Transformers. Mako is not just the requisite love interest but a three dimensional character. Idris Elba puts his great acting chops to good use and his character has an interesting backstory. I also enjoyed the scientists (who felt right out of a 50s sci-fi flick) who had important stuff to do that fit in with the main story. The main mission for the scientists (one of whom is played by Charlie Day from the TV Show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) is go to Hong Kong to find a Kaiju brain. In order to do so they must first go through black market dealer Hannibal Chau (played by Ron Perlman who steals every scene he is in). While in Hong Kong a Kaiju attacks so we get to see the battle from the perspective of the scientists and Chau, as well as from our protagonists in Gipsy Danger who are fighting the beast. Both the plot and characters were more involved than many people expected when they heard the movie was about robots fighting aliens.

Pacfic Rim does a good job of world building and summarizing the backstory of the Kaiju attacks in the opening scenes. However, the title screen came up surprisingly late and took me out of the film a bit since I was already into it and just assumed we weren't getting opening credits. Other than that I thought the movie was well paced and just as long as it needed to be.
The humans from other countries don't get to do much. I understand this from a storytelling perspective since it would mean more characters we would have to get to know better, but I was hoping to see the Chinese Jaeger (Crimson Typhoon) with three arms that piloted by triplets get more fighting time.
Our main character, Raleigh, was fine but could've stood out a little more. Also, the Australian pilots are a father and son team but they looked fairly close in age so I thought they were brothers at first. I looked it up and the actor (Max Martini) who played Herc Hansen was only 14 years older than the man (Robert Kazinsky) playing his son. It might've been more interesting to cast an older actor in his late 50s or early 60s as Herc to mix things up a bit anyway.

The Kaiju wall and Kaiju categories (1-5) show how the humans mistakenly considered the monsters to be merely animals or acts of nature. We find out later that there is more motivation to the Kaiju than simply being rampaging beasts, which I thought was an interesting development.

The use of colors in the movie is spectacular. Whether it is the neon lit streets of Hong Kong, the cool blue Kaiju blood, the shiny Jaegars, or the jars containing Kaiju organs in Hannibal Chau's hideout, Pacific Rim is feast for the eyes.
The concept of the Drift is another neat idea the movie has going for it. Each Jaeger needs to be controlled by two pilots through the Drift, a mind meld of sorts in which memories and emotions are shared. This means that pilots need to have a high level of compatibility in order to control the Jaegars, which sort of reminded me of ice skating pairs. The comradery (and at times competitiveness) between the pilots also called to mind old war movies, with Jaegers being the substitute for fighter aircraft.
The Hong Kong battle sequence was awesome and my favorite part of the movie. I found this scene even better than the final battle, which may be a bit of a problem since that is supposed to be the climax. I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with that (swapping the scenes wouldn't have worked at all) so I just chalked it up as Iron Man 2 syndrome where the best or biggest action scene isn't near the end of the movie.

It's clear that a lot of thought and effort was put into it Pacific Rim. The productions values and special effects are both excellent, with the detailed textures of the Kaiju bodies being particularly impressive. Pacific Rim had a big budget but every dollar of it is seen on screen and well spent. The great visuals are assisted by an awesome guitar heavy score from Ramin Djawadi, who also did the soundtrack for Iron Man.
Del Toro really cared not just about making a good movie, but about paying respect to the Kaiju and giant robot movies that he loves. Pacific Rim has homages and references to other films and TV shows but they are done in a way that is never distracting, like in the original Star Wars or Indiana Jones movies. I haven't seen much of what Pacific Rim is paying tribute to, but didn't need to either. I noticed some references to Alien and Aliens such as a character named Newt, Kaiju acid blood, and the way the crew went inside the Kaiju to collect samples was similar to how the crew of the Nostromo investigated the derelict space ship in Alien. Was the pregnant Kaiju a callback to Godzilla '98?!

Although Pacific Rim did great at the international box office, especially in China, it underperformed domestically. The movie had several things going against it since it features no big name stars and the current film climate favors franchises. The fact that some people associated it as a Transformers knock-off from the poster and trailers didn't help. Pacific Rim received good reviews from critics and got positive word of mouth from audiences so it may get more popular in the U.S as time goes on. Del Toro says he is working on a script for a sequel with his Pacific Rim co-writer Travis Beacham so we'll have to wait and see if it gets the green-light. I loved Pacific Rim but feel it stands alone and don't need a sequel. Of course I would still watch one as long as del Toro is involved.
I first saw Pacific Rim when it came out it theaters then watched it again after it was released on Blu-ray. It held up well the second time around which is always the sign of a good movie.
8/10

Superman: Unbound (2013)

Superman: Unbound (2013)
Superman: Unbound is a DC Universe Animated Original Movie based on the comic "Superman: Brainiac" written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Gary Frank. Although I haven't read that particular comic yet, I am familiar with work from both Johns and Frank.
The basic story of Superman: Unbound is that Superman encounters drones which were sent by the cyborg Brainiac. Superman tries to stop Brainiac before more drones attack Earth, while also having to deal with his changing relationship with Lois Lane and helping his cousin Supergirl adjust to life on Earth.
I really liked the characterization of Supergirl in this. Supergirl is a character that I never cared much for in Superman: The Animated Series, but I found her quite interesting in this story and was actually glad she had a lot of screen time. Supergirl aka Kara is chronologically older than her cousin Kal-El. However, she arrived at Earth later than Superman and struggles to adapt to her new planet since unlike Superman, she grew up on Krypton. Later on in the movie Supergirl discovers that her parents are still alive in Kandor, a Kryptonian city captured by Brainiac. I also enjoyed the spin on the Lois/Superman relationship as well as Lois' "rude gesture" to Brainiac. It was nice to see that both supporting female characters Lois Lane and Supergirl were given solid character arcs.

While I liked the way Superman: Unbound handled those characters, I wasn't thrilled with the portrayal of Brainiac. I prefer the Brainiac from Superman: The Animated Series, though to be fair I've heard that was different from how he normally is in the comics. I would have liked more back story on Brainiac to explain why and how he was created, especially since I'm not familiar with the usual back story of the character. There was a line that implied Brainiac was extremely old and not a Kryptonian supercomputer, but I think this should've been fleshed out more. His motivations were fine and not too different from the Brainiac in Superman:TAS.
Superman: Unbound was directed by James Tucker. While this is his first feature length project, he previously directed episodes of animated superhero TV shows such as Batman Beyond.
The animation in Superman: Unbound was good though I wasn't big on this style. I guess I just prefer a more classic or retro style of animation for Superman. The poster for this movie is pretty cool, but doesn't represent the actual animation style used in the film.
They probably should've kept the title from the original comic as I'm still not sure what "unbound" is supposed to refer to. My guess is that it's a reference to the fact that Clark Kent is no longer hiding his relationship with Lois, but that doesn't have anything to do with Brainiac.
After having seen Man of Steel (my review is forthcoming), Superman: Unbound is still my favorite Superman movie of 2013!
7/10

Animation Week - Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 (2013)

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 (2013)
Back in October I saw and reviewed Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1, so now its time to discuss Part 2. This is also the first movie I have seen released in 2013. It is direct-to-video but that still counts!
Most of what I wrote for Part 1 applies here so I'll keep this post short. The Joker plays a major role this time and I liked how he was handled. Voice actor Michael Emerson did a good job of fitting his character of the story instead of simply trying to be like Jack Nicholson, Mark Hamill, or Heath Ledger. I appreciated that he tried to do something knew while fitting with the depiction of the character in the comic and it worked out great.

Like Part 1, the second part gets rid of any monologues in order to make it more cinematic. While I appreciate this technique, it did change Superman's character. I think there could have been a way to explain Superman's motivations better while still not using monologues. Someone who has not read the original story could read Superman's story arc pretty differently from somebody has read Frank Miller's comic. But overall both parts were a very good adaptation of the comic to the screen. I need to read the comic again, but honestly after watching these I kind of feel like I already have! I'll be looking forward to any future DC animated movies done by this production team.

Next up: More Batman!

Films I am looking forward to in 2013

2012 is over so it's time to look ahead to movies coming out in 2013! This list is in no particular order and I'm sure I'll add films to it as the year goes on. This is my last list post until next year. My next posts will be catching up on movies I saw the last two months.

My most anticipated movie of 2013 was Charlie Kauffman's satirical musical-comedy about Hollywood, Frank or Francis. Although the project got put on hold I'm still looking forward to the film whenever it comes out. Now let's look at some movies that will indeed be released in 2013.

The Zero Theorem
Terry Gilliam is one of my favorite directors and I'm very happy that he will be directing another film since he was considering retirement earlier. The Zero Theorem will be Gilliam's most recent film since The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus and the cast includes Christopher Waltz, Matt Damon, Tilda Swinton, and David Thewlis.

Pacific Rim
The next film by Guillermo del Toro (director of Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth among others), Pacific Rim is about humans in huge robot suits fighting off giant alien monsters.

Elysium
I loved Neill Blomkamp's feature film debut District 9 and am looking forward to his second movie Elysium, which stars Matt Damon.

Voyage of Time
2011's The Tree of Life featured some fantastic scenes depicting the the history of the universe. Voyage of Time is an IMAX documentary expanding upon those scenes.

Upstream Color
Director Shane Carruth's first film was the low budget (only $7,000!) time travel movie Primer in 2004. It has taken almost ten years but I'm looking forward seeing Upstream Color, Carruth's second film.

Gravity
The next film from director Alfonso Cuaron is Gravity, a sci-fi movie about astronauts trying to return to Earth. George Clooney and Sandra Bullock are set to star. I still need to see Cuaron's Children of Men.

Iron Man 3
I have really enjoyed the Marvel Studios movies so far and am looking forward to see what is next with their first post-Avengers flick.

Thor: The Dark World
While I liked Thor I feel that it is the weakest of the Marvel Studios films so far. I have high hopes for Thor: The Dark World since I think it can improve upon the original and focus on the fantasy setting.

Man of Steel
After the successful reinvention of the Batman franchise it makes sense that Superman is getting a reboot as well. Zack Synder (300, Watchmen) will direct while the screenplay is written by David Goyer (The Dark Knight).

42
I'm a big baseball fan so I'm looking forward to this biopic about Jackie Robinson. It seems to be in good hands as the screen writer and director is Brian Helgeland who wrote L.A. Confidential (Oscar winner for best screenplay based on previous material) and Mystic River. Harrison Ford will play Branch Rickey, though before he was cast I was wondering if they would go with John Goodman. The real Branch Rickey looked like a combination of the two!

Ender's Game 
Ender's Game is the film adaptation of the science fiction novel by Orson Scott Card. Like 42, it also features Harrison Ford. I still need to read the book sometime, hopefully before I watch the movie.

Star Trek Into Darkness
Despite the clunky title I'm looking forward to this sequel to the rebooted Star Trek. I liked the first J.J. Abrams Star Trek but wasn't a fan of the Romulan villain, Nero (played by Eric Bana). Benedict Cumberbatch will be playing a human villain, though it is still not clear if he is playing a new or pre-existing character.

Oblivion
I'm not a huge Tom Cruise fan but this Sci-fi flick had a mysterious trailer that caught my attention. And to top it off Morgan Freeman is in it!

Maps to the Stars
Director David Cronenberg is teaming up with actor Robert Pattinson again for Maps to the Stars, a drama about actors, agents, and managers who work in Hollywood.

Her
Spike Jonze's next film, Her, is a comedy about a lonely writer played by Joaquin Phoenix.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
I still need to see The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey but I really liked Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings.

Oz the Great and Powerful
Although Oz the Great and Powerful looks along the lines of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, I'm a big enough Sam Raimi fan to still want to watch it. Plus I can't wait to see Bruce Campbell's cameo!

Evil Dead
Speaking of Sam Raimi, he and Bruce Campbell are producing a remake of his 1981 film, The Evil Dead. Although I love Army of Darkness I actually still need to get around to watching the first two. The Evil Dead remake doesn't feature the Ash character which I think is a good move. There were rumors that Bruce Campbell will have a cameo but that remains to be seen.

R.I.P.D.
Based on the Dark Horse comic book which I never read, R.I.P.D. (Rest in Police Department) is about a recently murdered police officer who joins the supernatural undead police department while trying to find out who killed him. I've never read the comics but the story sounds interesting.

Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters
The trailer for this movie looks like it will be a silly, fun action movie. Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton play the title characters in this re-imaging of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale.

Bonus 2014 movies:

Mad Max: Fury Road
From what I understand director George Miller's fourth Mad Max film will be pushed back from a late 2013 release to sometime in 2014. I've been waiting a while for Fury Road so I can wait a little longer. Tom Hardy will be playing Max this time.

Interstellar
Like the previous film I had been looking forward to Interstellar for a while as a future movie by director Steven Spielberg. Spielberg recently handed off the director's chair to Christopher Nolan, whose brother Jonathan Nolan wrote the script.
 
Which of these films are you looking forward to? Are there any other movies coming out in 2013 that I should be aware of?