The Lego Movie

TAKE 1: One Man’s OpinioN

…because film is largely subjective

by Frederick William Springer III

The Lego Movie in 3D

Release Date: 7 February 2014                                                               Runtime:  100 Minutes  

Review Date:  22 April 2014                                                                   Rating:  2 (of 6)

 

     "Everything is awesome."  Visually, maybe.  Otherwise, not so much.

     The trailer, when it was first released, had me excited about The Lego Movie.  I had had my doubts about a film based on the building blocks but the trailer really did have me thinking it could be awesome.  And confined to that 2 minute timeframe, it was.  Expanded upon, it was pretty anti-awesome.

 

 

     Morgan Freeman's character Vitruvius made a comment during their journey that they should bring a dream catcher with them in case they wanted to take a nap.  I found that apropos as I DID TAKE A NAP!  Forget President Business's power-hungry scheme of domination, somewhere up to the 45-minute mark I was having a serious battle of my own trying to keep from nodding off.  In the end, a nap would have been more welcome.

     It didn't surprise me when I later realized that the writer/directors, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, were the same directing team of the horrid 21 Jump Street and the equally terrible Hotel Transylvania.  The old adage goes "3 strikes and you're out."  I will now actively be avoiding all their future pictures.

 

     The only amusing thing to me was that 2 actors from another franchise made the briefest cameo reprising those roles here.  I won't spoil it by revealing who, but you'll know when you hear their voices.  However, a couple seconds in an hour and forty minute movie doesn't a satisfied patron make.  I lambasted Frozen a couple weeks ago here but I think I would have much rather sat through that a second time than have seen this once.

RoboCop

TAKE 1: One Man’s Opinion

…because film is largely subjective

 by Frederick William Springer III

RoboCop

Release Date:  12 February 2014                                                               Runtime:  117 Minutes  

Review Date:  15 April 2014                                                                      Rating:  3 (of 6)

 

     No nostalgia attached, not having seen the original since it first made its way to cable TV nearly 30 years ago and no significant memory of it persisting, the thing that made me interested in the new version of RoboCop was the return of Michael Keaton to the screen.  Luckily, his time there wasn't some brief cheesy cameo--he played a significant part--but, even so, it wasn't that exciting.

     That could be said for the movie as a whole.  In fact, the movie would be more aptly named "OmniCorp" rather than RoboCop, as the film's focus was more on the former than the later.  In that regard, Michael Keaton may have even had more face time than Joel Kinnaman's title character, or at least it felt close to it, which is absurd.

     The movie puts corrupt profiteers on display, but little emotional depth is created to feel against them and their actions or to feel for what Michael Murphy and his family are going through.  Gary Oldman's Dr. Norton is supposed to be our loose moral compass but we never really connect with him either.  And Samuel Jackson's Pat Novak, a satire of cable personalities purporting to represent the news, falls flat just as his Nick Fury does in all the Marvel movies, particularly in The Avengers.

     The film as a whole left us feeling nothing, which may follow along with their robotic theme but does little to make it a worthwhile experience, the fault probably falling on the directing and writing.  To that end, the Director has no significant prior films, 4 of his last 6 being documentaries, which makes him an odd selection to helm a movie that could have potentially launched a lucrative new franchise for the studio.  Likewise, the Writer has no other credits whatsoever that I can find, other than some uncredited rewrites and unproduced scripts.  Though, to be fair, the Director supposedly said that this was the worst experience of his life and that the studio was meddling every step of the way so, perhaps, the blame falls there.  Either way, Robocop is still worth skipping.

Frozen

TAKE 1: One Man’s Opinion

…because film is largely subjective

 by Frederick William Springer III

Frozen in 3D

Release Date:  27 November 2013                                                       Runtime:  102 Minutes              

Review Date:  1 April 2014                                                                  Rating:  3 (of 6)

I saw Frozen the day after it was announced that it had become the highest grossing animated film ever, crossing the billion dollar mark, and beating the likes of Toy Story 3, leaving me with the burning question of "WHY?!".

For starters, the film is very heavy-handed with music from the get-go, the songs feeling very forced and unnatural (not to mention not very good), unlike any of the Disney classics that felt smooth and organic.  For example, Olaf was introduced late in the film, was rather minor, yet needed to have his very own song and dance number?  It wasn't needed and didn't advance the story any.

(Having recently rewatched Mary Poppins, I hadn't remembered how much of a musical that movie really was but the songs pleasantly work there, never once feeling superfluous but supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!)

While the themes explored here are definitely applause worthy--the bonds of kinship and self-sacrifice--the story itself is rather lacking.  It may have been more poignant if it was explored equally through the older sister's eyes (Elsa).  Or, even if they kept it slanted towards the younger Anna, but perhaps had a few short minutes focused on Elsa's plight from her own perspective, similar to the photo album moments in the beginning of Up that outlaid the old man Carl's whole backstory and had everyone melting.

As is, the title is appropriate, leaving the audience kind of stiff and Frozen.

Non-Stop

TAKE 1: One Man’s Opinion

…because film is largely subjective

 by Frederick William Springer III

Non-Stop

Release Date:   28 February 2014                                                     Runtime:  106 Minutes              
Review Date:  1 April 2014                                                               Rating:  4.5 (of 6)

The title Non-Stop could be applied to sexagenarian Laim Neeson's burgeoning career as an action star.

This one is a little mash-up of different sub-genres, putting in place the distant antagonist directing the hero over the phone (Phone Booth, Getaway, Die Hard with a Vengeance) within the confinement of an airplane to add suspense (Air Force One, Executive Decision, Snakes on a Plane).

The story is entertaining enough to check it out.  I personally like the stylistic way of showing the incoming and outgoing texts going through Neeson's Air Marshal Bill Marks' phone.  The reason the terrorist had fabricated this whole scenario was one I don't recall seeing before but, while interesting, was a little weak.  Fortunately, the reveal didn't diminish the rest of the time spent investing in the viewing.

Captain Phillips

TAKE 1: One Man’s Opinion

…because film is largely subjective

    

by Frederick William Springer III

 

Captain Phillips

Release Date:  11 October 2013                                                          Runtime:  134 Minutes              

Review Date:  28 January 2014                                                           Rating:  4 (of 6)

      If you want to see a film about modern day pirates, Captain Phillips is the way to go.  (Also, really, who are we kidding?  It's your only option.)

     The cast did a great job, particularly the aggressors played by Faysal Ahmed and Barkhad Abdi.  Tom Hanks was on top of his game as well, though I don't really get what accent he was going for.  As depicted in the movie, we know his character is from Vermont but people from that state don't talk that way.  Upon further research, not mentioned in the movie, the real Phillips grew up in Massachusetts but Hanks doesn't sound like he has an accent from there either.  So it is left rather a mystery as to what he was going for.

     The story was well structured and the pacing good.  However, I wouldn't say it was riveting or gripping.  Having seen it after it was nominated for an Oscar (and it being only the 2nd Oscar pick of the 9 selected this year that I've screened), it leaves me wondering what the Academy is thinking, neither Captain Phillips nor Gravity being all they've been built up to be.

 

Thor: The Dark World

TAKE 1: One Man’s Opinion

…because film is largely subjective

by Frederick William Springer III

Thor: The Dark World

Release Date:  8 November 2013                                                         Runtime:  112 Minutes              
Review Date:  3 January 2014                                                               Rating:  5 (of 6)

     While not quite as amusing as its predecessor, Thor: The Dark World still pays off.

     ***It is now a month later and this one-sentence review is still sitting on my desktop begging to be finished.  But it has yet to be expounded upon because that concise line sums up my opinion quite nicely, not warranting anything further.

     I can needlessly add that it's also a good blend of both action and humor, many of the snickers occurring during Jane's sidekick Darcy's (Kat Dennings) scenes.  I can also say it's more enjoyable watching Loki (Tom Hiddleston) here than it was in The Avengers.

     At this point, anything else would be grasping at straws as too much time has passed.  But you shouldn't let any more time pass before entertaining yourself with this sequel if you haven't already!

Hunger Games: Catching Fire

TAKE 1: One Man’s Opinion

…because film is largely subjective

    

by Frederick William Springer III

 

Hunger Games:  Catching Fire

Release Date:  22 November 2013                                                      Runtime:  146 Minutes              

Review Date:  6 December 2013                                                         Rating:  5 (of 6)

      When I reviewed the original less than a year ago, I mentioned that I was compelled to now read the books.  I'm happy to say that I did, in fact, do so, finishing the trilogy before seeing the newest installment. Both as an adaptation and as a standalone film, Catching Fire holds up.

     There have been some changes, for sure, but they were mostly minor and to help the movie flow more easily on screen.  At nearly a whopping 2 ½ hours, I was surprised when the credits starting to roll as I didn't feel I was in the theater for even 90 minutes, which is to speak highly of the pacing and editing.

     There were a few things omitted from the movie that would have helped set up the ending and the next installment (regarding one of the Districts and the Head Game-Maker), but I don't think the movie suffers without them.  Though, perhaps I feel that way because I went in with the knowledge of what was going on from the books, if I hadn't I may have been confused.  Who's to say?

     I'm looking forward to the next film, though anxious about waiting another full year for it.  And annoyed that they're pulling the typical Hollywood bullshit of taking the last book and splitting it in two (a la Harry Potter and Twilight, not to mention The Hobbit with 3 parts) to milk every last dollar they can out of the franchise and skeptical of the results--I don't know how they're going to stretch it out into 2 movies when 1 would have sufficed.

     But, for this one, we have an eclectic mix--Austrian Director Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend and Constantine) and writers Simon Beaufoy from Britain (Slumdog Millionaire and The Full Monty) and Michael Arndt from the US (Oblivion and Toy Story 3) --that made it work, so I'm optimistic about the future, even though the team is switched up again for Mockingjay.