Film Review: Source Code

Growing up, I was a hug fan of Quantum Leap. Still am, actually. Have the complete series on DVD, and I even met Dr. Sam Beckett himself, Scott Bakula once! So when I heard the premise of Source Code, it seemed slightly familiar.

And things start off very similar. Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal), awakens on a train bound for Chicago. He doesn't know who he is, why he's there, who the woman sitting opposite is, and when he looks in the mirror...well to quote the start of Quantum Leap, "a different reflection is staring back at him". Oh boy, indeed. Of course if you never saw, or liked Quantum Leap you will probably enjoy the film even more than I did!

It took me a little while to get my head past the QL thing, but once I had I discovered a decent little film. I always knew it probably would be considering Duncan Jones was directing. His feature length debut, Moon made a big impression with me, and this is coming from someone who doesn't count Sci Fi as one of their favourite genres. And he shows his flexibility here by excelling in the action thriller genre also.

After that initial Quantum Leap deja vu, we find out that Stevens is part of a secret government mission called the 'Source Code', meaning he can jump back in time to an event (in an alternate reality) for 8 minutes at a time, each time. He's on the train because it's about to be blown up, and it's up to him to find the identity of the perpetrator before he makes another attack.

At only 90 minutes, the action moves along at quite a furious pace. It's good that it doesn't let up for the duration, but things do seem a little rushed in places because of it too. A double edged sword.

The performances are good. Gyllenhaal is the right mix of confused and angry, Jeffrey Wright is good value as Rutledge, who created the Source Code program, and Vera Farmiga as Goodwin, the emphatic Air Force captain guiding Stevens through the confusing program.

Michelle Monaghan is the inevitable love interest, but she's never really given too much to do. Not so much her fault, but restraints with time and the situation the character is (unknowingly) in prevent that.

The Quantum Leap geeks like myself are also appeased with a cameo near the end of the film. Hint, you won't see anyone, rather hear them. But it's a moment that caused me to rewind and watch again!

The ending of the film was a bone of contention for a lot of people, but I had no problem with it at all. I can see where people are coming from, but it's the ending I wanted to see, even it seemed slightly tacked on.

Source Code is a great film, albeit slightly flawed, but it almost demands repeated viewings, which I will be doing sooner rather than later.

****
Once I got past the similarities to Quantum Leap, this was a great, if a bit rushed, action thriller. Looking forward to what Duncan Jones does next.

Film Review: Cowboys And Aliens

While it has more than its fair share of cowboys and aliens, the movie world isn't exactly rammed with Cowboy AND Aliens. I'm struggling to think of any films, to be honest. Either I've never seen any, or they never made a lasting impression on me.

Sadly, not making a lasting impression of me is exactly what Cowboys And Aliens did. Jon Favreaus first big film since the two fantastic Iron Man films had high hopes from this reviewer, and a pretty interesting trailer only added to the anticipation. But stewing at the back of my mind was what would happen when we got to the plot, why the aliens were here. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

A mysterious loner (Daniel Craig), awakens in the middle of the desert, with no memory of who he is, or how he got there, or how a strange metal device has become attached to his arm. He soon rolls into a nearby town, where he is recognized as outlaw Jake Lonergan and is arrested by the Sherriff (Keith Carradine.)

But when local cattleowner and all around nasty piece of work Woodrow Dolarhyde discovers Lonergan is town, he demands his release over an outstanding beef about a robbery, but before anything can be resolved an alien spacecraft (well, several) attack and the two men must join with the townspeople to fight the alien invaders.

Now I'm fine with a plot like that. And I was fine with the first hour or so, as things were set up, but when we started to get into the why's and explanations the film started to take a serious dip. Even for a film like this, it was pretty bad.

But, let's get the positives out of the way. As I said, it had a fine first hour, with some great action set pieces, and I had a general interest in what was happening. And other than the leads, the film has a fantastic cast. The aforementioned Keith Carradine, Sam Rockwell as a jittery bar owner/doctor, Clancy Brown as a no nonsense preacher, Paul Dano as Dolarhydes cowardly son (not enough screen time for him), and Walton Goggins in a small role as a former associate of Lonergan (Spoiler: he plays a bit of a sleazebag.)

The only downside on the cast side is Olivia Wilde as the mysterious Ella Swenson. And we do get a bit of reasoning behind this later which could explain it, but she's only capable of one facial expression. And I can't really describe what that is. Just a pout maybe? No real emotion seems to get across. She got away with it in  Tron: Legacy, but she can only play a character with no emotions so many times.

I seem to have drifted into the negative already, but there was a lot there. Fords Dolarhyde and his gruff persona gets a bit tired, because you know the old curmudgeon is an old softy and will come good. But it's not just that character (he just has more redemptive moments than anyone.) Everyone seems to have an insanely cliched 'thing' that will be called back in a extremely heavy handed fashion by the films end. I know cliches are right at home in a film called 'Cowboys And Aliens', but they just got worse and worse. There's one at the end that almost defies belief!

I'm not getting to the point where I require a deep, well developed plot in every popcorn blockbuster I see, but Cowboys And Aliens, while having it's moments was too much tosh for my palette. And I guess after the brilliant trio of Captain America, Super 8 and Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes in the last month, these things really do come in threes.

**
A good idea, a great cast, exciting action sequences and a fine first hour, but then the plot rears it's end and things get a bit messy, and includes some of the most cliched moments I have seen in ages. Not exactly the must see film of the Summer. 

R.I.P. Jani Lane

As I'm sure most of you heard, former Warrant singer Jani Lane was found dead yesterday, aged only 47. Whilst no cause of death is known at this time, connections have to be made to his personal problems he's had for the last several years. It always seems that as far away you get from your addictions, they always come back to haunt you, and this is the latest example of a talented musician leaving us far too soon.

Like a lot of people, my first 'taste' of Warrant was the song Cherry Pie, a song Jani Lane wrote in 15 minutes flat, and ended up hating from interviews I saw with him. It can always be the bane of a songwriters existence if they write a song that becomes so big that it is all they are associated with. And imagine if you hate it.

But there was so much more to Warrant, and Lane wrote some brilliant songs for the hair metal genre. And I'm just going to list them all, because, for me, they will be his legacy.

Uncle Tom's Cabin
I Saw Red
Blind Faith
The Power
32 Pennies
Down Boys
Sometimes She Cries
Heaven
Machine Gun
Bonfire
The Bitter Pill

That is just scratching the surface. In fact, The Bitter Pill is my favourite Warrant song, and contains (still to this day) one of my favourite lyrics ever in "Sometimes I'm as right as rain, but when it rains it pours", I just love that kind of wordplay he used (I Saw Red is similar for that too.)

As for Cherry Pie? Yeah its big, cheesy and overblown but it never has failed to bring a massive smile to my face, and I hope Jani got some satisfaction out of that. And I hope he is in a better place now, away from the problems that plagued his personal life.

R.I.P Jani, and thanks for the music.

Film Review: Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes

It's fair to say that after 1973's Battle For The Planet Of The Apes, the franchise took knock after knock. The next year, the ill fated TV show hit the airwaves, lasting only 13 episodes. But at the same time, the original 5 films were re-released at cinemas, as well as a slew of merchandise which paved the way for merch saturation for films like Star Wars.

There was a similarly short lived animated series, which only lasted a year, then things went quiet, save for the occasional TV reference like the inspired musical parody in The Simpsons. And then, in 2001 the remake was released. It was terrible, and in my opinion was the start of the slippery slope that is Tim Burton's output in the last decade. Slaves talking, Mark Wahlberg, THAT terrible ending. It was a major misfire, and the apes vanished again, till now, ten years later.

Reading several interviews (some that contradict others, it seems) director of the newest entry into the franchise, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, Rupert Wyatt states that is the beginning of a new series of films, rather than a prequel to the original, but from where I sat, it seems that it can be both. There's too much happening in a background plot (a missing space mission - I mean, come on!) for it NOT to be a prequel. I know we saw the planet pre-ape in the original movies, but this really slots in nicely.

The story begins with Will Rodman (James Franco), a scientist developing a cure for Alzheimers by testing on chimpanzees. After a disastrous first test, Will is left to care for a baby ape, the offspring of the ape that was being tested on. Bringing him home to live with him and his Alzheimer suffering father Charles (John Lithgow), Will discovers that the ape, named Caesar (a nod to the original films only) is making major advances in terms of intelligence, and as several years pass, Caesar grows up with the family, but after an unfortunate and violent incident with their neighbour, he is sent to a facility for Primates run by John Landon (Brian Cox). Mirroring what happens to the humans in the original, the apes are treated badly by the likes of Landon's son Dodge (Tom Felton, whose characters name is another reference to the original), and before a long an uprising erupts that will start to change the planet forever...

This is truly the film that fans of the Apes films have been waiting for, a telling of events that led to what becomes the Planet Of The Apes. The aforementioned space mission, that is only mentioned briefly, or shown on televisions is bound to become the space mission that winds up in the future, where apes rule. But who knows whether that will be part of this series of films.

I mention a series of films, because the film is very open ended. It's clearly only the start of things (and a post first round of credits scene seems to reinforce that, and what a start! It's got all the elements of what made (some of) the original films so good, a combination of drama, action, social satire and some lighter moments too. But it stays true to the originals but staying dark for the most part. Whilst not quite reaching the misery of say, Beneath or Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes (and there are some story similarities to Conquest, this is a good thing) it's certainly not a positive film as it nears the end. You know what's going to happen as a result.

The acting across the board is fine, with two standouts, namely John Lithgow in what must be a very difficult role, which he handles with great tact and tenderness. And there's Andy Serkis as Caesar, using motion capture technology which is what they used in Avatar, but on the next level, essentially. There's is so much emotion put across just by facial expressions and movements, it's a spectacular performance. It's hard to believe that an avid Apes series fan such as myself did not care for a minute that it wasn't humans in makeup. It's how they evolve, and just jaw droppingly stunning.

Fans of the original series are treated to a slew of in-jokes, from character names like Cornelia and Maurice (references to characters and actors from the first film) to even a visual gag for that most shocking of endings. But the best reference is the most obvious, and it's more what happens after it that will get you. I saw it in a full screen, and EVERYONE gasped at it. One of those special moments you can only get in a cinema.

It took 38 years for Planet Of The Apes to return (and return in the correct manner - I'm talking to you Mr. Burton, your film doesn't count) to the big screen, and it not only has supplied a entry to match the original, it's kick started a entire new series of films AND turned into one of the best films of the Summer, and the year.

*****
Finally, the Apes return in this stunning origin story. If it's a prequel it was an amazing way to tell the story, if not it's an equally amazing way to start a new series of films. Fans will love it, newcomers too. Run, don't walk to the cinema ASAP.

Film Review: Hesher

You may know the situation. You hear about a new film that has come out, and people are banging on about how amazing it is, how it's the best film they've seen this year, but due to lack of knowledge and information about it, you are slightly cynical about the whole deal.

That was what I was like with Hesher. I moved it rapidly to the top of my 'to watch' pile (if only to silence my friends!), and was pleasantly surprised. And while I wouldn't brand it film of the year by a long shot, it's a terrific and original film full of brilliant performances.

T.J. (Devin Brochu, who was also in the very disappointing Rubber, atoning here) and Paul Forney (Rainn Wilson) have just lost their mother and wife respectively, and are struggling to come to terms with the loss, living with Paul's mother Madeleine . A chance encounter leaves them with a very unwelcome house guest in the form of Hesher (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a pot smoking, fire starting, 'metalhead' loner who moves himself in and in a very direct and abrupt way starts to help them deal with their loss.

Well, that may be what ends up on the back of the box, but it's not really accurate. Hesher is a total dick. And not much he does endears himself to anyone. But he is one of the best characters I have seen in a film in ages. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays the character with relish, as he goes from one self destructing scene to another. But as with these sorts of films, he (kinda) softens, culminating in a hilarious speech near the films end that sums up the character so well.

Rainn Wilson also impresses in his role as the grieving husband. I'd only ever seen him in comedy roles, from the U.S. version of The Office to his brilliant turn in Six Feet Under (which was a very comedic role in a drama with some dark comedy, before anyone says anything), and it was only near the end of Super (reviewed HERE) where his dramatic chops really began to show for me, but in Hesher he is a revelation. Just the depth of his mourning for his wife, he can barely summon the energy to even ask why Hesher has moved in, let alone kick him out. It's a must see film for fans of his.

Natalie Portman is good value in her few scenes (she's really not in it too much) as Nicole, a supermarket cashier who befriends T.J., but other than that it's not really a massive cast.

The music is also top notch. I've always noticed that you never really get many Metallica songs on a soundtrack but it seems like they were saving it for Hesher, with no less than 5 different tracks used (and I swear there is a riff or two from their last album Death Magnetic), and there's also a Motorhead song used that isn't 'Ace Of Spades', which is always refreshing (it's Rock Out if you were wondering.) But it's Metallica song 'Motorbreath' that really sums up the character of Hesher nicely I thought.

If I had to level any criticism at the film, it would be the comedy being slightly broad in places. A lot of the laughs do come from what Hesher does, but there is the an odd moment where it gets a bit...silly (a character punching another character in the crotch makes it seem like another film for a moment), but that kind of thing is few and far between.

Overall, Hesher is a darkly humorous, and more importantly than that a quite touching, and original look at a family dealing with grief. Check it out.

****
A fantastic film, with great performances from Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Rainn Wilson, although the films 'dark comedy' tone does lighten too much for it's own good at times. Well worth looking out for, though.

Film Review: Sucker Punch

I guess you could say I'm a fan of Zack Snyder's work. I still remember vividly coming out of the cinema after seeing Dawn Of The Dead, utterly stunned that I had just seen a remake almost as good as the original. The original Dawn was a classic, but this remake was brilliant, it's the film that made running zombies OK in my book. Sadly, that says a lot for my love for Dawn 2004.

While not incessantly quoting it with friends for months on end, I still dug 300. Again, I didn't like it as much as everyone else did, and it's since been outdone by the crazy Spartacus TV show. Still, it was a solid and original film.

Watchmen, I thought was just fantastic also, and I keep meaning to pick up the Blu Ray of the Director's Cut, no matter how long it runs for, it's a true epic. But I have to admit, I had no clue he directed owl-animation Legends Of The Guardians last year, till I just looked on IMDB to double check a release date.

Anyhow, this brings us to Sucker Punch, which I bought on Blu Ray blind based on some favorable words from friends, and the directors credentials, and while it was enjoyable in places, I was disappointed as a whole.

A young girl, who we only know as Baby Doll throughout (Emily Browning) is sent to an insane asylum by her abusive stepfather after an incident involving herself and her sister. Once locked in, she starts to retreat to several alternative realities, where she and her fellow inmates, Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), her sister Rocket (Jena Malone), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), and Amber (Jamie Chung) plot an elaborate escape.

The reality that Baby Doll inhabits predominantly is essentially a brothel, and she sees the main orderly of the hospital as a gangster pimp, a doctor as a dance instructor and a surgeon as a 'High Roller' (Jon Hamm, in a too-small role) whose appearance brings the film to it's climax.

Within that reality, several others are spawned, every time Baby Doll starts dancing, where she initially meets the 'Wise Man' (Scott Glenn), who tells her what she needs to aid her escape, and the dance routines are all distractions so these objects can be taken.

There's a lot to appeal in the other realities, from samurai battles, to fire fights against the Nazi's, to storming a castle whilst battling Orcs, all of the attempts to escape by the girls during the brothel reality are played out in these different surroundings (and one can only assume, in reality at the hospital.)

Now, don't get me totally wrong about the film, the aforementioned sequences are brilliant stuff, they look and sound amazing, and were quite exciting in places, but it just never really went anywhere, just back to the brothel, and it echoed in the rest of the film. Sure, it looks good and has a great soundtrack (most notably a great sequence to Bjork's 'Army Of Me'), but it just was without substance for me. Even the added bonus of several very attractive women running around not wearing much couldn't sway this for me.

Next up for Snyder is 'Man Of Steel', of course, and the disappointment in Sucker Punch still doesn't effect my anticipation for that, I still think he is a great choice, and you can't really go as out there with Superman as you can with this sort of thing.

The imagination, you can do with whatever you want, which is why I never levelled the accusation during this review that the film "didn't make sense" as I'm sure some people might, it's about alternate realities created by the mind - how many dreams have you had that never made sense? But even with that in mind, I struggle to see the point in Sucker Punch.

**1/2
The epitome of style over substance. Looks great, sounds great, has some terrific action sequences, but everything else left this reviewer kind of flat and let down.

Film Review: Super 8

Do you remember the magical feeling you had when you watched films like Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, E.T., Stand By Me and The Goonies for the first time? That's Super 8, and probably that is the best compliment I can come up with. And seeing as Super 8 is produced by Steven Spielberg, who directed CE3K and E.T., and produced The Goonies, it's hardly surprising.

It's also no surprise that director J.J.Abrams considers Super 8 as a homage to the films above, it's plain to see in the plot - it's 1979 (we think, the exact placing of the film is slightly ambiguous) and some kids are shooting a Super 8 film for a school competition when they witness a huge train crash involving a military transport train and a vehicle. The army is called in, and strange events start occurring as the kids try and uncover the trains mysterious cargo. But there's more to the film than mere supernatural events. Like any shining example of this type of film, it's about the people and their relationships with each other.

The main protagonist in the film is Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney, in his film debut) who recently lost his Mother in an unspecified work accident.Living with his deputy sheriff  father, who holds a grudge against Louis Dainard, father of Alice (Elle Fanning), who Joe starts to become rather sweet on her, much to both fathers dismay.

Unlike most films, the kids in Super 8 are all fantastic, again drawing comparisons with the films mentioned above. They are all likable, and it's the little things like them swearing. Kids swear, and a lot of films don't seem to recognise this. Not taking anything away from the adult cast, they too are great in their roles, but this is about the adventure the kids have more than anything.

It also has the same kind of humour running throughout, the funniest moments are undoubtedly from Donny (David Gallagher), a stoner who ends up helping the kids, he gets some great lines during his short appearance.

Some may call it cynical to set the movie in the late 70s/early 80s so that it would illicit memories of the classic Spielberg films, but I can't see it having any of it's charm if it were set in the present day. It was seemingly a more innocent time back, and today people are just nastier. Sad, but true.

It almost seems like a case of having to go backwards to go forwards. With constant sequels, prequels, reboots dominating the Summer, it's a film that pays tribute to the blockbusters of yesterday that has become (so far) the best film of THIS Summer in my mind. It's got everything drivel like Transformers and Pirates Of The Caribbean didn't have, likable characters, originality (it's not too much like CE3K etc. for it to be a rip off) and most of all heart, you care about whats happening on screen.

My only complaint was that it wasn't longer, a disappointed groan came up from me when the credits started rolling, but stay tuned at the end for the film the kids were making is shown, and even that was more entertaining than most of what the studios have offered up this Summer.

As a side note, I normally include images from the films above, but the poster, which is an obvious tribute to the work of Drew Struzan (it could even be one of his), who mad the posters for classics like Blade Runner, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and erm...the Police Academy series. It's a great poster, anyway.

*****
A classic to rival the best vintage Spielberg film, J.J. Abrams just nailed it, with a little help from the man himself I would imagine. It's not often you get this kind of feeling in the cinema these days, a very special film indeed.

Film Review: The Planet Of The Apes Saga

With Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes hitting cinemas next week, and the Blu Ray box set tumbling in price, I thought I'd look back on the simian saga. Don't expect in depth reviews, what more can be said about some of them, especially the original. But what did strike me was how dark they all were. Escape and Conquest in particular, almost depressing in places. And it goes without saying that I won't be discussing Tim Burton's attempt at a remake...oh dear.



Planet Of The Apes (1968) still remains the benchmark. We all know the story - Charlton Heston plays Taylor who along with 2 other astronauts, end up on a mysterious planet in the future where apes can talk, and humans cannot and are enslaved. Taylor fights to escape, and then happens on THAT statue in THAT ending. It's a very slow paced affair, but an undoubted classic.

*****



Beneath The Planet Of The Apes (1970) is almost a complete copy of the first, with different astronauts landing on the planet, and Charlton Heston clone James Franciscus ends up looking for Chuck himself who has vanished on the planet. A race of mutant humans are introduced, but it's all pretty dull stuff save for the ending which has the lead being shot in the head and the planet exploding. Told you it was dark!

**



Escape From The Planet Of The Apes (1971) has the main apes Cornelius (Roddy McDowell) and Zira (Kim Hunter) just escaping the Planet Of The Apes in time as it is destroyed, and they are sent in the past back to Earth, present day, well 1973. Cue much culture shock stuff, which is the lightest material in all of the films, and still retains a charm to it. Not long before the darkness returns, though. A pretty bleak conclusion again, but with a nifty twist at the end.

***



Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes (1972) benefits from a new cut on Blu Ray, reinstating some violent scenes, and possibly the bleakest ending yet. But that ending works well with the rest of the film, which has Cornelius' and Zira's child Caesar all grown up, but in the early 1990s where, after cats and dogs have been wiped out by a disease in the 80s, apes are treated as pets. Then slaves. This leads to an ape uprising led by Caesar, which gets pretty nasty. In fact, I was surprised to see it get a 12 rating still over here. And the ending was harsh, but it was the original planned ending, before a change was requested. Now, in this new cut, this is the best sequel of the Apes.

****



Battle For The Planet Of The Apes (1973) is set 10 years after the ape uprising (and obviously based on the theatrical ending) and ape and man just about live together in a shell of the Earth, after the war got a bit out of hand. Cracks are showing though, as ape must battle ape, as well as the race of human mutants living in  what is left of New York. It's still a bit grim in places, and by no means light but it seems lighter after the onslaught of the previous films. But it's on a level with Beneath for holding my interest.  The ending seems to point to ape and man still co-existing but it's quite ambiguous.

**

Film Review: Breakin'/Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo

Break dancing (or B-Boyin' - thanks Wikipedia) is one of those trends that could only have a huge explosion of popularity in the 80s. It seemingly came and went in 1984, the same year that BOTH of the Breakin' (another name for break dancing) movies came out. In fact, the first film came out in May, and the second just before Christmas. To be fair, any later and it would have been too late. Americans would have latched on to a new trend like Top Gun shades or Whitesnake.

The first film's most notable moment happens about 10 minutes in during the first (of many) dance-off scenes, where a pre-fame Jean-Claude Van Damme can be seen as an extra in the background, busting a groove whilst wearing a black vest and shorts combination. It's a surreal moment. You can see him here, but do check out his performance on YouTube.



This bit here was where I was going to tell you the plot of Breakin', but it escaped me. A quick check on another site, and I'm still struggling to locate it. Basically there is Kelly (Lucinda Dickey), who is a jazz dancer. She discovers the wonders of breakin' and meets Turbo (Michael 'Boogaloo Shrimp' Chambers) and potential love interest Ozone (Adolfo 'Shabba Doo' Quinones) and has to overcome the...irritation is probably the best word of former dance teacher/mentor/sleazebag Franco (Ben Lokey, missing a funky nickname) and the competition of some 'poppers', which is another kind of breakin' called Electro Rock (they have nicknames like 'Pop'N Taco' and 'Poppin' Pete) to become the sensation of the street.

Kelly is given a 'funky fresh' nickname (That saying may not be in the film, I'm just riffing now) in 'Special K' and some other stuff happens that usually ends up with dancing. Kelly also has a friend, Adam, a hilariously camp creation that is phased out of the film so quickly it's shocking. He does return at the end though, in skintight lycra doing a slow motion jump, junk flailing everywhere.

Flailing everywhere brings me nicely to try and sum up the dancing. It's terrible. I know I'm no expert but everyone dances like, and is dressed like an idiot. Trousers up to the chest, or cut off shirts...it's horrific. Much like the acting and the plot. This isn't a good film, folks.

But not so bad that a young Ice-T wouldn't be in it though! He appears as a DJ at a club during a - you guessed it - dance off. Sad thing is, he came back for the sequel! The things we do when we're young (although he still calls his appearance in the films "wack".)

And it's a bit unwittingly racist too. The amount of times someone says "You people.." is quite startling. But it never gets to the point where it's just unpleasant, like Flashdance for example, a film where I found everything so unlikable I turned it off!

But, Breakin' was a huge hit, and turned into one of Canon's biggest films, so the sequel was rushed through in what has to be record time, and landed 6 months later. Electric Boogaloo is apparently another type of break dancing, but that still doesn't explain why it was used as a subtitle. It has, however, left a legacy of being used every time a slightly suspect sounding  (or not in some cases) sequel comes out.

The rule for Boogaloo seemed to be more dancing, less plot. Since the events of the first film, Kelly, Ozone and Turbo have drifted apart a bit (that is Ozone and Turbo from Kelly), but they get together near the start for a entire street dance sequence, and I guess other things like that. But the community centre they use (mainly for dancing, it seems) is in danger of being bulldozed down so they all just dance loads to raise the money. They also seem to buy a lot of paint with the money they raise, so they can paint a massive totalizer on the side of a wall. It's just ludicrous.

The meager plot mentioned is just a means to an end to squeeze in as many dance routines and dance offs as possible. One character is hospitalized just so they can have a big dance number in a hospital, its utter garbage. As with the first one, the acting is terrible, and frankly everyone looks like an idiot. You can just put it down to the excessive decade that break dancing was popular in, I guess. Who needs a well made movie with actors when you can just churn out two cheap films, with a bunch of dancers?

I don't think anyone need fear a remake here.

Breakin' 
*1/2
The half mark is for the Van Damme cameo, in this otherwise worthless, plotless mess. If you like seeing badly dressed people dance like idiots though, this is for you.


Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo
*
Dialing back the plot even more for extra dancing, this is even worst than the first one. A rushed mess, although you can see why they rushed it. Even then they knew this would have a very limited shelf life!

Film Review: Mesrine: Part Two: Public Enemy #1

Not only does the start of this second part of the Mesrine films tell you what happens at the end (after the start of the first part STRONGLY hinted at it), some posters have the rather iconic image of Mesrine's fate. Considering his career options and the notoriety of the case (although, I had heard of the guy, just not what he did) it was somewhat obvious how it was all going to end for him, but just in case I shall endeavor to try and not mention the films conclusion as much as possible.

Public Enemy #1 starts off where Killer Instinct left off, with a slightly rushed series of events leave Mesrine (Vincent Cassel, still in a performance of a lifetime) in court, where he attempts another truly barmy stunt which sets the second part in motion. As you may remember from my review of the first film (see HERE for that) I had issues with the films timeline jumping too rapidly, although in Public Enemy #1 the problem still remains, mainly in the first half hour or so, it's on a much smaller scale than in Killer Instinct.

As well as Cassel's powerhouse performance, another notable showing is from Mathieu Amalric (whom you probably know as Bond's nemesis in Quantum Of Solace) as Francois Besse, who Mesrine befriends during another prison stay, and later becomes the straight man as Mesrine spins dangerously out of control, basking in the publicity and glory of becoming Public Enemy #1. There's some great scenes where you can tell that he feels honour bound to Mesrine, but totally exasperated with him at the same time.

With a longer running time too, the film has a much more deliberate pace, but keeps the tension of the first part. It's hard to believe that Mesrine actually pulled some of the crimes covered in the film, some of it is so crazy (like the aforementioned court scene) it just sounds like something out of a particularly O.T.T. Hollywood blockbuster.

And as for the ending, even without the flash forwards at the start of each film, it's still pretty inevitable. Even Mesrine himself knew it was coming, but the films conclusion still makes for incredibly tense viewing.

Overall, the two films were an enjoyable viewing experience for me, and while I wouldn't go nuts and say I was "let down" or anything with the films way of introducing certain characters, and how certain events that I would deem important were glossed over with a line of dialogue sufficing as explanation, I do wish they had just taken even just an extra 15 minutes per part just to flesh things out a bit. If they had (or maybe if a Director's Cut or something surfaces one day) there would have been two 5 star films right here.

****
A much slower pace ranks this part over the first, but still has a few niggling problems that plagued the first one for me. Still great action and many a tense scene, some great emotional stuff and Vincent Cassel in the performance of his life. Can't say fairer than that.

Film Review: Mesrine: Killer Instinct

Mesrine: Killer Instinct is the first chapter of a two part gangster epic, telling the true story of notorious French criminal Jacques Mesrine, who 'rose' from robbing banks and breaking into homes to become the French Public Enemy Number One.

Part One tells of the events leading up to the Public Enemy Number One status, and stars Vincent Cassel as the titular Mesrine. Cassel is absolutely superb in the role, and so far is the performance of a lifetime. Mesrine, obviously, isn't the nicest piece of work, and Cassel makes no attempt to cover up that fact. Another nod goes to a emphatic performance of Michel Duchaussoy as Mesrine's Father, a subtle performance in a film full of characters that, at times, are anything but.

The film starts with a brief look at Mesrine's days in the military during the Algerian War, and his return home after that as he hooks up with old friend Paul (Gilles Lellouche) who introduces him to father-figure gangster Guido (Gerard Depardieu) and the crime wave that followed, including meeting Jeanne Schneider (Cecile De France), the Bonnie to his Clyde.

The film is fantastic, full of great performances and tense sequences, but the problem is the first hour where the above occurs. It's just so rushed, characters are introduced so quickly you have no clue what is happening at times. The worst example of this is the first meeting of Mesrine and Schneider. One minute they are meeting in a bar, the next they are knocking off a bank! It carries on the whole first hour or so, there's marriages and births just glossed over. One second he's married, the next he's not and has an extra kid from the last time we checked, with only a brief mention as an explanation. With the film being such a two part epic, surely an extra 15-30 minutes could have been given just to flesh the plot out a bit?

The pace finally slows down a bit for a stay in prison, which is given time to grow and turns into a terrifically tense escape attempt, and after that a simply nuts stunt that you will have to see to believe (Hell, I want to see if it REALLY happened so crazy it was, but want to watch Part Two first to avoid spoilers) the last third of the film is simply superb stuff. You just wish the rest of the film could have been given the time allowed to it.

Hopefully the second part (named Public Enemy Number One, of course, keep them peeled for a review) will continue at this pace, rather than the jumping through the years that really brought Killer Instinct down a notch or two.

***1/2

A incredible performance from Cassel, fantastic performances from all and some brilliantly tense scenes in the last hour are overshadowed by a very jumpy first hour, which never really settles down. Would love to see an extended version of this down the line.

Film Review: Captain America: The First Avenger

As regular readers of this blog know, this Summer of 'Blockbusters' hasn't really done it for me. With the exception of the fantastic X-Men: First Class, my opinion on everything else has ranged from "Meh" (Thor), "Blergh" (Green Lantern, Pirates Of The Caribbean) to, well noises that pass any disgust barometer known to man (Transformers). Luckily this long stretch of suck finally comes to an end thanks to another Marvel property, in Captain America.

Not through any fault of the film (more the preceding event movies), but I wasn't exactly filled with hope for this, but I am glad to say it's an absolute blast and I can't really find a lot to complain about (don't worry Thom moaning fans, I do.)

In this adaptation of the Marvel comic, Chris Evans stars as Steve Rogers, who after repeatedly deemed unfit to serve in the army due to a laundry list of medical complaints, signs up to a medical procedure at the hands of Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) which alters his genetics and turns him into Captain America. After an attempted sabotage of the experiment by a sympathizer of Nazi scientist Johann Schmidt (a former experiment at the hands of Dr. Erskine that turned him into the Red Skull), Cap is relegated to touring the country promoting war bonds and the like by Colonel Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones), but it's not long before he finds himself in the midst of the war effort.

Amongst all this, of course, is the ongoing Avengers plot, last seen in Thor. The plot points bookend the film, and there is also a surprise at the very end of the credits, which I will cover later.

I should have more faith in Joe Johnston as a director, because this is exactly the sort of thing he excels (if you need another example, I direct you to The Rocketeer - review coming soon.) I loved how no attempt was made at all to contemporize the movie at all. I vaguely remember the 1990 movie attempt they made (starring Ronny Cox as The President, no less) was a lazy present day offering. No such laziness here, this is all set (bar the aforementioned bookends) in the 1940s and it feels like it for the whole way through. I was slightly startled at the appearance of Neal McDonough as 'Dum Dum' Dugan, an actor who I recognize instantly still from Band Of Brothers, obviously set during the Second World War also. But his massive mustache soon made me forget that link!

The excitement of the whole film just builds and builds, leading one of the most thrilling climaxes I have seen at the cinema in years. It's been a long time since I felt that kind of child-like excitement about this sort of film, I can't praise it highly enough.

The whole cast are great. Chris Evans is fantastic as Rogers, and totally believable as the skinny, asthmatic Steve Rogers, and the heroic Captain, and in the best praise I can heap on him, you can see both characters when look at him.

Tommy Lee Jones is his usual brilliant self as the curmudgeonly Colonel Phillips, exactly as you'd expect him to be really, and Hugo Weaving doesn't take the easy route and go crazy as Red Skull/Schmidt, when it would have been so easy to do so.

The only bit of iffy casting was probably Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark (Yeah, Tony's Dad), sadly his accent was all over the place at times. A minor quibble in the long run, really but a nice link to The Avengers storyline. Another slight negative was, for once, the Stan Lee cameo. Felt totally shoe horned in, where there were several instances where it could have been done previous to it.

And yes, if you wait till the very end of the credits we are treated to The Avengers trailer! A teaser, mind but it ramped the excitement up very well. A little too well, in fact. The Blu Ray I had purchased before getting to the cinema was left in there due to Avengers trailer giddiness, and it wasn't till I was almost home that I realised I left it lying in the screen. Cue mad dash back to get it.

You can easily just see the trailer online now, but if you see it at the cinema you get treated to the best Summer blockbuster of the year (so far.)

****1/2
A few minor quibbles prevent the perfect score, but this is as good a super hero movie as you are going to get this year. In fact, its the best one since X2, and that is high praise from me indeed. I plead with you to catch it while you can. Oh, and in 2D!