SYNOPSIS: Two childhood friends Ped and Koong hatches a plan to form a rock band with their high school friend in hopes to realise every teenage boy dream - to get with the hottest chicks! The only problem is the three of them are not remotely gifted with music. But when Em their elementary school classmate whom they both fancy, wants to join the band as a guitarist, things start to get interesting.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Remember the good old school days where a day doesn’t go by without puppy love, quibbles with friends, insecurity and insane hobbies? “Suckseed” combines all these elements and turned out to be quite an extraordinary enjoyable teen movie.
Ped and Koong have been the best of friends since primary school. The shy Ped has a crush on a fellow student, Ern and wanted to tell her before she left for Bangkok. However her dad thwarted Ped’s plan when he tried calling her in the middle of the night. Years later, Ped and Ern met again in high school. Without realizing Ped is already in love with Ern, Koong attempt to woo her after the trio decides to form a band to compete in the Hot Wave Music Awards. Will they win the award and most importantly, will the friendship of Ped and Koong withstand the triangle love?
“Suckseed” works on the ground that it’s such a simplified yet absorbing story from the minute it opens. Director Chayanop Boonprakob making his debut right here and his team of writers established lovable characters and develop them without rushing for the finishing line unlike many other movies out there. Most of the gags come from the impulsive Koong who switches his hobbies faster than anyone and the purpose of him forming a rock band is to get the hottest chicks. Together with Ex, the band’s drum mate, the duo gave the scriptwriters lots of opportunities to throw in the laughter with one that involves tomboys.
Incorporating plenty of music, vignettes and cameos from Thailand’s hottest rock bands and contemporary pop singers (which this reviewer has no knowledge about) to the plight of the various protagonists, the music is instantly likeable and all thanks to the subtitles provided, they might give a clue or two what the singers are singing about.
The chemistry between the leads including Jirayu La-ongmanee (Ped), Pachara Chirathivat (Koong), Nattasha Nauljam (Ern) and Thawat Pornrattanaprasert (Ex) are mainly the reason why you end up rooting for this bunch of losers who in fact suck at music with the exception of the pretty Nattasha. The newcomer is excellent as Ern and honestly, provides much eye-candy as well.
If you think Thai cinema is solely filled with horror thrillers, think again. This playful teen comedy proves that there are plenty of laughs and genuine sweet puppy love waiting for you. Still reminiscing about the innocent old days? Hesitant no more and pick up “Suckseed”.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
NIL
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The music and dialogue is clear and active in the Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack. Visual is satisfactory on the whole and colour is clear and crisp..
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
SYNOPSIS: In a universe as vast as it is mysterious, an elite, powerful force has existed for centuries. Protectors of peace and justice, they are called the Green Lantern Corps. Warriors sworn to keep intergalactic order, each Green Lantern wears a ring that grants him the ability to create anything his mind can imagine. But when a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the balance of power in the universe, their fate and the fate of Earth lie in the hands of their newest recruit, the first human ever selected: Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds).
MOVIE REVIEW:
With only “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Man of Steel” in sight, the slate of DC comic properties has been in movie production limbo for years while their counterpart Marvel has been enjoying the limelight. “Green Lantern” comes at the right time to the anticipation of DC fans though the Superhero soars to great heights and lands with a huge thud.
The lukewarm response ranging from reviewers to moviegoers is understandable. “Green Lantern” is not the conventional superhero. Firstly, he does not possess any superhuman powers; Hal Jordan needs the ring to have the power. Secondly, he is not as rich as Bruce Wayne to come up with out-of-this-world gadgets and lastly, most of the action took place in the intergalactic world of Oa and we are not talking about Star Wars. Still with me so far?
Veteran director Martin Campbell probably got the job on the merit that he single-handedly reboots the James Bond franchise with “Goldeneye” and “Casino Royale”. Twice. And Warner Bros needed someone who can introduce this so-called second-tier character to the audience. Unfortunately not to being rude, Campbell seems to be totally out-of-sync here. The narrative and dialogue is absolutely a bore given the already hard to believe scenario and mumbo-jumbo about little blue, Yoda-likes Guardians creating an intergalactic police force called the Green Lantern Corps. To add insult to injury, Campbell and his trio of writers is too occupied immersing themselves in CGI and cranking out campy romance bits to sprinkle some needed humour into it.
What Campbell does best is the practical aspect of the movie. Give this old veteran CGI and he fumbles. The main villain right here is scientist Hector Hammond (Peter Sarsgaard) who ends up mutating to a creature when a piece of Parallax get inside his body. Parallax for the uninitiated is a giant blob of mess and in the comic world, sort of an evil entity. Now this is where the major problem lies. It’s hard for moviegoers to relate a main villain to a blob of evil onscreen, it probably works on paper apparently it doesn’t work in a movie. The Dark Knight works because it has a hero up against a strong villain, case in point, the Joker. Now Green Lantern versus a blob of mess just doesn’t cut it and Peter Sarsgaard is wasted as the ‘messenger’ of Parallax though I can see that Campbell fares better with his physical cast members.
I have no problems with Ryan Reynolds (The Proposal) playing Hal Jordan aka Green Lantern. He is cocksure, smirk and wears his Superhero digital greensuit to the T. Mark Strong (Body of Lies) is spot-on as Sinestro together with Geoffrey Rush (Pirates of the Caribbean) and Michael Clarke Duncan (The Green Mile) who voiced Tomar-Re and Kilowog respectively. As the typical female lead, Blake Lively (The Town) is serviceable, nothing more than mere eye-candy. Tim Robbins appears here as Senior Hammond and we can only give him a handshake for his glorified extended cameo.
Another troubling fact remains despite with an outrageous price tag of US$200 million, the CG effects of “Green Lantern” looks atrociously bad. Every minute of this 120 minutes movie is filled with effects that looks so dated comparing to the last Star Wars outing which employed similar CG environments and characters. Someone better hire George Lucas out of his Skywalker ranch asap.
To sum up, “Green Lantern” is not as digestible as a typical comic superhero and being an origin movie outing, this simply isn’t the one that will win non-fans over perhaps the sequel will be a far more enjoyable experience. In our darkest hour, hopefully there will be light.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The Universe According to Green Lantern is a 20 minutes feature that has artistes and executives talking about the rich history of the comic character.
Ryan Reynolds Becomes the Green Lantern has the actor discussing the stunts, the way he approach the character and etc.
Production Designer Grant Major talks about the conceptual art, the ever-changing designs of the environment and characters in The Art of Green Lantern.
Martin Campbell and crew discuss the digitally enhanced aerial chase sequence in Weapons Hot: The U.C.A.V Dogfight.
Costume Designer Nigila Dickson talks about creating an unconventional superhero suit in Reinventing the Superhero Costume.
The effects artistes talk about the hand-to-hand combat sequences and the pre-vis weapons in Ring Slinging 101.
We Are The Corps takes a look at the 25 Green Lantern Corps’ members seen in the movie.
Acting Under 10 Pounds of Silicone brings audience to behind-the-scenes on how tedious the makeup process is in making Hector, Sinestro and Abin Sur to live.
A featurette that showcases how the artistes decide on the final outlook of the mysterious guardians of the universe in Guardians Revealed.
It’s not just a mere blob of mess as the production team talks about it in When Parallax Attacks.
There are 7 minutes of Deleted Scenes, all filled with missing visual effects or in their initial pre-vis stages and most importantly, all are inconsequential.
A Preview of Justice League #1 Digital Comic and a Preview of Green Lantern: The Animated Series round up the Disc 2 Special Features DVD.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Visually, the presentation is filled with too much of a dark element at times, which is pretty distracting, and the CG looks somehow cheesy and unconvincing. What really stands out is the Green Lantern Corps in their digital suits. Dialogue is clean and the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is excellent with loud thumps, sonic explosions and surround effects.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
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Golden Village adds one more to its family of ninePosted on 09 Dec 2011 |
Genre: Crime/Thriller
Director: Asger Leth
Cast: Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell, Anthony Mackie, Genesis Rodriguez, Kyra Sedgwick, Edward Burns, Ed Harris
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins
Rating: PG13
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: http://www.manonaledge.com/
Opening Day: 1 March 2012
Synopsis: An ex-cop and now wanted fugitive (Sam Worthington) stands on the ledge of a high-rise building while a hard-living New York Police Department negotiator (Elizabeth Banks) tries to talk him down. The longer they are on the ledge, the more she realizes that he might have an ulterior objective.
Movie Review:
This is probably the first bona fide, literal edge of your seat stuff to have arrived in theatres in 2012. A man steps out onto the window ledge of a room, and hangs out there while a crowd gathers below, everyone, including us, wondering just what is he up to. If you've not seen the trailers, may I suggest that you don't because it reveals a little too much and gives away some clues that answers the Why, and shows how it all pans out. This is a film for its moments, so you wouldn't want to ruin any surprises.
Sam Worthington has been absent from local screens after his triple slam blockbusters in Terminator Salvation, Avatar and Clash of the Titans, and returns with this average Joe role who's more brains than brawn, an ex-con who wants to leave this world as he entered it - Innocent. His Nick Cassidy doesn't do anything superhuman other than to possess guts to step out on the ledge, although clearly from the onset you know he's a man with a plan, something that Pablo F. Fenjevs' story will reveal in due course, beginning with the calling for a police negotiator Lydia Mercer (Elizabeth Banks) after shunning assistance from her counterpart Jack Dougherty (Edward Burns).
Asger Leth directs his first narrative feature, and packs its fair share of stars into the movie to draw the crowd in. There's Anthony Mackie as Nick's best friend and buddy, Jamie "Tintin" Bell as Nick's brother Joey, Genesis Rodriguez as Joey's girlfriend in what would be a role that Megan Fox could have stepped into, Kyra Sedgwick as a news reporter covering the events that unfold from the ground with her interviews, and Ed Harris playing the token big wig corporate CEO type whom you know features somewhere in the rationale that pushes Nick to step out. Naturally not everyone will get their fair share of 15 minutes, with Edward Burns, himself comfortable behind the camera, being reduced to a needless support role, as does Sedwick's and Harris who do not bring anything unique into the film.
It's still a genre film (I will not mention what lest it spoils the fun) that conformed to a formula, and one cannot deny that the narrative has its fair share of loopholes, and conveniences that you're forced to accept as they happen. On hindsight the entire event will probably fall apart, but take it for what it is, for that existential experience dealing with the now coupled with the urgency of time, then Man on a Ledge will entertain and work, especially with Worthington's charisma reeling you into his backstory, keeping you right there and perched alongside him as a deadly game begins to play out. But both Bell and Rodriguez stole most of the limelight for their somewhat out of place comic repertoire that provided a lift in a potentially stuffy film (just how long can you stretch the premise out?).
But the real message in the film harks back to the Occupy movement and the protests by the majority up against the elite minority. It's about being framed and pushed to a corner just because the rich and the oppressive can, and will continue doing. It's about that cheer for the underdog to get back at the unfair terms being laden on, and how those with authority can be corrupted by the rich and powerful to come up with separate rules in the already uneven ball park. Or in the case of the Elizabeth Banks' role, the message of how the minority get unfairly judged by the majority, in this case in a male dominated workforce, it didn't pass up on an opportunity to battle against sexual discrimination at work, where failures get unfairly amplified, with nobody willing to tolerate another setback, making snide comments all around.
And for that fantasy piece where we can celebrate the spirit and comeback of an unlikely heroes against the odds and go one up against the corrupt establishment, is what gives this movie its deserved rating.
Movie Rating:
(A roller coaster ride to a nail-biting finish)
Review by Stefan Shih
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Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol The IMAX Experience Previews 14 December 2011 at SHAW THEATRES LIDO IMAXPosted on 09 Dec 2011 |
SYNOPSIS: The most legendary Barbarian of all time is back. Embarking on a quest that begins as a personal vendetta for the fierce Cimmerian warrior soon turns into an epic battle against hulking rivals, horrific monsters and impossible odds as Conan realizes he is the only hope of saving the great nations of Hyboria from an enroaching reign of supernatural evil.
MOVIE REVIEW:
The original 1982 “Conan The Barbarian” was at most a B-grade movie mainly uplifted by the sheer presence of ex-governator Arnold Schwarzenegger. After years of development and production woes, this latest interpretation of Robert E Howard’s pulp fiction fantasy character finally emerged from the hands of Marcus Nispel.
Nispel who has previously messed up the Vikings actioner, “Pathfinder” obviously hasn’t learnt his lesson and give audience another mindless, gory flick that has no reason to exist in the first place and worst presented in 3D during the theatrical release.
The movie opens promisingly with an uncredited Morgan Freeman’s narrative about the legend of the Mask of Acheron who has the ability to revive the dead and make the owner Godlike. The catch is the Acheron has been broken into pieces and distributed among the various Barbarian tribes. In comes an evil Warlord, Khalar Zym (the Commander from Avatar, Stephen Lang) who killed Corin, a barbarian tribe leader (Ron Perlman from Hellboy), and father of Conan for the last piece of the Acheron. Being the only survivor in the entire village, Conan swears revenge and vows to track down Zym and his henchmen.
Freeman’s magnetic voice can only do so much, seriously you don’t really expect him to salvage the entire movie and in addition, this is definitely not “Lord of the Rings” material we are talking about. All the hoo-ha about the magical Acheron is cast aside and the narrative practically lost for more than an hour as we follow the grown-up Conan (Jason Momoa from Game of Thrones) on his killing spree. The one thing Nispel is good at is delivering endless amount of copious violence and action. Nose and limbs being chopped, bodies slammed against rocks, heads amputated, there are a million ways to die and Nispel practically shown us three-quarter of them in less than an hour. There’s even a slow-mo shot of a horse carriage flipping and crashing and how on earth a solid wooden carriage can flip itself like a car is beyond medieval fantasy.
At least while the storytelling is shoddy, the sorcery and swordfights get more interesting as Conan faced off some sand-like human creatures, a gigantic octopus, Zym himself and her witch-like daughter, Marique (Rose McGowan from Death Proof) in the later part of the movie. Oh not forgetting Conan’s lovemaking* with Tamara (Rachel Nichols) in a cave. Tamara for info is a pureblood Acheron’s descendent who can unleash the mask’s power. Unfortunately, we don’t get to see this saucy scene on this edited DVD although if anyone notices, we are actually back on the topic of Acheron.
In some ways, “Conan the Barbarian” is such a bad movie that it’s almost good. Boobs, visceral violence and a Terminator-like Conan are the perfect choice for a boy’s night. Otherwise you can skip the movie after the voiceover and that’s Mr Morgan Freeman for you.
P.S. even though Conan is a barbarian who likes to call out women as WOMEN, he gets the girl in the end.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The DVD extras include Cast Interview with Jason Momoa, Rachel Nichols and Stephen Lang. A better to put it is fleeting behind-the-scenes footages; otherwise B-Roll Footage itself has no voiceover etc to it. Lastly, a Trailer rounds up the features.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The sound transfer is loud given the never ending battle sequences and Tyler Bates’ thumping score adds to the mayhem. Owing to some intended filtered shots, the visual on the whole looks saturated though some scenic shots are great.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
What kind of music can you expect from an action thriller movie starring a certain Taylor Lautner, who’s better than known as the guy with a hot bod in another movie involving vampires and werewolves? This John Singleton directed production about, err, abduction features a soundtrack that mirrors its genre – loud, brash and as straightforward as the movie’s plot.
Kicking off the action is American pop rock band Train’s “To Be Loved”, which should appeal to the high school crowd. Its simple to understand lyrics and radio friendly melody is fitting for the track’s opening cue. Next up, American singer songwriter Lenny Kravitz performs the ear crashing “Come On Get It”, which one can easily imagine accompanying the movie’s action scenes. Fellow American Raphael Saadiq does his part with “Heart Attack”, a contagious guilty pleasure which is anything but easy listening. The heart thumping rhythm will pound the airwaves to have you wanting to hit the dance floor.
The clubbing crowd will enjoy electronic band Blaqk Audio’s “The Witness” and synthopop band Cobra Starship’s “#1 Nite”, two tunes which will sound great under neon flashing lights. These are two tracks you’d want to include on your play list if you are throwing a noisy party soon. Alexis Jordan’s “Good Girl” and Matthew Koma’s “Novocaine Lips” don’t fare too badly in this department too, with their synthesizer heavy and loud compositions. To put it simply, this isn’t the place to look if you are searching for soothing music to calm your souls.
Things get a little calmer with Donora’s “The Chorus” and Andrew Allen’s “Loving You Tonight”. These two pleasant tunes should fix the damage the 11 songs before them have done to the ear drums. The album ends with composer Edward Shearmus’s “Abduction Suite”, a rather forgettable score cue which we can only conclude has been drowned out by the albums’ earlier songs.
ALBUM RATING:
Recommended Track: (13) Loving You Tonight – Andrew Allen
Review by John Li
Genre: Drama/Musical
Director: Michel Hazanavicius
Cast: Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell, Penelope Ann Miller, Missi Pyle, Malcolm McDowell, Joel Murray
RunTime: 1 hr 40 mins
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films
Rating: PG
Official Website: http://weinsteinco.com/sites/the-artist/
Opening Day: 22 December 2011
Synopsis: Hollywood 1927. George Valentin is a very successful silent movie star. The arrival of talking pictures will mark the end of his career. Peppy Miller, a young woman extra, becomes a major movie star.
Movie Review:
At some inexplicable point in history, cinema became not an exercise in entertaining people but in terrifying them- presumably because the illusion of vicariously sharing in the peril of others was in itself a form of entertainment. But there was a time when going to the movies was a guaranteed feel-good experience, where you laughed, cried (sometimes because you laughed too hard) and swooned at the characters and their guffaws. Such was the experience when silent movies in the 1920s were still the rage, and ‘The Artist’, a black—and-white silent film, is a glorious throwback to the wonder of that age when the medium had just started working its magic into the hearts of people around the world.
George Valentin (played by French actor Jean Dujardin) is a film idol of that era- think of him as a combination of Douglas Fairbanks, Rudolph Valentino and John Gilbert- and when we first meet Valentin, the year is 1927 and he is on top of the world. He’s waiting behind the wings of a huge opulent cinema (not the kind of small, sometimes even TV=sized, screen in many of our cineplexes today) as his latest hit ‘A Russian Affair’ is playing to a packed hall, the audience of which laps up every little crowd-pleasing antic he and his beloved onscreen and off-screen dog gets up to.
Valentin is also a showoff, not in the arrogant sort of way many of our celebrities are today but rather someone basking in the public’s love and attention lavished on him- even if his co-star Constance (Missi Pyle) and his studio boss Al Zimmer (John Goodman) whom he hardly gives any time for the audience to cheer for after the screening would probably like to think otherwise. It is at the height of his popularity that he meets an aspiring young starlet Peppy Miller (Bejo), who breaks the line of fans outside the cinema and accidentally bumps into him.
His false affront quickly melting into a golden smile, which she reciprocates with an equally radiant beam, finds its way to the front page of the next day’s Variety newspaper with the headline ‘Who’s That Girl?’. Turns out she’s also auditioning as an extra for his next movie, ‘A German Affair’, and an irresistibly charming on-set encounter where he imitates her dancing moves behind an opaque white screen blossoms into an immediate attraction between Valentin and Miller. He also practically hand-twists his boss Zimmer into giving her a bigger role in the movie, and soon the duo are seen shooting a scene in multiple takes while cracking each other up.
By this time, we guarantee you that you would already be won over by their romance, charming and delightful even without the utterance of a single word. Sure, there are the occasional inter-titles to punctuate the music on the soundtrack, but by and large, director Michel Hazanavicius simply trusts in his actors’ movements and expressions to convey their characters’ feelings for each other- and you can trust us when we say that it is a fascinating lesson in mute performance. Till this point, the mood is light, buoyant and upbeat, but Hazanavicius isn’t content just with a fluffy silent-movie tribute.
You’ve probably heard of the story of the silent film actor, who unable to make the transition to talkies (or movies with dialogue) fall into a sad state of booze and drugs and eventually to obscurity. So it is with Valentin, his star fast dimming as the studio embraces the meteoric growth of talking pictures while he stoically resists the transition. “I'm the one people come to see. They never needed to hear me,” he says, taking out his own movie to write and direct a big-budget silent picture that unfortunately few come to see. Meanwhile, Peppy’s celebrity marquee soars, with Zimmer embracing her as the studio’s future-, and her new picture, which opens alongside Valentin’s, easily trouncing the latter.
Bankruptcy and divorce (his wife Doris played by Penelope Ann Miller) soon follow, and with the Great Depression of the 1930s, Valentin moves out of his mansion and into a small apartment accompanied by his dog and an endless supply of alcohol. It’s a sad tale, but one that is no less relevant then as it is now- look at the state of the North American box office in recent weeks, and you’ll realise how easily star power can count for little. To stay in favour means to pander if necessary to the demands of your audience, and the lesson Valentin learns in the film is also an admonishment to the fickleness of us the viewers.
Besides his Jack Russell terrier, Valentin finds that only two people have stuck by him- one, his loyal butler Clifton (James Cromwell); and the other, Peppy. Yes, there’s a lot more heart to Peppy than what meets the eye, so don’t be too quick to rebuke her and what she represents for causing Valentin’s fall from grace. The age-old adage goes that pride comes before the fall, and indeed it is ultimately Valentin’s pride that causes him to resist the goodwill of his few remaining friends and descend even further into self-destruction. The ending here however is solidly Hollywood old-school, as befitting of the movies of that era ‘The Artist’ tries to emulate as well as a perfect panacea for these gloomy depressing times of late.
Hazanavicius’ film is as much about the story it wants to tell as its method, and it excels as much in the former as it does in the latter. So much is conveyed using so little, amazing it is to realise how much can be told just through moving pictures, especially how much nuanced emotion can be expressed in close-ups- the sole scene with sound is a nightmare George has at the advent of the talkies where he loses his voice while suddenly perceiving the banal noises of daily life. There are also brilliant analogies here- in particular, one where Valentin is standing at the back of an almost empty cinema trying to gauge the reception to his latest movie, while the screen shows his character sliding slowly into quicksand stretching his hand out for help. The technique here is as rich as the emotions onscreen, and establishes Hazanavicius as a bona fide filmmaking talent.
Of course, Hazanavicius has some generous help from his lead actor, Jean Dujardin, who also starred in both his earlier ‘OSS 117’ spy spoofs. Dujardin gives one of the best performances of the year, and it’ll be a true travesty if he were not recognised among the Best Actor nominees come Oscar season. He portrays with subtlety, grace and nuance the transformation of his character’s fate from adulation to apathy, an even greater achievement especially when you consider his comedic flair in the film’s first half-hour. This flair is well-matched by his co-star Bejo, sassy with a positively infectious vibe at first and then surprisingly affecting later on. Cromwell and Goodman are as good as you would expect of the two veterans, but the show clearly belongs to Dujardin, and also to a lesser but no less significant extent, Bejo.
In ‘The Artist’, Hazanavicius has created a film to be loved by both cinephiles and casual audiences alike. Those with both love and knowledge for the medium will certainly appreciate his many references- we count ‘Singing in the Rain’, ‘A Star is Born’, ‘Citizen Kane’ and Bernard Hermann’s ‘Vertigo’ score among others; while those with less of the latter will still be taken by his panache for telling as much, and perhaps even more, of a story than many of today’s films without sound. At its heart is a touching love story, one drawn out of the ilk of the enduring love classics of old and infused with modern-day wit and zest. Mark our words- ‘The Artist’ could very well be next year’s Best Picture, so don’t let this work of cinematic tour de force slip you by.
Movie Rating:
(A glorious tribute to the era of silent movies, ‘The Artist’ pairs a classic love story with brilliant filmmaking technique and is simply one of the best movies this year!)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Fantasy/Action
Director: Andrew Stanton
Cast: Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Willem Dafoe, Mark Strong, Samantha Morton, Dominic West, Polly Walker, Bryan Cranston, Thomas Haden Church, James Purefoy, Daryl Sabara, Ciaran Hinds
RunTime: 1 hr 53 mins
Released By: Walt Disney Motion Pictures
Rating: PG13 (Battle Sequences)
Official Website: http://disney.go.com/johncarter/?cmp=wdsmp_jcm_url_johncarterarrives
Opening Day: 8 March 2012
Synopsis: "From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton comes "John Carter"-a sweeping action-adventure set on the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars). "John Carter" is based on a classic novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, whose highly imaginative adventures served as inspiration for many filmmakers, both past and present. The film tells the story of war-weary, former military captain John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), who is inexplicably transported to Mars where he becomes reluctantly embroiled in a conflict of epic proportions amongst the inhabitants of the planet, including Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and the captivating Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins). In a world on the brink of collapse, Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes that the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands.
Movie Review:
Why the venerable Disney would spend over US$250mil of their good money on a science-fiction action adventure set mostly on the Red Planet and around a protagonist with a name as nondescript as ‘John Carter’ was baffling right from the start, and remains an enigma by the end of this good-not-great movie. Indeed, a lot rides on a movie with such a hefty price tag, but given the successful transition that fellow Pixar alum Brad Bird made into live-action features with last fall’s ‘Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol”, you might think that Andrew Stanton- the man behind ‘Wall E’ and ‘Finding Nemo’- could also make a similarly triumphant leap.
Alas, this big-budget adaptation of the first book- ‘Princess of Mars’- of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ 11-volume ‘Barsoom’ series will likely fulfil only the most modest of expectations- and if it’s ‘Avatar’ that you think it may be, then you’re likely to be sorely disappointed. Like any origin story for a franchise, ‘John Carter’ carries both the promise of an exciting new vision (think ‘Batman Begins’ or ‘Captain America’) and the burden of setting things up for future instalments. Not Stanton nor his two other screenwriters, Mark Andrews and novelist Michael Chabon, however manage to unshackle the movie from the latter bugbear, so much so that their film never quite lives up to its potential.
And yes, there is certainly promise in the story of a Confederate veteran of the American civil war who goes searching for gold in the Arizona desert and ends up marooned on Mars right in the middle of an impending war. John Carter is this man, whose mode of interplanetary transport is a silver medallion he finds in the hands of a Holy Thern he accidentally kills in a cave on Earth. Once on Mars, John meets a nomadic tribe of Green Martians known as the Tharks led by the unusually empathetic Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe). The difference in the gravitational pull between Earth and Mars results in his ability to leap great distances, and Tars spares his life in the hope of learning his secret.
Meanwhile, the two Red Martian cities of Helium and Zodanga are at the brink of a war that could change the fate of Mars forever. The latter’s leader, Sab Than (Dominic West), has a secret weapon bestowed by the Holy Therns, and to save the lives of his citizens, Helium’s leader Tardos Mors (Ciaran Hinds) promises Sab Than his daughter’s hand in marriage. Dejah’s (Lynn Collins) pleas against her arranged marriage however fall on deaf ears, and her escape from Sab Than and his army ends fortuitously with a chance meeting with John. So as formula would dictate, John and Dejah will fall in love while saving the inhabitants of Helium and consequently the entire Barsoom planet.
Well if it isn’t ‘Avatar’ all over again, you say? The answer is both yes and no. Sure, like ‘Avatar’s’ Jake Sully, John Carter is the outsider who ends up being the unlikely hero saving a civilisation from annihilation after landing on an alien planet (though Pandora is probably more alien to most than Mars)- and while we’re at it, we might as well also mention that John also gets to learn to pilot a winged machine known as a ‘flier’ which will surely bring to mind a similar and so much more memorable sequence in ‘Avatar’. But unlike Jake, John plays the archetype of the reluctant hero that up until two-thirds of the movie had no intention of saving anyone- save for getting back to Earth and his cave of riches. Does that make John a more interesting character than Jake?
Unfortunately not- in fact, John remains quite one-dimensional despite a solid lead performance from Taylor Kitsch thanks to unfocused storytelling. Juggling a multitude of characters and just as many separate subplots with the Tharks, Zodangas, Therns and Heliums, Stanton shortchanges his audience’s desire to understand John’s transformation from selfish to selfless, and perhaps to an even greater extent the romance between John and Dejah that is supposedly the reason for his change of heart. Stanton’s attempt to give each of these Martian tribes enough screen time also backfires- so much so that significant supporting players like Sab Than, Tardos Mos and the key villain Matai Shang (Mark Strong) are little more than stock characters.
If ‘John Carter’ is weak on story, it is only marginally better in its action. Any hope for a thrilling mid-air battle between the fliers from Helium and Zodanga at the beginning is quickly dashed when it is over far too soon- and the same can be said of the other equally unremarkable action sequences. Granted that Stanton certainly lacks James Cameron’s experience behind the camera, but that’s scant excuse for the lack of build-up or excitement in the ostensible money-shots. Yes, while there is certainly scale in the sheer number of humans or aliens fighting on screen, these battle scenes are shot and edited with little continuity and fail to keep their audience engaged in the unfolding mayhem.
And that’s just another way in which the film wastes the potential of its actors. Kitsch is a much more compelling leading man than Avatar’s Sam Worthington, but his physicality and his emotional depth are wasted in a movie that botches both the action and the drama. Lynn Collins makes a suitably feisty warrior princess, though there are too few moments in the film to allow Kitsch’s and Collins’ chemistry to shine through. Pity the ensemble supporting cast too- especially West, Hinds and Strong- whose characters are so thinly drawn that they are almost inconsequential.
Yet despite its flaws, we must caveat that ‘John Carter’ isn’t the disaster some pundits have predicted it to be. Those unfamiliar with Burroughs’ story will find the rich mythology intriguing- though whether the film satisfies your sense of curiosity at the end is another matter. Stanton has also made this family-friendly, so younger kids will be distracted by the gorgeous production design as well as John’s irresistibly cute pet beast Woola. But considering the budget and the talent involved, the fact that it is only a middling action-adventure is ultimately disappointing. After all, it says a lot when your impression of John Carter is just as indifferent before and after two hours of spectacle.
Movie Rating:
![](\"http://www.moviexclusive.com/image/mx%20star.gif\")
(Scattershot storytelling, weak characterisation and unremarkable action sequences render this big-budget adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ sci-fi series a middling action adventure good only for the most modest of expectations)
Review by Gabriel Chong
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BOOK REVIEW #16: THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE: THE MAKING OF THE MOVIEPosted on 31 Mar 2017 |
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