Getaway review now in theaters (Pre viewing review, contains nospoilers)

First time writers Sean Finegan and Greg Maxwell Parker and Director Courtney Solomon (director of "Captivity" which I enjoyed), bring you "Getaway".

Getaway stars Ethan Hawke, Selena Gomez and the barely seen John Voight.

I am going to tell you a secret.  I have a knack for knowing from a trailer whether or not I am going to like a movie or film.  It's all gut and instinct and it's usually correct.  I saw the trailer for this movie and I didn't have a feeling at all whatsoever and that happens as well.

So what I do when I get a bad feeling or no feeling as I got with this movie, is I will read all of the terrible reviews ultimately, lowering my expectations.  I am usually able to find some enjoyment from doing that.  That said, I read endless terrible reviews and then went to the movie.

The movie is about Brent Magna (Hawke) who is an ex-racecar driver who is asked to do a set of "tasks" by the evil John Voight.  Why does he do them?  Because his wife was abducted by Voight and he will kill her if he doesn't.  Along the way, Selena Gomez tries to jack the car (or so it would seem from the trailer) and now she is added to the missions at hand.  The trailer is very misleading as Selena Gomez looks like she's trying to be "gangster".

Without spoiling anything, I cannot confirm or deny that she is some type of a gangster, car jacker, but I was pleasantly surprised with what the decision of what they did with her character.

You have seen a variation of this movie before, you could tell from the trailer, so why should you see it?  I don't have any really good answers to that question.  Some people enjoy muscle car chases so much that they have made entirely too many Fast and the Furious movies.  That's one answer I suppose.  If you are a car chase fan, this movie is for you!  There is no CGI whatsoever in this movie.  Ethan Hawke in an interview said there were very small HD digital cameras placed throughout the cars as they went through rigorous stunts.

If you are a Selena Gomez fan, I would say you should probably see it.  They give her far more to do than veteran Ethan Hawke.  All throughout the movie, Magna does exactly as he's told, never questioning a single command.  Enter Selena, she is the questioning subconscious that Magna should have.

As with all movies with car chases, extensive or otherwise, you have to wonder about continuity, by which I mean the condition of the car.

Remember Commando?

You can see that this Shelby Mustang hits a good number of things in this movie.  Early on in the film, Voight tells magna that the car has been armor plated so that is supposed to explain why it can take so much damage, without actually getting damaged.  We do see an armored truck hit a cement post and crumple later in the film, but you aren't supposed to notice that.  So yes, the car survives much abuse through a lot of the movie.  Having said that, the side view mirror does do a brief disappear, reappear, then disappear again act.  While I noticed it, it didn't bother me.  Remember, I knew what I was getting into before I walked in.

The movie is cut together like a MTV-Baz Luhrmann-music video-on-steroids and that's what keeps the willing suspension of disbelief fueled.  You simply don't have time to think as it's a very swift moving movie.  Just remember to bring dramamine.

If you like the Fast and the Furious type movies, I would definitely say this is worth the price of a matinee.

Lastly, there is nothing after the credits, so no need to hang out unless you absolutely must know who the "best boy" was.  You're welcome!

Insidious: Chapter 2 (post viewing article, contains spoilers)

We have a new antagonist and a new take on the old one.  I am not talking about the crazy red guy who loves to "tip toe through the tulips", I'm talking about the Black Bride.  She's a he?!!?  I did not see that coming.  Did you?  The Black Bride's real name is Parker (not Marilyn) and she is a he!  The new antagonist is his mother who is trying to fit a round peg in a triangle hole by forcing her son to dress and act like a woman.  Parker ends up in a mental hospital because he tried to castrate himself and he was under Josh's mother Lorraine's care.  He died back in 1986 when Josh first started to experience the dark realm by jumping out of a tall window to his death.  Parker's mother apparently already dead at some point by 2013 has been trying to get him to take Josh's body, and take it he did.  As it turns out, Parker (aka the Black Bride) took Josh's body leaving him in the dark realm.

Parker as the Black Bride above, Crazy mother below

 
Though Elise is dead, she is still helpful from "the other side".  Even though we don't get much quality acting from this actress, I was happy to see her back as she was the only one who really knew what was going on with all of these issues. 

I was excited to see the additional layering in the story as time went on.  Everything was perfectly timed.  With Parker we first found out that he tried to castrate himself and then that information provided to be meaningful when we found out about his mother making him act like a girl.  He only wanted to please his mother, ultimately. 

 Crazy mother and Parker in a girl's dress

Another example is when young Josh said something back in 1986 that we the viewers and people in the room didn't understand at the time.  Later as they worked through the grainy image trying to make it more clear we see that he was actually talking to a visiting current version of Josh, responding to the question: where he can find the Black Bride. 

The response is the part that I don't care for... 

It bothers me how these "ghosts/entities" travel, crossing between the two worlds through this red door.  Sometimes it's the red door and sometimes it's not.  I still, after repeat viewings of Chapter 1 and seeing Chapter 2 today, have no concept of how transportation works in regard to being a ghost in the real world to being a guest in the dark world.

I want to know your thoughts.  What did you think of the movie?  Were you happy to see Elise's return?  Were you shocked that the Black Bride was really a man?  Sound off in the comments below!

Insidious Chaper 2 review now in theaters (contains spoilers from "Insidious" only)

The same writing/ directing team associated with Chapter 1 is on board for Chapter 2, which is nice.  James Wan directing and Leigh Whannell writing.

When we last checked in with the Lambert family, young Dalton was crossing over into the dark world where he truly didn't need to be.  His father Josh also has the gift of astral projection into other worlds and he went in after him.  Josh had been haunted by "the Black Bride" a bride dressed in a black wedding dress and it was feared that she might take Josh's or Dalton's body.  Dalton returned to his own body, but something went awry with Josh's return and we felt it was a set up for a second installment.  We were making the correct assumption.

In "Insidious: Chapter 2" we are seeing that Josh may have come back with someone attached or  broken, if at all.  This entire movie is about them finding out more about the history of the Black Bride since certainly she must have followed Josh back into our realm and of course combating her in whatever way they can.

Since there's not much else I can tell you about the story without spoiling, I will tell you that both the young version of Elise (from the first installment) as well as the old version are NOT very good actresses.  The younger was worse, but they were both fairly terrible.  Elise's two minions are back for some much needed levity.  They both have video cameras and it seems as if the creators are introducing their take on the "found footage" phenomenon while staying true to the same type of storytelling they had in the first "chapter".

Who did not return for part 2?  The red crazy fan of Tiny Tim.

I liked this one more than part 1, however, it was far less frightening and far less disturbing.  It will still scare some people.  There is an overlapping element too that I really liked in the plot, that again, I can't say anything about without spoiling anything.  Be aware that Chapter 2 sets things up nicely for Chapter 3. 

Overall, this if you liked the first one, you will definitely like this one.  I'm going to give this a "worth the evening price of admission" because let's be honest, who's going to go and see this during the day?

Lastly, there's nothing after the credits so don't bother hanging out.  You're welcome!

My Favorite Film? Today? The Paper (pre-viewing review, contains no spoilers)

Someone asked me the other day what my favorite movie is.  I take that question to mean "what is either your favorite movie OR film."  That is usually a very difficult question to answer for me.  There are so many fantastic movies and films out there all over the world.  For some reason I had a moment of clarity and yes to my surprise, I had an answer for him.  My reply?  “The Paper”.  I believe that “The Paper” will always appear in my ever changing top 5 films of all time, but for that particular moment of that particular day “The Paper” was without hesitation, my definitive answer.  Many people have not heard of “The Paper” which can be found  these days on DVD and VHS if you still have such a video playing device (truth be told, I still have a VCR).  So if this is your first exposure to this wonderful film, feel free to keep reading.

 

“The Paper” directed by Ron Howard, released in 1994 stars my favorite actor Michael Keaton as Harvey Hackett.  The film also showcases the talents of Marissa Tomei, Glenn Close, Robert Duval, Randy Quaid among others.  You might be saying to yourself: “but Lance, how can this movie be so great and have all of these stars in it and I haven’t heard of it?”  I have no idea, but it’s a travesty!

 

The film is about two inner city youths charged with the murder of two Wall Street businessmen.  Every newspaper in New York City is trying to get the scoop, however, only one newspaper cares enough to get the accurate account of what happened.  Subplots include but are not limited to: broken down air conditioning during a heat wave, Randy Quaid upsetting an elected official and Michael Keaton having a baby with his wife Marissa Tomei and working too much.

 

Technically, the subject matter lands us squarely in the Drama genre, however with this cast, the comedic elements come out at all the appropriate times and makes this one of (if not the most) enjoyable times I have had watching a film.  I hope you check it out and come back to discuss it with me in the post viewing review.

RoboCop Reboot

After all of the rumors, there is an actual trailer for the new RoboCop movie.  I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this one.  It looks stylistically like they did a great job updating the suit and the technology and there's more to it than just an almost dead guy cum cyborg fighting crime.  I will say that this trailer might give too much away in terms of the obstacles the new RoboCop will face.  I don't like not seeing Peter Weller as the damaged man fighting against science and technology to keep his humanity.  Samuel L. Jackson is in it though and even Snakes on a Plane was watchable in some strange Mystery Science Theater type way.  So what is there really to be afraid of?  Will you pay a full price evening admission price to see this movie or is it a rental automatically for curiosity's sake?  Let me know your thoughts, sound off in the comments section below.

Showcase "Moulin Rouge": Using Color in Film (warning contains spoilers!!!!)

Greetings everyone!

I want to talk to you about something going on in the films/ movies you watch that you perhaps didn't know about.  Filmmakers are using colors to manipulate your emotions!
WHAT?!!?  Yes!  It's true!  They are doing it as we speak!  Actually, you aren't supposed to notice.  It's supposed to be an enhancement to a story, like a moving score or good acting.  Before we get into any examples of the usage of color, let's talk about what colors mean:

Blue: Loyal, calming, too much can cause depression, it's recommended that bedrooms are painted blue to maximize relaxation.
Red: Passion, love (red roses for example), war.
White: Purity, Doctors and hospitals utilize white to convey sterilization, death (white roses for example)
Black: Authority, power.
Yellow: Incites happiness, friendship (yellow roses for example).
Purple: Royalty, wisdom.

That's enough to get us started.  There are many more meanings for the colors above and there are many more colors that have meaning but you don't have all day, now do you?

The movie that best exemplifies the use of color in my opinion (that stands out in my mind right now anyway) is "Moulin Rouge".  I'm not a huge fan of musicals, but I saw this one 15 times during it's run in theaters.

At the start of the film we see Ewan McGregor's character "Christian" living alone.  He's secluded, depressed and friendless.  Director Baz Luhrmann arranged for Christian to wear a blue suit and chose to light his apartment by the blue light of the moon.

He's clearly miserable, very depressed.  The color is also fitting for what we learn later, which is he's extremely loyal to his woman and his friends (once he meets them).

Soon after meeting Christian, we meet Satine (played by Nicole Kidman), she is passionate and "love" is her job.  She's a courtesan (read: prostitute).  When we see her she is clad in red and her apartment is lit by the light of the Moulin Rouge, also red.

Then later in black (she's got the power, she's in control).

Christian falls in love with Satine and she eventually returns his affection.  At this point, Christian conveniently spends more time in the red aura of the Moulin Rouge illustrating their mutual love for one another.

Enter the Duke.  The financier of the play that Christian wrote and Satine stars in.  He too has amorous feelings for Satine and courts her against her wishes.  She can't very well tell him about Christian, they would lose their financing.  As the ultimate sacrifice, she agrees to a date with the Duke.  As you can see in the scene below, the way it's lit, it is bereft of any passion whatsoever.  The best word that I have to describe the composition of this scene is "cold".  The Duke had just covered Satine's neck in "ice" as well.

Satine gazes down from the balcony and glimpses Christian on the street below.  The red glare from the Moulin Rouge and the fire in the trash barrels call to mind an image that is indicative to hell.  This entire scenario is Christian's hell.

At the end of the film, Satine succumbs to her illness and collapses and dies shortly after her star worthy performance.  As you can see she was showered by congratulatory rose petals, red and white.  As I mentioned above, this signifies the entire theme of the film: love and ultimately death.

What do you think readers?  Did you notice this use of color in the film?  Do you think Baz was subtle in his use of color or does this seem heavy handed to you?  Please comment in the comment area with your thoughts.

Film VS. Movie

I have said before that there is a difference between a film and a movie.  It's almost a concept that is as hard to define as "independent film" but I am willing to give it a shot.  If you like what I write, you will notice that I shift between "film" and "movie" but there is no common context.  Like most things you will read on my blog, this is my humble opinion.  What I like about an opinion is that it cannot be refuted BWA HA HA HA!!!  But I digress...

A movie is shot with the purpose of spectacle.  It's a somewhat musical conclave of visuals with which your eyes can dance.  There's usually a lot of action and folly.  There's usually excessive editing.  On rare occasion there is a plot that is not contrived.

A film however, is crafted with the intention to make you feel something (other than exhausted) afterward.  You are expected to leave the theater learning something new about culture, people, etc.  You are expected to leave the theater with a renewed sense of self in some cases, inspired.

In short, films (again, in my opinion) have more substance than movies.  Please don't get me wrong, movies are great things.  Most of the things I see in theaters are movies.  My lovely bride is of the notion that spectacles should be viewed on the big screen, therefore that is mostly what I see when I go to the theater.  I tend to be forced to rent films that I want to see.  On occasion, I can talk her into seeing a film in the theater, but it's a rarity.

So there you have it!  My terminology in a nutshell.

21 & Over DVD (After viewing contains spoilers)

Welcome back!

First of all, I want to know your thoughts on Miles Teller's ("Miller"'s) channeling of Vince Vaughn.  Please leave comments below.  I have found in recent years that Vince Vaughn doesn't do Vince Vaughn in his prime this well any longer.  I thought he was great.  I really enjoyed the performance.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, much of the movie has not taken the reel less traveled so to speak.  We saw an irresponsible guy who is not the best influence talk his friends into doing something they really shouldn't be doing.  We Saw that Jeff  Chang has an overbearing father.  We saw that one of the friends has an "appointment" that he just can't miss.  We saw so much drinking that even Lindsay Lohan would have stood up and yelled "damn!".

We have been there and done that so much that many of you may have passed up this movie and you would have missed a more interesting addition to this type of film. 

Jeff Chang isn't stable.  He's hurting.  He's isolated since his friends went off to their respective colleges.  This is realized over perfectly timed reveals.  First, they find a pistol in his pocket.  This is no longer the Jeff Chang they know.  Next we find out that he was arrested.  Definitely not the Jeff Chang they know!  Later we find out that Jeff Chang had attempted suicide.  Well, he did and he didn't.  He was released into his own care from the college health facility because they found stress to be the main cause of his anguish.  At this point if something remotely close to this happened in "Project X" or another film of this ilk, the Jeff Chang of that film would promptly have been laughed at and had his "balls busted" or they would have gotten him drunk.  Not the case here.  His friends show immediate concern and want to help him, plus at this point he's already too drunk.  They don't claim to want the old Jeff Chang back, they just want their current Jeff Chang well again.  This is best illustrated when Jeff Chang's father calls him "worthless" and Miller punches him square in the jaw and told his pals how good it felt.  I know one thing, it felt good to watch. 

The subplot of what Jeff Chang has been going through comes around full circle and we come to the realization that his father's motivation didn't seem to come from a place of "culture" or "concern" but rather a place of control.  Controlling his son and bending him against his will to his own likeness. 

Once again, I have a bias towards two types of films and cannot be held responsible for what I say: 1) college movies like this and 2) superhero movies.  That said, I think this is a pretty good choice for a rental if you have the same weaknesses that I have.

21 & Over DVD (Before viewing contains no spoilers)

The writers of "The Hangover" and "Change-Up" bring you 21 & Over now on DVD.  The trailer (above) looks like many college/ high school films that have come before it.  In many ways, that's very true.  "Jeff Chang" is turning 21 and his "boys" "Casey" and "Miller" go to surprise him at his dorm to take him out (read: "get him drunk") for his milestone birthday.  The adventure catalyst is Miller.  He's a kid who hasn't changed much over the years while his friend Casey has grown up and is ready to begin his responsible life just before college actually ends.  As you may have guessed from seeing this plot line/ movie over and over again, this is completely unacceptable.  Miller, using his spot on Vince-Vaughn-from-Swingers-ad-lib-impersonation inspires his friends to make poor decisions. 

What do I mean that we have seen this plot line/ movie before?  Let's go down the checklist:
Young men almost naked, check!  Young women topless, check! (however, much less than you would see in other similar genre films and no that didn't disappoint me!)  LOTS of alcohol, check!  Epic Parties in frats and sororities, check!  Extreme shenanigans, check!

So you think you have seen this movie before?  Mostly you have, however there is a dark underpinning of something else, other than Miller motivating Jeff Chang.  This is the thing that interests me the most as it is a thing of substance and character.  Of course, it's a spoiler and I can't talk about it here.

This is a decent rental and there is more to it than a re-treading of "Animal House", "Project X", "revenge of the nerds" and "American Pie" who have all done this before but not necessarily better.  Be sure to check out 21 & Over DVD (After viewing the film).  

Welcome to my blog

Greetings everyone!  Welcome to my Film Blog.  It is here, in this space that I plan on talking about all things Film.  I will post various film lists that I have created.  I will review films and movies (yes, there is a difference).  I have my own ratings system that boils down to the bottom line.  MONEY!  A fantastic film (in my honest opinion) will garner an "any 'cost'", a good film may be worthy of an "evening cost of a ticket", a decent film worth watching, but far from great gets the distinct "Matinee ticket cost".  Lastly, there are the bottom two categories: "rental" and "pass".  Pass, as you may have guessed, means that I should have skipped that movie altogether.  I am also planning an experimental "before" article as well as an "after" which will contain spoilers, of course you would read "after" if you so desire upon completion of the film.  I will also review previews prior to seeing the films.  Sound like fun?!  Well, I hope that you continue to visit this page.  I look forward to sharing and discussing Film with you.
Once again, welcome