Critical Film Condition

We actually saw more of this “A Christmas Carol” couple of weeks ago in the Disney Press Event here in Munich. But here goes something for the general public (yes, I’m a snob).

Well, this isn’t a trailer, per se… I don’t think it even qualifies as a finished product, because “The Polar Express” actually looked better than this, CGI-wise. But the perfectly timed delivery of the punchline after this short 20 second clip just proves how good Robert Zemeckis is, by capturing the magic of Jim Carrey’s absurdly expressive mug in digital.

“I’d rather not”… LOVE IT!

Popularity: 9%

What ho! Here it is: the first trailer for the much-anticipated Guy Ritchie adaptation of „Sherlock Holmes“. It is very apparent, even in this 2 minute trailer, that this will be a though one to swallow for all hardcore fans. 221b Baker Street – Holmes and Watson don’t live here anymore.

I always thought that the next film version of Sherlock Holmes would have to star Hugh Laurie as Holmes and Stephen Fry as Dr. Watson. Alas, one can dream…
Arthur Conan Doyle’s original has undergone quite the histrionic transformation. Combining the basic characters played by Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law in an off-beat bromance with Ritchie’s fast-paced trademark guns and gangster chic seems impossible at first glance. But when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. Or something…
I don’t think the original Holmes character ever moved as much as Robert Downey Jr. does in this trailer on any screen or book combined. And I don’t think that he packed quite that much muscle (but I am certainly not complaining about it). Ritchie’s version seems to be a far cry from 1939’s Basil Rathbone. Ritchie and Robert Downey Jr. mix Holmes’ trademark eccentricity, arrogance and intellect with some boyish humor, which seems to work for them. Holmes wooing ladies is quite an unfamiliar sight. Also, the original Holmes was a major coke-head, which was boiled down (pardon the expression) to some Dr. House style pill taking. Thank God we didn’t loose the pipe to political correctness.
Guy Ritchie’s trademark antics meet a metaphysical comedy-opera – and possibly some good old deduction. One thing is for certain: it will be interesting!
Holmes and Watson engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England on Christmas day.

Popularity: 9%

Ironically lacking soul.

It is a dicey endeavor to create suspense when a presumed 80% of your audience already know how it is going to end. Fortunately there are some alterations that were made from the book version, which I am obviously not going to reveal, but anyone who read the page-turner has a pretty good idea what is going to happen. James Cameron managed to catch me off guard when the Titanic finally sank, but that is another ballpark or in this case, universe.
And the universe is where the dichotomy of this movie cleverly hides. There is the fight for universal copyright (who created what?) and the hunt for salvation from a deadly detonation. Now that I am writing this it might just boil down to the same thing. Could Dan Brown actually be on to something here?

These are truly interesting questions that were not explored to the fullest of their potential, which would be truly Sisyphean. But that is really Captain Subtext talking or Father Subtext in this case. The Dan Brown trademark symbology scavenger hunt is what dictates the pace of the movie, openly cloaked in some Indiana Jones style church-bashing. Shoot first, ask questions later. And then pray for forgiveness
Everything else is philosophy.
The writers David Koepp and Akiva Goldsman certainly distilled the necessary ingredients for this to work (for anybody) but the movie in itself is not allowing you even to catch your breath and think about them.

It starts with a lesson in Vatican etiquette and a trip to CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research), where antimatter is created and then stolen. The two are linked. For the un-initiated: Antimatter is a powerful substance, somewhat like a tiny atom bomb that could be hazardous to millions of people in the hands of the wrong people. Speaking of the wrong people: The Holy See is threatened whilst vacant. The Swiss Guard and a beautiful Doctor lady get involved. And Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) finds himself trying to prevent a terrorist act against the Vatican, helping his old enemies trying to fight their old enemies.

What then follows is a breathless race where Robert Landgon tries to find the Illuminati (I won’t ruin the mystery by explaining who they are). There are clues all over Rome at strategically touristy places, which have to be found before the Vatican is annihilated during the Conclave (meeting of the College of Cardinals convened to elect the pope). Robert Langdon seems to be the only person who knows everything about the Vatican and with a little help from upstairs (way, way upstairs) he finds the signs and treads on the “path of light”. Ironically this focus on the hunt results in a lack of life and soul for the movie. It is just clue after clue.

The crew ran into a lot of problems when the Vatican revoked all permits to shoot even in the vicinity of Vatican City. I can just hear a prop guy say: “So you want me to build a replica of St. Peter’s Square?”
Unfortunately it shows. Ron Howard is a good director, but in some scenes it is just too obvious that there were problems during the shoot. Clearly everyone knows what they were doing and this could have been a catastrophe, which it is not. It is entertaining, but left me breathless for the wrong reasons. There are some great mano-a-mano discussions and action and when the story diverted from the original, it became fascinating.

There is a great international cast including Ewan McGregor as Camerlengo Patrick McKenna, Stellan Skarsgård as Commander Richter, Armin Mueller-Stahl as Cardinal Strauss. And Ayelet Zurer as Vittoria Vetra, that’s Dr. Vetra. Sadly she is just a scientist appendage in heels running behind Tom Hanks.

Sometimes you just have to listen to your soul, not the marketing department.
Let’s not make this more than it is. But if you can get free publicity from the Vatican you have my blessing.

Popularity: 12%

J.J. Abrams, live long and prosper.

Before I bore you with all my writing here on CFC, let me clarify that “Star Trek” is good… So good, in fact, to be hailed by me as the best movie this year so far. Now, if you haven’t yer run to the theater to see it, let me now clarify to you why I stay firm to my opinion on that matter.

While other blockbusters this year have surprised me time and again, J.J. Abrams “Star Trek” manages to round everything up into 140 minutes of awesomeness that leaves you wanting more and more. It is one of those movies that you wish didn’t have an ending.

It isn’t a sequel… It isn’t a prequel either. “Star Trek” is a reboot with room for re-imagining of the Star Trek universe, not ignoring all the TV Series and Feature Films released in the past, while at the same time giving it breathing room for a whole new experience. The plot might seem complicated at times, but somehow screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman manage to pull you back into the storyline constantly, and while revealing anything would spoil a great deal, it’s enough to say that, when you travel back in time, you can change the future in any way you want. From that premise, this new “Star Trek” allows itself a great number of surprises that don’t offend fans of the classics and keeps those new to the franchise (yours truly included) interested.

The cast is brilliant, naturally with Chris Pine as Jim Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock standing out. But the supporting roles, including Leonard Nimoy, his old role as Spock as well (time travel), support the main characters wonderfully. The cast seems well integrated into the story, and at the core of it, which is the development of Spock and Kirk’s friendship, the movie already shines due to Pine’s and Quinto’s dedication to their roles. Eric Bana is a kick-ass, memorable vilain as captain Nero… Something that sets the darker, epic tone of the adventure. Special mention is duly given to Karl Urban, who is absolutely amazing as Leonard “Bones” McCoy and Winona Ryder, who looks fantastic as Amanda Grayson (Spock’s human mother). Oh, and Zoë Saldana looks hot.

But PLEASE, PLEASE, don’t listen to critics who say that this movie is good because it has good character development but lacks action. For christ-sakes, shit blows up every five minutes!!! Are these people crazy??? “Star Trek” is a constant roller-coaster ride, and it isn’t good, it is AMAZING because it features awesome action sequences blended into the epic story and the fantastic character development. And by epic I mean that “Star Trek” has enough scale to dwarf any other iteration of the series by a light-year. We were already flabergasted with the first half-hour, introduction of the characters, story set-up, etc. But after we see the USS Enterprise for the first time, we know we’re in for a treat. The revelation of the Enterprise is sure to stick with you for the following days, and it sets the tone and scale of the rest of movie, as well as a benchmark for other blockbusters hitting the silver-screen this year. Describing it really lacks a better word than amazing, both for geeks and “regular” people alike.

The thing with “Star Trek” is that it starts awesome, shifts into second gear, and with every act, every new character, every revelation, it just keeps getting better and better until it ends. The costumes are an homage to the Gene Roddenberry classic, but don’t look tacky, the characters are all there, but somehow develop themselves differently due to the new parallel storyline that is being set-up, and the action is not silly, but amazing nonetheless. Next to me was a friend who is an insane Trekkie, and he was as amazed as I was, so it must mean something. Why is “Star Trek” the best movie so far this year for me? Because in every aspect I can think of, it absolutely rocks… And that is all a movie should need.

[starreviewmulti id=1]

Popularity: 12%