3 Short Paragraphs: The Head Hunter

2018, Jordan Downey (Critters: Bounty Hunter) -- download

During my youth (yeah yeah, last week) I would have watched any swords & sorcery movie. Many of those I have seen, and raved about, have ended up on MST3K. That should tell you the quality. And (luckily?) there were few of these released, even after Conan the Barbarian hit it big. But then The Lord of the Rings blew up, and the number of fantasy movies of incredibly low budget increased exponentially. I refused to see them; I just don't have time for glorified LARPing, especially when nine of ten of them seemed to have been generated by someone who went to the Weta School of Prop Building (not a real place) and everything looks like a low-budget LotR.

At first I thought that was what this was going for, with the orc head on a pike and the spikey armour. But something about it was different, with more than a hint or horror genre attached to a plot about a lone warrior seeking to find the monster that killed his daughter. It felt more Nordic, more mythological based, a modern Grendel meets D&D. And what I got was pleasantly surprising, if a bit short.

So, its that -- a lone warrior, a hunter of monsters, who hears the horn and goes to find & kill his bounty. The director obviously feared for the cheese factor in his limited budget for effects, so he focused on set dressing and mood. The movie just looks incredibly good, from the cinematography to the gritty set dressing. The warrior's armour, his ritual for making healing potions, the interior of his hut -- so much focus and attention to detail. Much of the fighting takes place off camera, and what we get ends up more character study, but its visceral and captivating. Once we actually see him fighting his destined foe, things do get a bit smirk worthy and I definitely did not like the ending, but as an overall endeavour this will be on my unwritten list of movies for D&D fans.

3 Short Paragraphs: Captain Marvel

2019, Anna Boden / Ryan Fleck (Sugar) -- cinema

Finally out to see a movie in the theatre and finally a movie where my eye(s) cooperate and I can properly enjoy (i.e. focus) on the screen. I can also say that the best time to see a movie is 4:30pm on a work day; the dullards are at a minimal. So, what I got was exactly the experience I wanted -- another MCU movie with Sam Jackson and a surprisingly delightful Brie Larson. Larson is one of those Hollywood starlets who, by choice likely, is not in any spotlight. What's the last movie you can say you saw her in? I can only remember Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. But after this flick, yeah she has made her mark on my brain. The smirk! The squint! I say outright that those subtle affectations of emotion are about to be a thing.

"Nevertheless, she persisted," was my greatest takeaway from this movie. As an MCU movie, is definitely middle of the road. Doesn't every MCU fan rate the flicks? This is above Thor and Doctor Strange for me, but just below Ant Man and the Wasp. But what stood out for me, and what had me enjoying every scene thoroughly was the mark it was making for lone female superheroes. Carol Danvers is the epitome of every young woman who got knocked down but got back up again. And there was nothing wrong with the heavy handed use of that statement. She moves through the movie in an unflappable manner, a strong heroic figure who knows exactly what she is doing even when exposed to the deceit of her past and an ever-shifting line of belief in her peers. On a power scale, she is definitely going to be next to Thor, and she is finally the MCU's powered flyer with proper blasts of energy.

As Kent mentioned (over there...) the movie does have an issue in what plot its trying to follow, but I didn't really think it mattered. At least not to me. This is an establishing movie, a plot device to wedge her into Endgame and I am alright with that. At least it's not just another pure origin story, which we are probably all tired of. If I had any problem of the movie, it was more to do with the shoe-horning of the cosmic aspects. The Kree Empire is still pretty relevant when Guardians of the Galaxy begins so then what happens between the end of this movie and when that one picks up? A lot should have happened, but... But, I still got a movie I really enjoyed despite my lack of popcorn -- low carb diets suck.

I Finally Got Around to Seeing... La La Land

This is one of those times, that Kent and I (well, mostly Kent), have come up with a new segment for the blog. In this one, David (or Graig, if he should so feel) writes about a movie that has been on That List for a long time. Sometimes a long long long time, but usually just a long time. And they have finally gotten around to seeing it.

2016, Damien Chazelle (Whiplash) -- Netflix

Chazelle set the bar with his first movie Whiplash. Its an intense flick about a jazz drummer and his ego-maniacal instructor. If anything the movie was about being pure to the artform, and he follows up with another movie about Jazz and being the best you can be. But this time he slides the ideal under the trappings of a 40s style musical set against the backdrop of Hollywood.

This was raved about everywhere, from the Oscars to everyone I spoke to. I am not a huge fan of musicals, but I guess I am somewhat a purist myself, as I expect a certain 40s style & flare from them. While I enjoyed the movie incredibly, I am not entirely sure I got what I wanted from it. Definitely this is an incredible creation, a movie of beauty and style and unwavering attention to detail. But was it an incredible musical? Of that, I am not sure. Maybe I need to be exposed to the more current crop of musicals to properly judge.

The movie begins with an introductory piece about the setting, about LA, about the sun and the traffic and the colour. The dance piece is vibrant and exciting and sets the tone for the movie to follow. Or at least it should have. I found the first two musical pieces, which were big numbers, cast to stand apart from the rest of the movie. They were Busby Berkeley where the rest of the movie was Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers. But Chazelle uses these pieces to introduce to Mia (Emma Stone), a classic girl from a small town in LA to become an actor, frustrated at her lack of success. It is this lacking that has her bump into Seb, a down on his luck jazz pianist -- down because he refuses to compromise. From their meeting the tone of the movie changes; the colours of the opening numbers dispensed with for the most part, as Mia's vibrancy is muted by Seb's jazz hall shadowy tones.

This is a classic Hollywood love story. That is the plot that is wonderfully done and works perfectly. It's about the rise and the fall and the compromises and the realities of life. Mia wants to be an actress but doesn't have enough faith in herself. Seb does not shirk from his path, losing jobs and friends to his unwavering desire to ONLY do old style jazz. But meeting Mia, he convinces her to join him in the purity. But also for the sake of Mia, he decides to accept compromise. Thus their downfall.

Both the leads are completely convincing as the starlets of LA. Mia with her colourful flouncy dresses and Seb in his vintage car & clothes are charming and delightful. Seriously, just plug in all the smiley lovely adjectives you like. These are beautiful people being beautiful. The dance numbers are enthralling, even the jazz ones where I wondered whether anyone but a professional dancer could dance to the music. And that was how the inspirational movies were meant to be.

Despite my disappointment at the first two numbers, the plotting and skill the rest of the movie is done with more than makes this a perfect movie. And yeah, I am humming "City of Stars" every now and then...

One Cut of the Dead

2017, Shin'ichirô Ueda (Rice and Boobs) -- download

*deletes previous post; I can do better*

How much can you expect from a man who did a movie called Rice and Boobs ? Well, I haven't seen it so that's a bit disingenuous. But, at least in the elevator pitch this seemed right down my alley, right? The movie is about a schlock director who does a one-take zombie movie and then finds himself IN a real zombie apocalypse. Definitely down my alley.

But despite all the rave reviews and the love of the festival circuit, what we saw on the screen was ... well, entertaining but ... amateurish? Weird? Almost... avante garde? The camera work was cliche, the actors were ... well, let's say I was chalking it all up to an attempt to create a low-budget feel and for the director building a weird little passion piece. Sure, its a movie within a movie but it never really accomplishes much.

And then the movie ends.

*enter the spoiler zone*

From here on, you WILL hear what you shouldn't know if you want to see this movie.

After about an hour, the movie ends and credits roll. What? Really? That was what the crowds raved about? That was it? And then... then... oh, how clever! The real movie started, with us transported back in time to a moment in director Higurashi is being sold the idea of doing a one-cut TV movie for the zombie channel. He already has a reputation for doing just enough with just enough, so the producers feel he is a perfect, no nonsense director which can give them what they want, without too much money sunk into it.

And he does, oh does he ever!

This is one of those movies that shines in the third act. We meet the real actors, the real story and its like you have just wiped your glasses of smudge and grime, and everything just comes into focus. And then it just gets even better.

If you have ever wanted to see what its like to make a low budget movie, or you might be (*hint hint*) someone who does make movies, you will get quite a kick out of this act. We see the casting, the characters, the crew and that really creepy producer lady with the tiny body and big head. Things don't go as well planned as they hope, first losing a few actors and subbing in Higurashi's over-zealous wife, and then some hijinx with a complimentary bottle of sake. And some unfortunate elements of an actor's rider being ignored. And a testy pop star & cranky popular star.

Once the camera begins to roll for the ... second (third?) time so much more comes into focus. Oh, that was why that scene went on so long, and took a sudden odd turn. Oh, THAT is why that zombie was just bizarre & out of character. OH !! That is why the director seems to be losing it ! Things just continue to get sharper and zanier and hilarious. The latter bit of the movie is so meta, so well played out, so full of continuity and nuance, it might just be the best "zombie movie" I have seen in ages, but really its a movie about making movies and about loving movie making.

And of course, closing credits have yet ANOTHER view from ANOTHER camera.

Standing ovation.

Shazam!

2019, d. David Sandberg - in theatre

When I walked into the theatre lobby with my family I asked for three tickets to Captain Marvel.  My daughter yanked hard on my arm and said "PAPA! NO!"  The thing is, I was thinking thinking "Shazam!" but I said "Captain Marvel", because, well, the character now known as "Shazam" was always "Captain Marvel" to me. 

If you're not steeped in comics lore, then perhaps this means nothing to you.  It's a long sordid tale of copyright infringement, lapsed use and corporate rivalries, not worth getting into in a movie that doesn't really deal with any of it.  Point is, the character now known as Shazam until recently bore the name Captain Marvel until DC finally conceded the name to their primary competition. 

Having done so, back in 2015 DC Comics relaunched the character in 2015, a reinvention that forms the foundation of what we see in Shazam! on screen.  With a new name comes a vast amount of changes for the character, his background, and his supporting cast, changes I've been reluctant to accept in comics, but after seeing the movie, I'm all in for. 

I enjoyed the hell out of this movie.
Things are about to get very spoilery.

SPOILER WARNING

First, the basics.  Shazam! is the story of Billy Batson, an orphaned teen who is bestowed the power of Shazam (an acronym for wisdom of Solomon, strength of Hercules, stamina of Atlas, power of Zeus, courage of Achilles, and speed of Mercury) by the ancient wizard Shazam who needs a new champion on Earth to protect it against the evils of the seven deadly sins. When Billy Batson says the wizard's name he is magically transformed into a beefy superhero in red tights, white cape and lightning bolt insignia.


Shazam! first reinvention is Dr. Sivana, who was sort of Captain Marvel's Lex Luthor figure.  Historically Sivana was a puny little wisp of a man, certainly not a physical counter to the brawn of Captain Marvel, but he was a mad scientist who would use said mad science to oppose the big red cheese (yes, seriously, the character was colloquially known as "the big red cheese"...not quite as inspired as "the caped crusader").  Here Sivana is played by Mark Strong (in his second DC supervillain role after playing Sinestro in the aptly maligned Green Lantern ), not a small or puny man by any measure.  As a boy in the 1970's he was one of many chosen to be the wizard's champion who failed the test of being able to resist the sins of greed, lust, envy, gluttony, pride, wrath and sloth.  Years have passed and he's scoured the world trying to find a path back to the wizard, to get his power, and he's successful, only instead of getting the wizard's power, he frees the seven deadly sins and gains their power (which is oddly the equal of Shazam's).

With the sins freed, Shazam is desperate and accepts Billy Batson (again an orphan here, one abandoned by his mother at age 5) as his champion.  Billy's been recently placed in a new foster home where five other children of varying ages and ethnicities live under the care of a very loving couple. Billy is bunked with Freddy Freeman, an enthusiastic kid and superhero fanboy (where in the real world we fanboy over comic book and movie heroes, in this world, Superman and Batman are real).  When Billy gets his powers, he looks to Freddy to help him figure things out, which Freddy does by documenting and sharing the power tests on youtube (they include lightning powers which is a new power set for the character, but makes sense for the power of Zeus).  This draws the attention of Sivana, again, craving the wizard's power and he begins to stalk Philadelphia's new superhero.

The changes here are plenty.  Billy historically was kind of a goody two-shoes, and a real go-getter (often as a boy reporter for a radio station, which seems more far fetched than being a kid who can magically transform into a superhero).  Here Billy is pretty singularly focused on finding his mother, ditching school and getting in trouble with the cops.  He's been looking out for himself for so long, he doesn't know what it's like to be looked out for by others, nor what it's like to look out for others, nor what it's like to be accepted.  The foster home dynamic is one of the film's greatest strengths.  A great cast of young actors fills in the roles of a very sweet cobbled-together family.  I was instantly endeared to all of them. 

Asher Angel, playing Billy, is like a younger, more charismatic Tobey Maguire, and even though he does some cheeky things, you can tell through his performance that he's a wounded soul who is trying to protect himself from further hurt.  He sometimes makes bad choices, but for good reasons.  Transforming into Shazam, he's played by Zachary Levi who brings his considerable charms to the screen, a real enthusiasm and zeal for the role he's playing.  He's tonally consistent with Asher's performance, if perhaps even more amped up by all the incredible things he can do.  Freddy is played by Jack Dylan Grazer who amazing at being very excitable, a motormouth, and representing a kid whose defenses to being disabled and an orphan are to be almost offensively extroverted.

Shazam! was produced with a modest budget as far as superhero films are concerned, and it keeps things pretty small-scale, but that's exactly what works for it.  The film really focuses in on the relationship between Billy/Shazam and Freddy, making it a buddy comedy in many regards.  But their quick friendship is tested by the fact that they really don't know each other all that well.  The story is a very personal one, and not just a showy power fantasy.  The fact that, in the third act, Billy shares his power with his new family means that the power fantasy isn't just exclusive to the white kids in the audience which maybe the thing I was most reticent to accept going into the film but most excited about coming out of it.  (I was spoiled to this happening by the action figures of the transformed foster kids that were released in the weeks coming into the film).

I could have gripes with how thinly portrayed Sivana is or how utterly nonthreatening the seven deadly sins are or just the nonsense rules of magic but the film is too much fun. The tone of the film is on-point for reinventing the DCU.  Where Wonder Woman and Aquaman still had to pull themselves out of the shadow of Zack Snyder's bleary, grimdark DCEU, Shazam is vibrant and lively, full of humour and a few little frights.  There's a bit of a Ghostbusters vibe to this, with some scary monsters, a few frightening scenes, but a lot of comedy bits and casual swearing.  So not for the little, little ones, but pre-teens and up should be wholly entertained.