Wanted

James McAvoy points a gun in Wanted.

by Gary Sundt

Before Wanted, I cannot recall a film more like a heavy metal song. Here is a flick that is loud, angry, hates its audience and informs them of its distaste. Funny thing is, the audience for Wanted is a lot like a heavy metal crowd, cheering the entire time while the movie basically says “$#&% you!” with every frame. Does that sound like a good time? As long as you are old enough to know that everything in this exercise in testosterone is absolutely and completely impossible, you bet your curving bullet it does.

Did I say curving bullet? I did. Why? Because, as the trailers make perfectly clear, Wanted is about a bunch of assassins that can curve the bullets they shoot. This makes executing a hit particularly nifty, because they, much like the movie, can do whatever they want. The script by Michael Brandt, Derek Haas and Chris Morgan wants to follow this insanity like the camera follows the curving bullets, letting their story run to infinite and beyond as long as it gets to the target.

The plot? Well, it gets pretty hairy with twists that often don’t make a lick of sense, but I’ll start you off. Wesley (James McAvoy) is a pencil-pushing accountant who hates his life. The guy is so restless that his heart goes into overdrive whenever he is remotely taunted by his rather irritating boss Janice (Lorna Scott). His girlfriend Cathy (Kristen Hager) is cheating on him with his buddy and coworker Barry (Chris Pratt). And his dad left him and his momma when he was a week old. All in all, Wesley feels as if he could’ve been dealt a better hand.

The chance for a full house seems to come along in the guise of Fox (Angelina Jolie), who shows up just in the nick of time to save Wesley from a curved bullet to the cranium. After one of the many brilliantly-executed action sequences, we are informed by the smooth-talking Sloan (Morgan Freeman) that he was rescued in order to kill the attempting assassin, Cross (Thomas Kretschmann). You see, they are all part of a fraternity of assassins, aptly calling themselves “The Fraternity,” and they get orders from a giant loom as to who the next target will be. These people are chosen because…

Oh, forget it. None of this matters. What matters is Jolie is a sexy chick, McAvoy is remarkable in this against-type role and Freeman uses that majestic voice of his with the added benefit of swear words. And the action sequences are simply outstanding. Russian director Timur Bekmambetov (whose name I admittedly copy-pasted here because it is pretty intimidating) knows how to make action movies, and his freshman entry into American action cinema has the tenacity of The Matrix with a little bit of Tyler Durden DNA mixed in.

On the related subject, while comparisons to The Matrix cannot be ignored, Wanted is a different sort of beast. Sure, it has the wacky badass-powers-in-a-world-without-rules feel, but it also has a hint of consequence to the whole affair. How do the characters in Wanted feel about these consequences? Remember the whole “%$#@ you” remark that started this review? That’s how they feel about it.

The choice for moviegoers this weekend came down to WALL-E or Wanted, and I can’t think of a better weekend for these two films to come out. They are essentially the antithesis of one another. WALL-E is sweet and beautiful, while Wanted is sweaty and bloody. Which is the movie for you? That is a good question. If you are interested in a steroidal Matrix with a heavy dose of Fight Club on the side, then Wanted is for you. If not, go see the cute robot. If you want a good movie, go see both.

I am coming to the end of my review, but I wish to offer an analogy that I think best sums up the Wanted experience. Here is an adjusted conversation from my favorite scene from the great 2004 film Closer:

WANTED: You like this movie?
AUDIENCE: I love it!
WANTED: You like me &*%$ing in your face?
AUDIENCE: Yes!
WANTED: What does it taste like?
AUDIENCE: It tastes like The Matrix but sweeter!
WANTED: That’s the spirit. Thank you. Thank you for your honesty. Now %$#& off and die, you $#%@ed up people.

Our response to this, mirroring another famous piece of dialogue from Closer, is quite simply, “Thank you.”

NOTE: Wanted is based on a comic book by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones. I didn’t find much room in the review to write that, but I felt it was noteworthy.

Running time: 110 minutes. Directed by Timur Bekmambetov. Produced by Marc E. Platt, Jim Lemley,Jason Netter and Iain Smith. Screenplay by Michael Brandt, Derek Haas and Chris Morgan. Based on the comic book by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones. Starring James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman, Thomas Kretschmann, Lorna Scott, Kristen Hager and Chris Pratt. A Universal Pictures release. Rated R.

WALL-E

WALL-E is freakin’ awesome in WALL-E.

by Gary Sundt

Film critic Roger Ebert once asked the great Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni what his favorite love scene was. Mastroianni (who most Americans recognize from Federico Fellini’s La dolche vita or 8 1/2), after careful consideration, eventually responded with: ”I like it when Minnie kisses Mickey, and little red hearts go pop-pop-pop, over their heads, in the air.” I mention this because I believe I have found my own favorite movie love scene, which is when the two robots finally hold hands in Disney/Pixar’s latest triumph, WALL-E.

WALL-E tells the tale of the dirty and beat-up WALL-E (Ben Burtt), a little trash-compacting robot with a curiosity rivaled only by small children. The droid is the last of his unit (is that the right term?), left in charge of cleaning up Earth when the trash became too much for us humans. WALL-E does his job efficiently enough (piling square cubes of garbage into skyscraper-like structures), but finds time to collect a lot of stuff and keep track of his pet cockroach. He (and I use the term loosely) even has his own favorite love scene from his favorite movie, Hello, Dolly!.

Everything in WALL-E’s world is shaken when a mysterious craft comes from above. From this space ship appears EVE (Elissa Knight), a clean and new robot who, like WALL-E, is one of many of the same unit designed for a task. She (again with the looseness of phrasing) is looking for new life on the planet Earth. The little garbage-handler is immediately smitten with the plant-finder, and he soon brings her to his collection of things, one of which is a plant he has recently discovered.

EVE sees the plant, takes it, and suddenly shuts down in wait for pick up. She is eventually snatched up by her spacecraft, and WALL-E tags along. They are taken to the Axiom, the space ship where humans have lived for 700 years (they have just celebrated the septua-centennial of their planned five-year stay). WALL-E desperately wants EVE’s affection, EVE wants to complete her directive, but the plant has gone missing. The film then goes off with the two robots and their malfunctioning brethren trying to locate and save the plant, such that the humans can return to Earth.

But “Are we so keen on going back and taking responsibility?” is the question. WALL-E has a whole lot to say about the environment, obesity and several other issues of note in our troubling political climate, so much to the point that I wonder how people will take to the film. For example, the humans on board the Axiom have gotten so reliant on technology that they have grown morbidly obese, flying around in hover chairs and drinking all meals through giant sippy-cups. They hold conversations via computer when the person on the other end is hovering right next to them. There are a few people who have accidental collisions with WALL-E, knocking them out of their technological stupor and allowing them to take in the beauty of the real world. These are the kinds of subtle jabs at mankind (Americans in particular) that will turn off some viewers, which is a shame because WALL-E is simply brilliant.

Every time Pixar comes out with a film, I wonder if it will finally yield the disappointment long-expected from the seemingly perfect animation company. It is alone remarkable that they have put out consistent greatness, but the fact that they top themselves continuously makes it even more amazing. With WALL-E, I believe Pixar has produced their masterpiece. This is a science fiction movie, a comedy, a love story and a political statement all rolled into one, and all of it is executed with absolute perfection.

Writer/director Andrew Stanton has made a movie here that can scarcely be believed. He has drawn from some classic films for inspiration, from the work of Charlie Chaplin to 2001: A Space Odyssey (Sigourney Weaver comes in as WALL-E’s very own HAL), and meshed it all together into a flick that is both earth-shatteringly original and uncannily familiar. These are computer-generated images, but the characters are more real than most of what you’ll find at the movies. There is hardly any dialogue, but the relationship between WALL-E and EVE has more depth than many screen romances (and all they can do is hold hands!). The ladies from Sex and the City could take some lessons in love from these two robots.

Not everybody is going to get behind this film. It has a lot of stuff that, if people get it, will be shocking and abrasive (because we know they’re right). But I loved WALL-E. I loved it a whole bunch. I want to see it again. I want to buy the DVD. I want the vintage soundtrack. Heck, I want the big cardboard model they have in the lobby at the movie theater. Very rarely will I see a film that touches me deep down, reminding me why it can be so special to go to the movies. WALL-E did that for me.

NOTE: Pixar is always reliable in providing short films before their features. The one before WALL-E, called Presto, is wonderful.

NOTE 2: Arizona Daily Star film critic Phil Villarreal has taken a remarkably large amount of flack for his negative review of WALL-E. We critics usually have several reasons to dislike a film, and people should understand that. However, I have to disagree with what I consider to be his principle argument: “WALL-E is programmed more for critics and intellectuals than families looking to have a good time at the movies.” I think WALL-E is for everyone who appreciates wonder and good storytelling, and people should not be discouraged from seeing a movie because it may be too smart for them. That kind of thinking is simply patronizing to the general public, and should not be a rewarded way of thinking (particularly when written in the bizarre and disconnected style of his review).

Running time: 97 minutes. Written and directed by Andrew Stanton. Produced by Jim Morris. Starring Fred Willard, Jeff Garlin, Elissa Knight, Ben Burtt, and Sigourney Weaver. A Disney/Pixar release. Rated G.

Funny Games

Michael Pitt holds Devon Gearhart in a pillow case in Funny Games.

by Gary Sundt

Note: Funny Games never came to Flagstaff’s movie theater, thus I didn’t get to review the film upon the initial release. So now that its on DVD, I have rented it in order to review it. Enjoy.

When I saw the trailer for Funny Games, I was intrigued beyond the basis of me being a horror movie fan. This film is written and directed by Michael Haneke, and it is a shot-for-shot remake of his German language film of the same name made slightly more than a decade ago. The original film was designed to be a comment on media violence, and so is the remake. But this remake wants to punish Americans specifically, for it is we more than any other culture that craves blood when we go to the movies.

The flick is about a family who is terrorized by two strangers clad in clean, white golf outfits. The family is Anna (Naomi Watts), George (Tim Roth) and their son Georgie (Devon Gearhart), and their terrorizers are Peter/Jerry/Butthead (Brady Corbet) and Paul/Tom/Beavis (Michael Pitt). That’s the whole story, and we watch how things get grim, grimmer, grimmest and finally grave. The film has no plot to speak of, a point made when Paul, in one of a few candid inquiries with the audience, asks us if we desire plot development. We do, but Funny Games is a film that revels in not giving us what we want.

What was good? The performances are top notch across the board, and the cinematography by Darius Khondji (the same guy who shot David Fincher’s Se7en) is effective in creating a chilling atmosphere. The bad? The overwhelming lack of purpose that is felt throughout the entire running time.

Funny Games could be seen as an interesting experiment: a filmmaker remaking his film shot-for-shot to see if lightning in a bottle can be caught twice. But to what end? The movie has already been made (and not all that long ago), the point has already been made, so why make it again? What more does Haneke have to say? Nothing, so the remake is just pointless.

It is this pointlessness of Funny Games that overwhelms any admirable aspects the film has. There is a moment where the film literally rewinds itself in order to change the past in the villains’ favor. So, if the past can just be changed at random, what’s the point of watching the movie? We know right from the beginning how this will play out, so why do we care?

Lots of questions, none of which have answers. Unfortunately, I cannot rewind real life, in which I would change history and rent a different movie.

The Incredible Hulk

Edward Norton is not pictured here, but his CGI counterpart is in this still from The Incredible Hulk

by Gary Sundt

Five years ago, director Ang Lee made Hulk, a movie I have often referred to as the single worst movie theater experience of my life. See, I was dating this girl, and our relationship was heading south. I was only 15 at the time and couldn’t drive anywhere. And I was watching Hulk. I couldn’t drive away, couldn’t indulge my hormones, and the flick was simply awful. Art-house and comic books might be able to mix, but there needs to be… well, some sort of action in a Hulk movie. Instead, there was a whole lot of talking, jumping through the desert and monster-poodles.

Thankfully, director Louis Leterrier has corrected the horrors of the first film, and made a nifty flick in the spirit of (dare I say)… the comic book! The Incredible Hulk may not quite be as great as the title suggests, but this movie knows its subject matter. A Hulk movie should have an introspective genius named Bruce Banner who has a nasty habit of turning large and green when he gets pissed, followed promptly by lots of smashing and explosions. This is delivered in full in The Incredible Hulk.

The film opens with an astonishing shot of a Brazilian neighborhood, where Bruce (Edward Norton) has put himself into seclusion in hopes of curing his angry side and avoiding his old buddy, General Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt). Forgetting Ang Lee’s lore entirely involving gene passing, the story goes that Banner was conducting an experiment involving gamma radiation, headed by the cigar-smoking Ross. Things went crazy, the nerd went green, and he had to leave his home and his girl (who also happens to be the general’s daughter) Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) behind in favor of being constantly hunted by the U.S. government.

Banner has been pretty good at playing Jason Bourne, effectively disappearing from the grid and always staying one step ahead of Ross. It is because of this that the general enlists the assistance of Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), a badass to end all badasses who is very capable of extreme levels of badassery. Blonsky leads a team of soldiers, which causes Banner to Hulk-out, and the chase is on. After the initial encounter, Banner goes to get his long lost Betty, while the badass approaches the general in hopes of injecting some gamma-radiation of his own. 

The Incredible Hulk begins and ends at the genre of chase movie, which is the type of film Leterrier has made before with efforts like Unleashed and The Transporter. However, because of some pretty big pacing problems, I was disappointed by the former and downright enraged by the latter. With this project, the director has not necessarily fixed these issues, but they are not nearly as glaring. The cast here is pretty phenomenal (Marvel is getting pretty great at drawing A-list talent to their endeavors), and their work, along with the impressive action sequences, allows The Incredible Hulk to flow at a brisk yet reasonable pace.

However, unlike the recent Iron Man, the top-notch cast finds their talents somewhat underused. The rather young Marvel Studios was very afraid of making another Hulk-snoozer, thus Leterrier and Norton apparently were asked to cut approximately 70 minutes from the movie. The result is a fast flick in which, after the opening, the audience is put through one action sequence after another. At that point, everyone (including Norton) seems to doing what they can in the brief spaces between explosions to keep this story as interesting as possible. This isn’t a bad thing, particularly because this is an action movie, but it is a balance that will hopefully be improved upon in future Hulk films.

However, my minor complaints are quite simply that – minor. I thoroughly enjoyed The Incredible Hulk. It was big and loud and awesome, and the film’s final fight sequence between The Hulk and The Abomination (aka gammarrific Blonsky) is alone worth the price of admission. And the script has dropped even more hints as to the future of Marvel comic-book movies. Don’t miss mention of the Super-Soldier Serum that created Captain America and the advertised cameo appearance of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr). 

On the related subject, let’s just discuss the issue on everyones’ mind: The Incredible Hulk is not Iron Man. It doesn’t have a hilarious and suave James Bond-ian protagonist, nor does it have the “GO AMERICA!” undertones. Also, this film is simply not as good as Iron Man.

But who the hell cares? This is The Incredible Hulk! And, by God, this is a neat movie. Dare I say… incredi…

No. I’m sorry. I couldn’t do it. Not because of the title, but because it simply isn’t there. Not yet anyway. But we’re certainly getting close.

NOTE: During the film, I and my lady had the unfortunate occurrence of sitting next to a man with some pretty bad body odor. People: movies are for everyone, but consider taking a shower if you happen to notice you are smelling less than your best. I’m just saying.

Running time: 114 minutes. Directed by Louis Leterrier. Produced by Avi Arad, Kevin Feige and Gale Ann Hurd. Screenplay by Zak Penn and Edward Norton. Based on the characters created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Starring Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, William Hurt, Tim Roth, and Robert Downy Jr. A Marvel Studios release.

Kung Fu Panda

Po (Jack Black) taunts another character (off screen) in Kung Fu Panda

by Gary Sundt

Eyes are the window to the soul. The talent of great film actors is to change the color of the glass, creating characters so real that we never doubt their authenticity. Animated films have the unique challenge of creating characters we care about without the advent of great physical performances. However, I found the eyes in Kung Fu Panda so beautiful, I was reminded of several real life actors (who will not be named here, but may or may not have a new movie coming out this weekend) who could take a lesson from these characters.

Consider a pivotal conversation between Po, the giant panda in question, and Shifu, a red panda himself and master of kung fu. They are voiced by Jack Black and Dustin Hoffman respectively, two actors who have, on occasion, done magical work in the eye department. But whatever live-action talents these actors have has no bearing on a fully computer animated film, so it comes down to the computer whizzes at Dreamworks Animated to do much of the work. Anyway, the conversation revolves around Po accepting his destiny as the Dragon Warrior.

I’ve gotten ahead of myself, so let me explain. Po is a server of noodles at his father’s noodle shop. The panda dreams of mastering kung fu and fighting with the Furious Five, who are led by Master Shifu. The Furious Five are the chosen protectors of the city, and they are as such: Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Viper (Lucy Liu), Crane (David Cross), Monkey (Jackie Chan), and Mantis (Seth Rogen). Word gets around that the Dragon Warrior (a legendary savior of mankind) is being chosen, and everybody and their mom heads up to the Jade Temple to go see who the lucky kung fu warrior will be. By a seemingly bizarre accident, Po is named the Dragon Warrior. But as Oogway (Randall Duk Kim), the turtle who selects the panda and wise old master of kung fu, states, “There are no accidents.”

The important conversation takes place after Master Shifu receives news that an evil snow leopard named Tai Lung (Ian McShane) is headed their way to claim the title of Dragon Warrior. The two pandas are forced to accept Po’s destiny, and their eyes do most of the work. The script by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger is only okay, but these two animated animals have an actual conversation entirely through the eyes. It amazes me what we can do with computers these days.

This may sound like stuff we’ve seen before. To be honest, it is. Kung Fu Panda is full of the heart-felt, panda-out-of-water whatnot we’ve seen before, but that’s okay. The movie keeps from getting too cutesy thanks to its good, well-rounded sense of humor and knack for awesome kung fu action sequences. Have you ever seen a panda or a turtle do anything remotely ninja-like? Well, its pretty sweet.

However, Black’s Po, Hoffman’s Shifu, and that funny turtle are the only characters given due-depth here. Everybody else seems to exist to give the giant panda somebody to bounce jokes off of. The Furious Five, who are voiced by some pretty big talent themselves, are sadly under used. A little more time spent on the script wouldn’t have hurt this flick one bit.

Regardless, Kung Fu Panda works. This is a pretty funny little movie, and the animators’ attention to detail really goes a long way. I still think the upcoming Pixar project Wall-E is going to knock this ship right out of the water, but Kung Fu Panda isn’t a bad way to spend some money and hours at the movies.

Running time: 92 minutes. Directed by Mark Osborne and John Stevenson. Produced by Melissa Cobb. Screenplay by Jonathan Able and Glenn Berger. Story by Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris. Starring Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Randall Duk Kim, Ian McShane, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross and Jackie Chan. A Dreamworks Animated release.