The Funcooker

TWO LOVERS directed by James Gray

James Gray is a director who’s work I really enjoy. It’s fascinating to see that a guy with so much talent has taken so long to direct just four films. “Little Odessa” was a masterpiece. I mean the guy starts his career with a masterpiece. Tim Roth and Edward Furlong were absolutely perfect in the film, and Gray was starting his trilogy about family. Similarly to Wes Anderson, Gray is a director who has the same theme from film to film. With “We Own the Night”, I felt that he had directed the best film of his career, and that he could never dream of anything better. Then I heard he was directing a drama starring his De Niro, the one and only Joaquin Pheonix. Gray has always done crime dramas, but this was the first time he spoke of romance, and it is a subject he masters as well as any other. In the first frame of the film, Phoenix is walking towards on the peer in Brooklyn and he jumps off it to commit suicide. Everything is perfect in that scene, and Gray manages to hook you up from the first seconds, and then you don’t want to leave Pheonix’s character. Something tells you that you want to know what’s going to happen to him, even though the only real drama in the film is the choice between two women. In the end, Gray went with the anti-Hollywood ending, and he did what neo-realists would have done. There is no higher power that’s going to make your life better all of a sudden, there is no chance to be happy with every aspect of our life and in the end we just have to suck it and deal with it. Gray hasn’t lost hope in humanity; in fact, he has a clearer view of humanity than a lot of directors. I really loved that film. I’m not sure I want to see it again anytime soon, but it really grabbed me and didn’t let go. It’s a strong film. It’s strong because it’s real, and even though we all wish we lived in a Hollywood film sometimes, things never turn out like they do in romantic comedies. Life is a drama. A real romantic drama and there’s nothing we can fucking do about it so we might as well deal with it!

FANBOYS directed by Kyle Newman

Now, this is a special movie for me. No, not because I’m a “Star Wars” geek, but simply because I am a geek. I absolutely freaking love geeking out about stupid shit with friends, and even though I’m not all about the trilogy, I absolutely understand how someone can love a piece of art that much. I first saw the trailers for “Fanboys” back in 2006 if I recall correctly. I just remember that no one knew Jay Baruchel at the time unless they had seen “Undeclared” (such a genius show by the way). It looked all kinds of awesome, and I assumed like any viewer would that “coming soon to theathers” meant it was scheduled for a cinema release… Well, I guess myself and the entire geek community was wrong. All of a sudden, “Fanboys” disappeared from the schedules. The Weinstein Company watched all the other comedies pass in front of them and they still didn’t decide to release this one. They claimed that the plot was too dark. Ok, let me resume it for you. Four geeks, one of them has terminal cancer and he’s going to die before the release of “Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace”, so the others decide to take him on road trip to the Lucas ranch in California to steal the print of the film. The Weinstein’s wanted the director to remove the cancer sub-story… Ok… Well, that would have made the movie about four fucking assholes that can’t wait six months to see a film they’ve waited for fifteen years! How stupid does that fucking sound? What’s six more months I ask? Exactly… Anyway, the director fought to release the film the way he wanted, and all the expectation obviously makes the film fall a bit flat, but it has one great quality, and it’s the fact that it has a lot of heart. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the hell out of it. The performances are amazing. Seth Rogen has two cameos and nails them perfectly, but it just feels that the film came out a bit too late. Now, if someone had enough balls to make the Weinstein’s understand that they don’t have to ruin every film that comes in their hands it would be very much appreciated…

Weekend at the Movies: Sci-Fi Double Feature (part 1)

Star Trek

Let me just preface this by saying I am in no way a Trekkie, as explained here. While the exposure has always been there, for whatever reason, I never chose to indulge in the franchise. But this didn’t stop me from watching Star Trek and enjoying a great experience. The question is - does it accomplish its mission in recruiting a new fan?

The opening scene of the film is important in ways not immediately noticeable. It serves as a chisel to the plot and to our main character. A massive Romulan spacecraft commandeers the USS Kelvin. The Romulan captain is Nero, played unrecognizably by Eric Bana, and he is searching for Spock. No reason is given, but his anger is palpable. After the Romulans ascertain information from the Kelvin’s captain, their menace is displayed; laying waste to the unmatched starship. George Kirk, next in command after Captain Robau is murdered, is able to heroically evacuate 800 people in 12 minutes, including his pregnant wife on the verge oflabor, prior to his death.

(pics courtesy of EW)

We are introduced to the film in an engrossing visual spectacle - the way modern sci-fi cinema should be. But the effects in this film, and what you see in trailers, though breathtaking, does not define what Star Trek is about. It is character-driven to its core - and the two principle protagonists, Kirk and Spock, do an amazing job piloting.

Chris Pine, as James Kirk, terrifically infuses self-assured swagger, vehement ambition and nauseating ego to a character that displays the potential to be a leader of men, but the overbearing immaturity that can get him banished from a starship. Even better was Zachary Quinto, who portrays Spock, the most fascinating character in the film. Quinto tremendously embodies reason/logic in a tact and self-righteous manner, and balances it all with the tormenting inner conflict any half Vulcan, half human, faces in trying to suppress emotions. The movie is best when these two characters share screen time - whether as a team or at each other’s throats. Their development is the best thing about Star Trek.

The rest of the Enterprise crew - Uhura, McCoy, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov - all have their special moment to shine. But the character with the most pivotal moment, not only in the film, but in shaping how the story of this franchise can be told in the future, is Star Trek’s worst kept secret. Still, for the sheer spirit of surprises, I won’t spoil who this character is or the plot that surrounds them. I’ll just expand vaguely on their importance. By introducing this character the way they did (I can’t comment on how plausible/implausible things can be in a universe I know nothing of), the writers were able to start with a blank slate with the entire franchise. This allows J.J. Abrams the freedom to be able to satisfy the most dedicated of fans, at the same time incorporate his own brand of narrative that appeals to this generation. The execution was great in my opinion (paradox aside, of course) and future installments will benefit from this reinvention.

An epic ride is not without its bumps. Nero is quite underused. His development takes a backseat to the introduction needed for the main characters. The Romulans in general, while we feel for their plight, come off as the typical, one-dimensional, revenge hungry villains we see in a lot of films. The lighting was also an issue for me, especially in those compact, shifting shots inside the bridge of the Enterprise. They would produce a lot of annoying glares. Now, I didn’t see the IMax version, so I don’t know if these lighting effects were compliments to 3D glasses only, but I wasn’t fond of being blinded.

There really isn’t a good reason why I never hopped aboard the Star Trek starship (see what I did there?) in my life. But J.J. Abrams and company did a fantastic job of introducing the story in a very accessible way to noobs such as myself. Obviously, I can’t speak for the diehard Trekkies on whether or not this film succeeded in capturing whatever expectations they had. It did, however, succeed in giving birth to a potential Trekkie. I find myself more eager to educate myself on Star Trek lore. And in that regard - mission accomplished.

(cross posted at Otakuberries)