My Two Cents: HBO's 'Game of Thrones'

Being a huge fan of George R.R. Martin's 'Song of Fire and Ice' series, I've been understandably excited for the "Game of Thrones" television series, which debuted last night. However, I've reserved a fair amount of skepticism, especially after "The Walking Dead" TV adaptation went so awry. After viewing last night's pilot, I believe that I was completely warranted in doing so, but that fair amount I have reserved should only need to be doled out in small portions over the course of the whole season.

My issues with the episode are primarily based on my perception of the books as a reader and the discrepancies I saw when the story was translated to the small screen. I won't air those here because they're really not valid when critiquing the show on its own. I almost wish I could purge my brain of the story details I've read while watching the series, so I could view things with a clean slate. I say almost because I accept my pre-knowledge of the craziness ahead as a worthy trade-off for having the opportunity to read these books.

Most of what I saw on last night's episode was fairly solid. The cast is strong for the most part and the look of the show is quite impressive. A lot of information was covered in that one-hour period and it didn't seem terribly rushed. My primary concern with the show is in its tone though. I was excited for this show to be on HBO because of what they will allow on their programming. They can present this fantasy show with a significant edge and appropriate darkness (like Valyrian steel!) that would not be acceptable anywhere else. What I saw last night had all the gruesome and explicit action that I expected out of the series, but with that edge lacking. I hated the Dothraki wedding and don't like what I'm seeing from how they're being portrayed. What could have been a frightening and intense scene turned out as something lame and neutered. I felt as though I was watching something with a PG-13 approach that contained R-rated actions. I guess it's hard to explain. Perhaps it's best to not come out of the gate on too grim a note and maybe they'll acquire that desired edge over time. I'll just have to wait and see.

*The opening moments of the show up beyond the Wall, which debuted on HBO a couple weeks back, are very well done and a bit frightening.

The Golden Schmoos

My picks for the very best in film in the year 2010 (not that anyone cares about 2010 anymore).

Best Makeup:
1. BLACK SWAN
2. THE WOLFMAN*
3. SPLICE

* Rick Baker for the win.

Best Costume Design:
1. THE WOLFMAN
2. THE KING'S SPEECH
3. HARRY POTTER 7
4. BLACK SWAN*

Best Sound:
1. INCEPTION*
2. TRON: LEGACY
3. THE FIGHTER
4. BIUTIFUL
5. HARRY POTTER 7

Best Visual Effects:
1. SPLICE
2. INCEPTION*
3. TRON: LEGACY
4. HARRY POTTER 7
5. SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD

Best Score:
1. BLACK SWAN
2. TRON: LEGACY*
3. THE SOCIAL NETWORK
4. HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
5. THE AMERICAN

Best Art Direction:
1. TRON: LEGACY*
2. INCEPTION
3. SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD
4. THE KING'S SPEECH
5. BLACK SWAN

Best Cinematography:
1. BLACK SWAN
2. INCEPTION
3. THE AMERICAN
4. WINTER'S BONE
5. BIUTIFUL*

Best Editing:
1. HOWL
2. THE SOCIAL NETWORK
3. BLUE VALENTINE*
4. INCEPTION
5. HARRY POTTER 7
6. ANIMAL KINGDOM

*There was some very good non-linear filmmaking this year that made this list. It seems that, often enough, editing award nominations are earned by films with lots of action, which is reasonable, but films like HOWL, THE SOCIAL NETWORK and BLUE VALENTINE are great examples of films that bravely play with the way we process their plots.

Best Documentary Feature:
1. GASLAND
2. CLIENT 9: THE RISE AND FALL OF ELIOT SPITZER*
3. I'M PAT FUCKING TILLMAN
4. EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP
5. WAITING FOR SUPERMAN

*This was definitely a highly competitive category this go-around. Each expose dark yet important truths about the world we're living in (specifically the America we're living in). Each also bravely take to task influential forces that would often seem untouchable - the military, Wall Street, teacher's unions, the natural gas industry and even street-art collecting yuppies. I hope this trend keeps up because it's starting to seem as though documentary filmmakers are the only people willing to stand up and say something important about anything.

My affection for the man aside (which began with this film), CLIENT 9 is deserving of this award. Alex Gibney (TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE) created a doc that's both informative and more importantly - entertaining. Spitzer's story and the intrigue behind it coupled with the director's unique style make this one of the most compelling titles of 2010.

Best Original Screenplay:
1. ANIMAL KINGDOM*
2. BLACK SWAN
3. BIUTIFUL
4. THE KING'S SPEECH
5. BLUE VALENTINE

Best Adapted Screenplay:
1. THE SOCIAL NETWORK*
2. THE AMERICAN
3. WINTER'S BONE
4. 127 HOURS
5. TOY STORY 3
6. HARRY POTTER 7

Best Supporting Actress:
1. Jackie Weaver - ANIMAL KINGDOM*
2. Melissa Leo - THE FIGHTER
3. Mila Kunis - BLACK SWAN
4. Helena Bonham Carter - THE KING'S SPEECH
5. Dale Dickey - WINTER'S BONE
6. Maricel Alvarez - BIUTIFUL

*Leo was great, but not as great as 2010's award season would suggest. Weaver rocks this role.

Best Supporting Actor:
1. John Hawkes - WINTER'S BONE
2. Christian Bale - THE FIGHTER*
3. Ben Mendelsohn - ANIMAL KINGDOM
4. Vincent Cassel - BLACK SWAN
5. Geoffrey Rush - THE KING'S SPEECH
6. ARMIE HAMMER - THE SOCIAL NETWORK

* This is another highly-competitive category. Hawkes and Mendelsohn had career performances that, in any other year, would be worthy of a win here or at any major award show. However, unfortunately for them, Christian Bale took on the role of Dick Ecklund last year and blew everyone away. Not only was Bale's turn as the drug-addled former-boxer the best supporting performance of the year, it's probably the best overall performance by anyone from 2010. Hell, I'd have to watch it again, but it might just be one of the best performances I seen on film EVER.

Best Actress:
1. Natalie Portman - BLACK SWAN*
2. Jennifer Lawrence - WINTER'S BONE
3. Julianne Moore - THE KID'S ARE ALL RIGHT
4. Michelle Williams - BLUE VALENTINE
5. Sally Hawkins - MADE IN DAGENHAM

Best Actor:
1. Jesse Eisenberg - THE SOCIAL NETWORK
2. Javier Bardem - BIUTIFUL*
3. James Franco - 127 HOURS
4. Colin Firth - THE KING'S SPEECH
5. Ryan Gosling - BLUE VALENTINE

* Last year Firth was my pick for the Best Actor category for his outstanding performance in A SINGLE MAN. This year, he caught a lot more fanfare with a higher-profile role and film. His performance was (again) amazing, certainly one of the year's best, but this year he takes on, to me, Jeff Bridges role as the mildly-undeserving Oscar winner. Bardem's powerful turn as a father and career criminal dying of cancer could not be topped. Vastly different, but just as impressive as his career-making performance in NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN.

Best Ensemble Cast:
1. THE SOCIAL NETWORK*
2. ANIMAL KINGDOM
3. WINTER'S BONE
4. BLACK SWAN
5. INCEPTION
6. THE FIGHTER

Best Director:
1. David Fincher - THE SOCIAL NETWORK
2. David Michod - ANIMAL KINGDOM*
3. Debra Granik - WINTER'S BONE
4. Darren Aronofsky - BLACK SWAN
5. Tom Hooper - THE KING'S SPEECH
6. Alejandro González Iñárritu - BIUTIFUL

* Part of me wants to give this award to a more seasoned director; it only seems logical that they would be able to put in a better showing than a man making his debut feature, but that's just not the case this year. Fincher, Aronofsky and Iñárritu are all due for awards in this category, but Michod's work in ANIMAL KINGDOM is something to marvel at. One scene came to mind in particular when making this decision: Our protagonist, Jay, has just found out about the death of his girlfriend and visits the home of her parents before they learn about it too. Here, he keeps his cool when her father questions him about her whereabouts, but when Jay takes a seat in the bathroom and sees an article of her clothing hanging in front of him, he breaks down. Great stuff.

Best Feature Film:

1. ANIMAL KINGDOM*
2. BIUTIFUL
3. WINTER'S BONE
4. BLACK SWAN
5. THE SOCIAL NETWORK
6. THE AMERICAN
7. THE KING'S SPEECH
8. THE FIGHTER
9. INCEPTION
10. TOY STORY 3

*These films are in order of their place on my top-10 of 2010 list. Many of these have received a large amount of fanfare, but films like BIUTIFUL, THE AMERICAN and ANIMAL KINGDOM still need to be viewed by a greater audience. ANIMAL KINGDOM likely also has the other distinction of having its trailer posted on my site more than any other film, so for good measure - here's 2010's Golden Schmoo winner for Best Feature Film:

2012 - THE Year in Big Films

In Hollywood, very little is for certain. Actors, directors, and whole productions can fall by the wayside in an instant, leaving film fans disappointed and broken-hearted (I still can’t believe AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS will never be). However, if things go as planned, 2012 could be the biggest year in box-office history. 2010 was a bit of an off-year for blockbuster films. Sure, there was INCEPTION, HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS and the underwhelming IRON MAN 2, but the level of frenzied fan excitement was decidedly low.

2011 is a marked improvement, featuring the second half of DEATHLY HALLOWS, GREEN LANTERN, CAPTAIN AMERICA, THOR, X-MEN: FIRST CLASS among others, but it might just serve as a build-up to the biggest buffet in fanboy films ever assembled.

The year will open with THE AVENGERS on May 4th, which will build off three years of Marvel films and fan anticipation. June’s lineup includes Ridley Scott’s PROMETHEUS (formerly Alien Prequel) and the untitled STAR TREK SEQUEL. There has actually been some concern pertaining to the latter because the project doesn’t even have a finalized screenplay, but Abrams and company say that the 2012 release date is still their goal. July is even stronger with offerings like THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN and THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. Even December, which can be hit-and-miss as far as its blockbuster offerings are concerned, is slated to feature THE HOBBIT and SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL.

The daily news briefs include tidbits of information about next year’s most anticipated films - where they’re shooting, who’s playing what role, what important plot points might entail. But the men in charge of the decisions, from Zach Snyder to Christopher Nolan to Joss Whedon, are all holding out on the goods, building excitement and anticipation for the news that will inevitably come. Over the course of the next year, we are all going to learn things that will further shape our expectations of these films. One thing is already for certain though – come July, San Diego’s Comic Con is going to be a very interesting place.

SOURCE CODE Review

SOURCE CODE is the highly anticipated follow-up to Duncan Jones' well-received directorial debut MOON (I named it the best film of 2009). Even though his sophomore feature was seemingly made to further his profile and display his prowess with larger amounts of studio money/resources, it also serves as a natural follow-up to MOON thematically. Both deal effectively with questions of perceived/artificial existence, but SOURCE CODE also reaches further into the sci-fi bag-o-topics including alternate timelines/realities. It is this sense of existential and quantum exploration that elevates SOURCE CODE above your standard fare and allows for Jones to make something thought-provoking, as all good science fiction should be.

SOURCE CODE was billed in trailers as something of a mystery, which it is, but not in the way the ads would have us believe. The "whodunit?" element is still there; Gyllenhaal's Colter Stevens is repeatedly being psychically transported into the body of a man aboard of a already-destroyed Chicago train for the same 8 minutes in time in the hopes that he can deduce the identity of its bomber. However, I would call this the secondary mystery. The true mystery is 'what the hell is going on with Stevens?' and 'what exactly does the Source Code do?'. The protagonist actually spends a great deal more time (on screen at least) investigating this issue rather than looking for the terrorist, which is great because it's a hell of a lot more interesting. Eventually, his points of contact in the real world, played by Vera Farmiga and Jeffrey Wright, give him answers as to what is going on. This exposition would be disastrous to the film if it weren't apparent that they (mostly Wright) are continuously holding back and/or don't truly understand the function of the Source Code either.

The points between answers to the above questions are well-executed and emotional, featuring interesting perspectives about mortal cognizance and also some decent, well-paced character development in the case of Stevens. The train-bomber mystery is a bit weak, especially considering that the culprit is heavily telegraphed near the beginning of the film, but as long as you view this as secondary, you'll get more out of your experience.

The performances in the film are all quite strong. Wright captures just enough mad-scientist to be memorable without going illogically overboard and Farmiga, who often appears simply as a face on a screen, puts in a strong performance as a conflicted Source Code technician/officer. Her turn in the end strikes me as a bit of a stretch, but it's necessary for the plot so I'll let it go. Gyllenhaal is very good as Stevens, handling the character's emotional experience most admirably. He also inserts a great deal of charm and humor into Stevens, making him a deal more likable. Michelle Monaghan's Christina doesn't impose herself on the narrative unnecessary, which was a good choice. The actress doesn't have a chance to put in a performance with a lot of depth, but her stagnation in the face of Gyllenhaal's constant flux is its own minor triumph. As a final note about the cast: I think it was pretty rad to have Scott Bakula voice Stevens' dad and use the phrase "Oh boy" ("Quantum Leap" reference").

The revelation of what the Source Code truly accomplishes is somewhat easy to figure out, but that doesn't distract from the fact that it is nonetheless equal parts fascinating and horrifying. There are certainly some questions to be raised and potential plot holes to be explored, such as the titular device's relationship to Stevens' conscious. However, sometimes, when dealing with science fiction, you just have to have a little faith in the mechanism.

In what could have been a cop-out of an ending, we receive a pretty classic sci-fi conclusion. There's so much potential for furthering the story (on two fronts) that it's almost a shame that we are unlikely to see a sequel. The ending could open the narrative up to a greater sci-fi franchise with Gyllenhaal building on the character he's cultivated. Perhaps it's a good thing though. Jones will move on to bigger and better things and SOURCE CODE will go down as an enjoyable one-off with a great resolution untarnished by further exploration.

B+

Quick Reviews

I haven't been keeping up with writing reviews for recent films I've seen. But I'm determined to get back to form starting with SOURCE CODE. Instead of sweeping those features under the rug, I've written some mini-reviews for the lot of them. Anyway, here they are.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 -

I like these films. I made the mistake of watching the first one at night, in bed, in the dark and it thoroughly freaked me out. I wasn't blown away by the acting or the story or anything, but if it frightens me - it must be an effective horror film.

Pt. 2 offers a lot of the same type of scares, but adds a new element in security cam footage, which is superfluous at times, but truly terrifying at others. However, I will say that it creates a somewhat unavoidable plot-hole: Why, if creepy things were happening to you frequently, wouldn't you check the security footage right away?

Anyway, the film follows a similar pace to the original - minor scares are followed by successively greater scares, punctuated by extreme ghostery (demonry whatever). Again, the acting is fairly poor, but I like what Pt. 2 offers in the way of a story by tying the two films together. Instead of being one of those completely unnecessary sequels/prequels, this film supports the creation of a PARANORMAL ACTIVITY mythos. Pt. 1 and Pt. 2 are like two parts of a whole film. This film also offers a different, yet equally enjoyable twist ending. Oh, and one last thing, if you're latin, a baby or a dog, you might be able to see paranormal entities.

Grade: B

BIUTIFUL -

This film opened at last year's Cannes to relatively mixed reviews. Why that is, is something I really can't fathom. I loved BIUTIFUL. It's easily my favorite Inarritu film, which says a lot considering this is the man who made AMORES PERROS. Bardem is outstanding as a dying father and career criminal.

The film is poetic and meditative about life and death in an understated way that most films dealing with the subject fail to achieve (no matter how hard they try). In place of melodrama and sentimentality is Bardem's quiet sadness and solitary anticipation of death.

At nearly 3 hours, BIUTIFUL is not for the faint of heart, but it is rewarding for anyone willing to become involved in the story. I would not characterize the film as slow, but I give fair warning that it might take 20 minutes or so to let the world of the movie wash over you. Great stuff.

Grade: A

THE ILLUSIONIST -

I really wanted to like this, but didn't care for it. It's beautifully animated, but severely lacking in a story or any meaningful character development. The young girl character is thoroughly annoying (so is the Charlie Brown way of dialogue that the film employs) and the Illusionist of the title is needlessly morose. The ending also made me want to kill myself.

Grade: C-

RANGO -

RANGO is for children and film buffs. Children will enjoy its silly characters and whizbang action, while film buffs will dig the persistent nods to classics and the many Western genre conventions.

The plot is essentially ripped straight out of CHINATOWN, minus the incest. Ned Beatty's Mayor is a nod to John Huston and Rango even takes a number of beatings and punishment in a similar fashion to Nicholson's Gittes. The film is also commendable for its gritty, ugly and strangely beautiful animation. An abstract dream sequence near the opening of the film is especially enjoyable. The charms of the film, however, are a bit dulled by long, labored chase sequences and some peculiar humor that I'm not sure anyone would enjoy.

Grade: B

BLACK DEATH -

BLACK DEATH is a new film by Christopher Smith (SEVERENCE) that takes place in the English Dark Ages. Essentially, it tells the tale of a band of knightly witch-hunters destined for a cursed village who take on a troubled monk as their guide.

BLACK DEATH has its strong points, including its bleak aesthetic and the powerful presence of Sean Bean as head witch-hunter. However, the film lacks proper story development and a sense of dread worthy of its lengthy (albeit enjoyable) build-up. Eddie Redmayne puts in a solid effort as the troubled monk and his unexpected turn in the epilogue was pretty well performed.

You can view BLACK DEATH on In-Demand for $9.99 (the special preview price) or something like that, but I guess it's not worth that steep of a price. Either wait for it to come down a bit or for Netflix, but definitely catch it if you've got some time and inclination.

Grade: B-

CEDAR RAPIDS -

I don't really see a lot of comedies in theaters. Most of them aren't good and represent what I'd consider to be lowest common denominator entertainment. CEDAR RAPIDS is pretty over-the-top and offensive, but it made me laugh and I believe it has more to offer than your standard comedy.

This film doesn't rely on a lot of drawn-out gags, but instead offers what I'd classify as organic raunchy humor. I don't necessarily think that my being from the midwest gives me a better insight into these people; I'm just of the opinion that people in this line of work (insurance) might truly act like this when at conventions (maybe they don't do crack, but who knows?).

And for all it's offensiveness, CEDAR RAPIDS has heart. It's not mean-spirited, in fact it could almost be considered a "feel-good" film. One can definitely draw parallels between the movie itself and John C. Reilly's Dean Ziegler character. He's loud, foul and a bit of a clown, but there's something inherently good about him.

Grade: B+

ORPAILLEUR (The Golden Forest) -

I'm not going to say a lot about this film because I'm weary of reviewing. Only that I had the good fortune to see this film at UWM's French-Language Film Fest. The film, from French-Guyana, is beautifully shot, tense, exciting and solidly executed. If it ever comes to Netflix, I'd highly suggest it.

Grade: A-

Mega Nerd News!

Are you a nerd? Do you like movies? Well, look no further. Here's a ton of nerd-news in-case you missed it.

1. Singh's IMMORTALS Revealed:

Tarsem Singh's (THE CELL, THE FALL) Greek God Epic IMMORTALS, due out in November, released promotional posters featuring its main characters. I'm not terribly optimistic about this film's potential, but the posters are kind of neat. However, I think it's lame that they felt the need to include "from the producers of 300". That really means nothing in actuality and what are they trying to imply? "This movie will be just like that one"? I don't want to see something that's terribly similar to 300. If I wanted that, I'd just watch 300.

...and speaking of Singh

2. Snow White Madness:

He's one of the directors currently linked to one of the seemingly endless Snow White themed films in development. His project, THE BROTHERS GRIMM: SNOW WHITE might be the first out of the gate with a high-profile cast already assembled including Julia Roberts, Armie Hammer and Saoirse Ronan. SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN is close behind, expecting a release at the end of 2012. That film features Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron and judging by the former's work in, well, just about everything else, one can determine it will probably be very lame. The film has struggled to lock down a Huntsman though. Negotiations with Tom Hardy and, more recently, Viggo Mortensen have fallen by the wayside.

3. SUPERMAN: MAN OF STEEL Casting:

Speaking of Viggo - a lot of speculation is that he dropped out of HUNTSMAN to pursue a role in SUPERMAN, most likely that of rumored villain General Zod. This would be outstanding in my opinion, so here's hoping it all pans out. The production just confirmed Amy Adams in the role of Lois Lane, which is fine. Lane is a tough role to cast and Adams is a solid and likable actress. She follows Diane Lane, Kevin Costner and Henry Cavill into the officially announced cast.

4. More Miscellaneous DC News:

DC is currently planning another Justice League film for 2013. Fans will remember the George Miller helmed attempt at this a couple years back. Many met the idea with derision, which was fueled mainly by an uninspired cast. Seeing as how this announcement mentioned that this attempt will also stand alone from the Batman and Superman franchises, I can see this problem arising again. Selling a particular actor in any of these iconic roles can be a struggle. It often takes a lot of time and good PR to get audiences used to the idea of one actor or another taking on the mantle of one of their favorite comic book characters. Can this be accomplished with such a large ensemble as the JLA? Maybe, but not likely and not while other versions of Superman, Batman and Green Lantern are so fresh in people's memories. I also think it will be a struggle to devise a story big enough and inclusive enough of all the prominent JLA members to warrant being titled "The Justice League". My final concern is that they'll go the same route as the Miller JLA film and cast a bunch of teenie-bopper actors who make no sense as members of the seasoned Justice League.

Mentioned in conjunction with this announcement is the news that after Nolan's THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, Warner Brothers will seek to reboot the Batman with the director remaining on as producer. Nolan sticking around is a good sign, seeing as how his vision of the character has been quite successful. All signs point to taking Batman in another direction and giving him a new face. What that will constitute I haven't the foggiest. I would be psyched if they decided to start doing straight adaptations of some of the more popular Batman graphic novels, but I highly doubt it. Even with Nolan involved, the likelihood of the next Batman series turning out lame is very high. Having two good Batman franchises back-to-back seems like too much to ask.

Lastly, the GREEN LANTERN film is in the process of casting voices for their CG characters. Geoffrey Rush will taking on the role of Tomar-Re, the first member of the Green Lantern Corps to meet Hal Jordan after he takes up the Green Lantern mantle.






5. A Slew of Nerdy Trailers:

CAPTAIN AMERICA -



I'm surprisingly liking the look of this. Though I've been fooled by good trailers before.

THE THREE MUSKETEERS -



I thought this might look bad with Paul W.S. Anderson directing, but this looks even worse than I predicted. Lame lame lame.

THE HANGOVER 2 -



I really loved the first HANGOVER film, so I'm surprised to say that I don't think this looks very good. I'll probably still see it, but I just don't know how well this is going to work outside Vegas and did they really end up in the same situation with the same cast of supporting characters like the perpetually annoying Ken Jeong?

CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS -



This looks outstanding. Maybe it'll be the second film I see in 3D!

6. Miscellaneous Marvel News:

In what was a huge blow to a promising film, THE WOLVERINE lost Darren Aronofsky as a director last week. To whom the production will turn now is a mystery, but finding someone with the respectability level of Aronofsky will not be easy.

On the other hand - the DAREDEVIL reboot has a director in David Slade (HARD CANDY, 30 DAYS OF NIGHT). Rumors say that this won't be a straight reboot, but will function as a continuation of the story previously put on film. Casting reports say that Robert Pattinson is being heavily-considered for the title role.

7. More In-Development Projects of Interest -

Those who loved Pixar's MONSTERS INC (I'm not one of them) can rejoice because a prequel to the film is in development as MONSTER UNIVERSITY, with the primary actors poised to reprise their roles.

Neil Gaiman recently revealed that an Oscar-winning director is interested in adapting his excellent "American Gods" novel and has been for some time. Who said director is will have to wait to be revealed.

Guillermo del Toro was recently forced to abandon his highly-anticipated adaptation of Lovecraft's AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS due to budgetary concerns. He now turns his attention to Legendary Pictures PACIFIC RIM, which is reportedly a movie about a large-scale monster invasion that Del Toro is very enthusiastic about.

The ROBOCOP remake once-abandoned by Darren Aronofsky is gaining traction in the form of ELITE SQUAD director Jose Padilha. He claims to currently be working with a screenwriter, hashing out the script.