No Movies and No Popcorn Make Christine....Something Something

Something unusual happened this weekend: I didn't go to the movies.

Now, if you're a regular reader of Don't Sit Next to Us you'll know that a weekend without a visit to the cinema is a rarity - especially during the summer movie season. But I didn't go. I didn't want to see Fast and Furious 6000 or The Hangover, or see any of the previously released movies for a second time. So I stayed home (I actually had a nap - what an exciting life I lead). Arlaine went to see Fast and Furious and she said it was amazing so if you're a fan of that series you'll want to check out her review (coming soon).

Later that same day...

It's 9 o'clock and I'm looking for something interesting to watch on TV. What to my wondering eyes should appear? But Robert Downey Jr. and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. (If you've been paying attention to the summer blockbusters, you'll recognize that title as the last movie director Shane Black and RDJ worked together before teaming up for Iron Man 3.)

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) is the pseudo-noir story of Harry Lockhart (Downey), a thief-turned-actor who is learning how to be a private detective by shadowing Gay Perry (Val Kilmer). The two stumble into a murder plot and the story takes many twists and turns from there.

I loved this movie. It's got RDJ at what I consider to be his best. I find him to be most interesting and most compelling when he isn't playing the incredibly confident and self-assured Sherlock Holmes/Tony Stark characters that have been his default state as of late. Iron Man 3 had a little of that vulnerability but it was used as an obstacle he had to overcome rather than a personality trait. The character of Harry narrates at the beginning and the end of the movie and the way in which he narrates is almost exactly what I'm thinking when I watch a movie. Seriously, it's like the writer sat beside me during a movie and copied down my sarcastic comments for future use.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang  draws upon Tarantino-style of conversation at times yet, unlike many Tarantino-style monologues, manages to feel spontaneous and realistic. There are some genuine laughs to be had for such a dark storyline so don't be fooled by the pseudo-noir and murder mystery themes. Stylistic "auteur" elements like the pausing of the film while the narrator is on a tangent or the meta, self-referential commentary on what the audience is seeing are thankfully kept to a minimum at the beginning and the end of the movie. It allows the story to unfold and draw us into this warped world of Hollywood and hangers-on without being distracted by the unnecessary reminders that we're watching a movie.

Overall I'd definitely recommend Kiss Kiss Bang Bang to anyone who enjoys noir, neo-noir, dark comedy, murder mysteries, and Robert Downey, Jr.. It's a lot like Seven Psychopaths from last year - which I just realized I never reviewed (so look for that in the coming weeks as well)!

Rotten Tomatoes

Trailer Tuesday - Thor: The Dark World

We are due for another year chop full of superhero films! Check out the first trailer for November's Thor: The Dark World:

This is one superhero film I am really excited to see. Not a huge fan of Thor, I found myself really enjoying the first film. And not solely because they chose the best actor to portray the title character. The story was really well done. And it also helped that Kenneth Branagh was in the director's chair. Unknown director Alan Taylor has replaced Branagh which could go either way: could be good because he isn't influenced by big budget action/sets/props like some hollywood directors (Michael Bay, I'm looking at you) or it could be bad because he really has no clue what to do with a film of this size. I'm hoping it's the former and he will have a "Joss Whedon" moment with this film.

Unlike a lot of superhero films, a sequel to 2011's Thor makes sense. There were a lot of questions left unanswered with the previous film (and subsequently 2012's epic superhero mash-up The Avengers) and a lot of story left to tell. And with a dynamic villain such as Loki (portrayed by the brilliant Tom Hiddleston), there's no telling where what we will see in this upcoming film.

The trailer doesn't follow the typical superhero film trailer format. Instead of focusing on the big fight and action scenes, we see more about the characters and the story behind them. We get to see a further look into the world of Asgard (and the worlds surrounding it) that we only caught a glimpse of in the first film. We also get to see that Thor has completely embraced his "hero" fate.

The sequel sees returns from actors Chris Hemsworth (in the title role), Hiddleston, Natalie Portman, Kat Denning, Stellan Skarsgard, and Anthony Hopkins as Thor's father and King of Asgard. New to the franchise is Christopher Eccelston, who will be taking on the role of the main antagonist in this film, Malekith. I'm excited to see what he will bring to this role as he is a great actor who can take on any role.

The film is set to be released on November 8, 2013 and will unfortunately be converted to 3D post-production. Oh joy. (Have you seen Clash of the Titans? Check out our review of that mess here). 

For more information on the upcoming film, check out the official page here or the Wikipedia page and be sure to check Don't Sit Next To Us for updates!

Trailer Tuesday - The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

The first teaser trailer for the second installment in The Hunger Games trilogy has been released! Check it out:

The sequel to the hugely successful first film, entitled The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, picks up directly where we left off in the 2012 film with Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) having outsmarted the Capitol alongside Peeta Mallerk (Josh Hutchison) and winning the Hunger Games. The pair must now embark on a "Victor's Tour" of the other districts and Katniss begins to sense that a rebellion is brewing amongst the poorer districts. The Capitol, however, is still very much in control, and preparing for the 75th Annual Hunger Games, which will incorporate a twist that changes everything for the pair and Panem.

It goes without saying that this film will be successful. The series has gained a huge following before it was even brought to the big screen. Fans of the novel series rushed to the theatres to see the first film, allowing it to earn a very substantial amount at the box office. However, the film itself was well received by critics. Director Gary Ross created a very believable version of Suzanne Collins' novel which was well liked by fans and critics, something that doesn't always happen.

For the second film, Ross left the director role and Francis Lawrence (who's films include I Am Legend, Constantine, and Water For Elephants) was brought on to direct. Lawrence will also be directing the final two installments (which is a two part film adaptation of the third novel in the series, Mocking Jay) of the film series.

The trailer. Wow. What a great first glimpse at the dystopian future that Collins' envisioned. This is what a trailer should look like. It was great from start to finish. We see Katniss and Peeta being welcomed by one of the districts while on the "Victor's Tour", which should be a joyous occasion but is anything but. Something has changed in the public and The Capitol is ready to snuff out this "hope" before it creates an uprising. That means Katniss has become public enemy number 1 in their eyes.

And what a cast! Along with Lawrence (who just picked up an Oscar for her role in Silver Linings Playbook) and Hutchison, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Lenny Kravitz, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci and Donald Sutherland all return to reprise their roles. Joining them are Jena Malone and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. That scene shown in the trailer with Sutherland and Hoffman is dynamic and I can't wait to see more!

I'm not going to talk too much more about this trailer as I will save my thoughts for our review when the film is released.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is set to be released on November 22, 2013.

For more information on the upcoming film, check out the Wikipedia page or the official page.

Trailer Tuesday - Elysium

Looks like we are in for a summer of sci-fi movies and I couldn't be happier! Check out this trailer for Elysium:

Wow! That was my first thought after seeing this trailer. Just WOW.

Elysium is director Neill Blomkamp's first film since 2009's game-changer District 9. We see Blomkamp once again team up with Sharlto Copley (the two previously worked together in District 9 and Alive in Joburg) and also stars Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, William Fichtner, and Diego Luna.

In the distant future, the wealthy and elite live on Elysium, a man-made space station in Earth's orbit, and the rest of the population live on what's left of Earth. The elite enforce anti-immigration laws in order to preserve the luxurious lifestyle of those living on Elysium while the people on Earth continue to fight to get into the station. Max (Damon), whose health is deteriating, agrees to take on a dangerous mission that sees him take on the ones in power on Elysium and could not only save his life, but also bring peace and equality to these two worlds.

What really stood out for me after seeing this trailer were the effects. Blomkamp has a knack for creating realistic, sci-fi scenes, props and creatures. He steps outside of the box and does not do what you expect of a sci-fi film director and I believe that is what makes his films come together so well. If this film is anywhere near what he accomplished with District 9 (which was one of the best films of 2009), we are in for a treat!

The film is set to be released on August 9, 2013. 

For more information on the upcoming sci-fi flick, check out the Wikipedia page here and stay tuned to Don't Sit Next To Us for the latest updates. 

Winter's Bone: Life in a Shatter Zone

On a cold and rainy Saturday morning, I watched Winter's Bone.  I was curious about this critically acclaimed  movie from 2010 that I had no access to when it was first released.

A search for more information turned up a very interesting article by Michael Moon and Colin Talley from Emory University entitled Life in a Shatter Zone: Debra Granik's Film Winter's Bone.

From the Article:

Overview:

In their review of the 2010 independent film Winter’s Bone, Michael Moon and Colin Talley draw upon the concept of the “shatter zone” in order to illuminate the local features of the film as well as to locate its place in the history of hill regions as sites of refuge and resistance. This review finds additional contexts for the film in regional music and the long-established "dark-fairytale" tradition of the Appalachians and the Ozarks.

Spoiler alert: this review contains details of the plot.

I highly recommend that you give this article a read. I was particularly interested in the concepts of the totemic animals - from the deer on Ree's sweater, to the carved horn neclace, to the antlers hanging from the mirror of her uncle's truck. 

Did you see Winter's Bone? What did you think?

G.I. Joe: Retaliation AKA G.I. Joe CRAP Retaliation

G.I. Joe: Retaliation
Director: Jon Chu
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Channing Tatum, and Bruce Willis
New Release Review

I can't believe we saw this in theatre. We were desperate to see something and March had been a month with little to offer in terms of decent movies. It was the last weekend of the month and there we were, stuck with nothing on our Spring 2013 Movie List and an incredible need to just be in the theatre, not caring what we were going to see.

This "sequel" starts with the G.I. Joes being framed for stealing nuclear warheads from Pakistan by Zartan who, as seen in the finale of the first film, is impersonating the American President. The team is attacked and eliminated, including Duke (Tatum), with Roadblock (Johnson), Flint (D.J. Cotrona) and Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki) as the only survivors.

Storm Shadow (Byung-hun Lee) and Firefly (Ray Stevenson) attempt to rescue Cobra Commander (who is NOT being played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) from a futuristic prison in Germany. In a very random and unorganized scene, Storm Shadow is captured, to almost immediately after, break out and manage to rescue Cobra Commander. He is injured in the escape and heads, again randomly, to the Himalayas to recover. And then we are introduced to the Blind Master (RZA), the leader of the Arashikage Clan (the clan that Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow grew up and studied in), sends Snake Eyes (Ray Park) and his apprentice Jinx (Elodie Yung) to capture Storm Shadow so that he can answer for the murder of the Hard Master (who we saw in a flash back in the first film, murdered by what was assumed to be a young Storm Shadow).

Branded as traitors and Enemies of the State, Roadblock, Flint and Lady Jaye return to the USA where they set up base in Roadblock's home town and plan to take down Zartan and the Cobra. Battles continue, cheesy lines are abundant and the already messy storyline continues until it's lame ending.

Can you tell that I did not enjoy this film in the slightest? Okay, maybe I am being too harsh. But it was awful. Bad acting. Bad writing. Bad fight scenes. Bad graphics. Bad everything!

Where the previous film (see our Throwback review here) tried to become more futuristic, this film tried to revert back to the original tactics that we all knew and loved from the G.l. Joe franchise. However, it failed miserably. The story had to be the worst part of the film. It jumped all over the place, never quite finding its way. Everything seemed to happen at random. There was no explanation (not that we always need one but is appreciated when new things seemingly "pop" up out of nowhere) as to why things were happening. They just did. It's almost like the writers had a free-for-all and took whatever ideas they all had, and mashed them up into one big, giant pile of crap.

The other major issue with this film is that it did not follow ANY of the storylines that were previously created in the first film. There was no mention of former Joe team members. They simply just weren't there. Sure, Tatum was included in the cast. But was killed off within the first 15 minutes of the film (which apparently was an extended appearance by Tatum than was originally planned).  Never mind references the events that took place in the 2009 film.

The acting was so bad, it's not even worth mentioning. Don't be fooled: despite what the promotional material for this film showed, Willis is BARELY in the film. But I will give him this: the scenes he was in, were the best ones. 

And why was this film in 3D? It definitely did not warrant a 3D conversion. From the 2D version that we saw, there was no point in having this film featured in 3D. Not one thing flew out at the screen. And there was nothing worth enhancing in terms of graphics. Enhancing them would only magnify this monstrosity.

Final Verdict: Skip it. Do I need to explain any further why? Simply a waste of time. Did the people behind this film spend the entire budget on converting it to 3D and securing action stars Willis and Johnson? Well, it wasn't worth it. And the comedic relief? Sure, we laughed. We laughed at how pathetic this latest Hasbro film was. Now YOU know, and knowing is half the battle.

Roger Ebert: Dead at age 70

I don't know how I went through today without knowing this had happened. I honestly just read a headline and had an honest-to-goodness "whaaaaat?" moment: I'm truly shocked.

I want to say so much about the man whose blog and twitter feeds have inspired me to start writing what I think about movies. I know I'm not the only one. I don't know what film criticism will be like without him but I do know that we're all better off for having read his words at all. I feel like I knew him because knowing what someone likes and dislikes is a very intimate relationship. I'd see a movie based on his recommendation because I trusted his opinion, and now that is over.

I wish I could say something profound. I want to be eloquent in this moment but all I can offer is my reaction: I'm terribly saddened by this news. Roger Ebert's recent shift from TV to the web inspired me and now his voice is gone. I feel like a friend has died though I'd never met the man, nor even seen him in person. Funny, insightful, and always intelligent, that is how I'll remember Roger. How will you?

A Variety article can be found here if you are so inclined.