Wednesday, June 30, 2010

REVIEW - The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

So, over the past few years, the film world has had a brand new punching bag to join the side of easily mocked video game adaptations and toys who jump from the toy room to the big screen, like Transformers and G.I. Joe. That fang adorned emo wet dream of a punching bag is better known as the Twilight franchise, and it has become the biggest thing on the planet.

Literally, it caused theaters to show 3 a.m. showings. It’s that big.

However popular the series may be with the I-hate-my-parents-so-I-wear-black-clothes-and-right-sad-poems set, it has seemingly gone over the heads of the critic set. Hell, even the franchise’s fans realize that they are fans of lesser than type of material. However, it keeps them coming back.

It’s like crack for pre-teens and creepy neo-pedophile moms.

That said, for some reason, I still had hopes for the third film in the franchise, Eclipse. Maybe it’s the cast, which I think is a really gifted collection of actors, or maybe it’s the film’s director, David Slade, who got my ass in the seat. Hell, the soundtrack is one of the best I’ve heard in years, so maybe it’s that.
Frankly, I don’t care, because for some reason, this film didn’t fail like I had expected.

Eclipse finds our lead, Bella Swan, again caught in the middle of her awkward and horribly misguided love triangle between Jacob and Edward. An army of new born vamps have been sent out by the villain Victoria, who wants to avenge the loss of her former lover, James. A bunch of brooding looks, whining, and poorly done special effects shots ensue, making this the epitome, no, the physical manifestation of mediocrity.

Personally, going into the film, I had my mind set. I have had a long and storied history with the franchise, which I find not only boring and a butchering of the vampire mythos, but also a really deplorable statement to the young, impressionable pre-teens and 40 something cougars around the world. However, I was shocked to find that while that message was still here (which I go in depth on here), what seems to be put in its place is a film that ultimately fails, but has moments that didn’t want me to put bullets in my skull. That is this film’s true success.

The great thing that this film is able to do is instead of making this a boring and turgid three way between a homoerotic glowing vampire, shirtless werewolf, and a girl torn between them, and makes it a semi-watchable film with true stakes that gives you a payoff that makes the free ticket I used to see it somewhat worth it.

The cast here is solid. The three stars have solid chemistry, with Lautner, who plays Jacob, actually showing a bit of an arrogant side that makes his character seem a bit more human, and much less of a caricature. Pattinson is fine as Edward, but is about as lively as a piece of wood he’d use to kill himself, and Stewart is actually kind of solid as Bella, who while being given absolutely nothing to do, keeps your attention on screen. However, it’s people like Jackson Rathbone and Ashley Greene who really shine here, as does the entire supporting cast, which seems to be a constant theme throughout the films. Always the more interesting characters, the supporting cast get a rather massive chunk of on screen presence, giving us fans of them a lot to really chew on.

David Slade is also impressive here, as he’s been given nothing to really do here, but has instead crafted a stunning visual piece, and again proves that he’s far better of a director than this material really deserves. The film looks utterly breathtaking, particularly when he gives us a visual glimpse of the world we are dealing with, and the landscape that it covers. I adore these moments in the film, that are way too few and far between. Also, the action is well done here, which is quite the shocking surprise.

Oh, and this has to be one of the best collections of source music collected in recent memory. Seriously, this is one of this year’s most fantastic soundtracks. Pick it up. You won’t be sorry.

However, that’s where it all stops, as this is remarkably unforgettable.

Personally, the film fails just about as fast as it starts. The film’s ultimate sin is that no matter how high the stakes are here, you have no need to really care. You don’t care about these characters, particularly the three leads, which we are supposed to have so much invested in. There is no narrative or dramatic weight here, which leaves you simply wanting to watch this stunning landscape that Slade has crafted. He and his crew do what they can with the material, but those who aren’t fans of the books really won’t have much to dig into here. It’s visually impressive, but for a film to have such little keeping you glued to the screen, this all seems to get lost amongst a bunch of uncalled for angst and emo bullshit.

Overall, the film does what it can with the awful source material. If you love your films without any narrative or emotional weight, and with a copious amount of unfounded whining, then this is your masterpiece. However, for those of you like me, who like our movies engaging, then maybe this is one to let your girlfriend and her friends go see on a girl’s night out.

ECLIPSE – 4/10

Trailer For Paranormal Activity 2 Hits

Like your horror films in the form of franchises who lose their luster after the first viewing?

Well then this trailer will be right down your ridiculous and turd covered alley.

In the year that was 2009, one film seemed to take the world by storm, with that film being the rather fun and shocking first-view-only horror film, Paranormal Activity. Pretty much, after that film hit theaters and made massive amount of bank thanks to one hell of a promotional machine, talk of a sequel hit the scene. Well, now, a year later, we have a trailer for the upcoming sequel, Paranormal Activity 2, and I must say, while it looks like the epitome of a carbon copy, there are a few points in this thing that are actually creepy, and make me think happy thoughts about the first time seeing the first film.

However, this looks to be doing absolutely nothing new, making this one of my least anticipated films of the year. It looks exactly the same both stylistically and scare wise, and while it is a great example of “it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” it also doesn’t nothing to improve on it. This will make a ton of money, but this is definitely one I’m not looking forward to.



Go see something good

Bobcat Goldthwait Confirmed For Kinks Musical, Dominic Cooper Is Captain America's Howard Stark

Well, today seems to be a day full of old rumors and confirmations of them.

According to THR, a rumor connecting World’s Greatest Dad helmer Bobcat Goldthwait to a musical adaptation of the famous album Schoolboys In Disgrace from the band The Kinks. The film was up against an “ass kicking Western,” when it was first announced, but apparently, after getting the blessing of the band’s founder Ray Davies, it looks like it is actually happening.

It has been announced in the form of a press release, and will follow a schoolboy who turns into a bitter young man who tries to go against the establishment which has kept him down. “It’s the genesis story of a super villain set to music.” Awesome.

In other confirmation news, Marvel has confirmed that Dominic Cooper will indeed play the role of Howard Stark in the upcoming Captain America film. The rumor is a rather old one, and was previously confirmed by Cooper himself, but this is the first thing that we’ve heard from the studio themselves. It’s great news, because he not only looks the part, but is one hell of an actor to boot. Double awesome.

Go see something good!

Marvel To Start TV Production Wing

It’s about damn time!

According to reports, Marvel is looking to make the leap from comic book page to the big screen, and now to the small screen. Apparently, the studio has created a new arm, Marvel Television, which is looking to bring series ranging from live action to animated, all to your homes.

No details have been released as to just what they plan to push out, but with news coming that the studio is looking to make projects revolving around lower tier characters, one can’t help but think that this would be the perfect outlet for that. Personally, I absolutely adore this news. For one, this is a perfect step forward for the studio. Also, this is an amazing way for the studio to really make an impact with the characters in shows like Heroes and Smallville. While I’m not the massive fan of Smallville that I know a lot of people are, I have been waiting for something like this to come from the Marvel universe, and who better to front it than the studio themselves. This could not be better news.

Go see something good!

Bono And The Edge To Score Pixar's Brave?


This could be intriguing.

According to Bleeding Cool (via The Playlist), both Bono and maybe even his right hand man, The Edge, are apparently writing some new tunes for Pixar’s upcoming film, the film formerly known as The Bear And The Bow, now called Brave.

While nothing is confirmed, or even close to it yet, this does seem like a possibility. The report says that Bono is working on a score for a Pixar film, that is most likely Brave, but with only Cars 2 really confirmed to be on the way out of the Pixar camp, it looks like Brave is most likely the film in question. The film follows a royal daughter who hopes to become a legendary archer, and one day unleashes a new terror amongst her kingdom, which she must stop.

The film is being directed by one of The Prince of Egypt helmers, Brenda Chapman, and is currently looking at a June 15th, 2012 release. Personally, not only am I a rather massive U2 fan, but the idea of the dynamic duo of Bono and Edge getting behind the music of a Pixar film just screams amazing. Hopefully this isn’t an unfounded rumor; as this would be too good of an idea to really waste.

Go see something good!

Banshee Cast For X-Men: First Class


Wow, it seems like with each day comes a new cast member for the upcoming Matthew Vaughn film, X-Men: First Class.

Just a day after the casting of Alice Eve in the role of Emma Frost, it looks like another classmate has been cast. According to Latino Review, the role of Banshee, an Irish mutant who has the power to disarm and even harm baddies with his voice, which can reach subsonic frequencies, will be played by the 21 year old actor Caleb Landry.

Best known for his turn on Friday Night Lights, the actor hasn’t had a ton of work, but definitely looks the part, especially for what they are doing with the film. However, like the character of Emma Frost, the character of Banshee isn’t quite the most beloved or well used character in the history of the X-Men franchise. The film will feature characters like Beast, Mystique, and Cyclops, but this also means that smaller, really poorly colored characters like Sunfire and even Banshee will also be used, which may very well spell doom for this film.

Sure, I’m not one to think that this film will fail, particularly with Vaughn at the helm, but if a film is set to become a giant clusterfail of a film, it’s this one. All still remains to be seen, but lets just say that this is a perfect example of cautious optimism.

Go see something good!

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs Duo To Helm Lego Film


While I utterly hate the idea of an actual film based in the world of or surrounding the famous child toy known as the Lego, you really couldn’t ask for a better group to get behind it.

According to Heat Vision, writer/directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord, the same mind behind last year’s surprisingly solid animated comedy, Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, have signed on to bring this legendary toy to the big screen.

The duo have given pitches to executives involved with the project, and while this films sounds completely and utterly dreadful, as most films of this nature due, I can’t help but think that this could be the rare occasion where it may truly succeed. The two of them are truly talented comedic filmmakers, and while the source material doesn’t seem to be able to make for much of an interesting story, neither did the story for Meatballs, so really, this could be just as big of a surprise. My breath isn’t being held, but hopes are a little high for this one.

Go see something good!

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