Pretty good title merger there, right? If you don't think so, then whatever. TV is getting bigger by the minute today, thanks to two awesome shows: Game of Thrones and Mad Men, both of them returning with new seasons. Let's start with GOT. HBO released a new trailer for the second season, premiering April 1st and it's looks every bit more epic than the first as I (as well as many other fans of the show) hope it'll be. Watch the trailer right after the jump.
Now to Mad Men, a show that's equally as important as Game of Thrones. Okay, maybe a little more important, considering that the show was on a way-too-long hiatus. AMC just dropped a new poster for the show's fifth season, which features Don Draper himself looking at naked mannnquins. It obviously looks another situation that Draper would find himself going into. Not that he probably will again (at least, for now) since he proposed to Megan at the end of last season. We'll see how that goes (or how long that lasts) when the new season premieres March 25th.
Directed by Neveldine/Taylor (Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor)
Screenplay by Scott Gimple and Seth Hoffman and David S. Goyer, story by David S. Goyer, based on the Marvel comic.
Running Time: 95 minutes (1h, 35 mins.)
Rated PG-13 (for intense sequences of action and violence, some disturbing images, and language).
Distributor: Sony (Columbia Pictures)
There are times in every professional/amateur critic's life where they have to watch a sequel to a film they didn't really like. Or hated. In this case, it's Ghost Rider, the 2007 film based on the Marvel comic and definitely not one of the best superhero films of that year or any year. Then again, it could have been worse. It could have been the next Catwoman. Five years later, after a lot of tweaking, the anti-hero with the flaming skull is given a whole new vision, thanks to Neveldine/Taylor, the directing duo behind the Crank movies. The trailers promised to deliver an over-the-top, action-packed film, basically what the first one could've or probably should've been and after watching the film in its entirety, I couldn't help but feel a little, just a little, mislead. I'm going to post up the trailer. It's a simple story, so there's probably no point of giving a brief synopsis.
Don't get me wrong, I knew what I was getting into and in some cases, this was a slightly better film than the first, but there wasn't as much action as I hoped and there were times where it went too-over-the top, probably thanks to Nicolas Cage. It was inevitable, I knew that for sure, but Cage goes on with it too long, that by a hour in, it's not that funny. Or in a weird sense, engaging. I even thought for a moment, he was taking it way too far. But then I remembered Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. But he was actually good in that movie, though. Here, he just isn't. Let's face it, he sucked.
By the way, if you haven't seen Bad Lieutenant: POCNO, then watch it. This clip from the film gives you a clear idea of how wack he was in that film. Beware though, it's a little disturbing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiGsS5JIJ-M&feature=related. Despite Nic Cage, there are some redeeming moments, mostly coming off of Idris Elba and Johnny Whitworth's performances. They're both having fun with their roles. Elba has a French accent and Whitworth plays a bad guy well. Ciaran Hinds and Violante Placido are okay. I forget who the kid is, but I don't really care. He sucked.
I talked about Neveldine/Taylor, the directors of the film. They know how to make edgy, over-the-top films and it was there, in some cases. I know this is a PG-13 film and that will kinda bog down their edginess. Had it been a R-rated film (because they make R-rated films), maybe it could have been better. I don't know where to go from here. I think I pretty much said everything I needed to say about the film and strangely, I'll give it **1/2 (2 and a half stars). Some people might hate me for this, but trust me, I've seen way worse. I can't say this is a bad movie, but it certainly ain't a good one. Sure, it has some bad moments, but it wasn't irritating and as I said before, this is a slightly better film than the first. So, yeah, **1/2.
(Editor's note: After watching the film the second-go-around, I still stand by what I said before. It is a slightly better film than the first, but it's definitely not enough for me to fully recommend. This review is actually the reason I gave up the star ratings because I felt it was limiting me. I felt like I was being too nice on the film only because I knew what I was getting into. When it comes to the numerical ratings I use now, it would probably get 3 out of 10. Like I said, slightly better but it still kinda sucks.)
Written and Directed by Michel Hazanavicius.
Running Time: 100 minutes (1h, 40 mins.)
Rated PG-13 (for a disturbing image and a crude gesture).
Distributor: The Weinstein Company
This is the first review for this blog in 2012. I skipped all of January's releases, even Steven Soderbergh's latest. I'll catch up on that one soon, but for now since it's Oscar season and the nominees have already been announced, it's a good opportunity to catch on films I may have missed. This is just one of them. I've been meaning to see it for a while since its release, but with a flurry of other films, I just never got the chance. That is, until just a day ago.
I just want to make it clear that this is a black-and-white silent film, the way Hollywood used make their movies. No 3D, no talking. Just music, movement and gestures. The movie follows George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), a silent film star. His career has never been bigger. During a premiere of his latest film, he meets Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo), just another film extra. As the movie goes on, his career is slowing down, due to the emergence of the talkies. As George's career is crumbling, Peppy has gone on to become a major star, starring in many non-silent films.
You would think that a 16-year old would get looks from older people for going into a silent film. Not bad looks, just puzzled looks, but that wasn't the case. I think the only time I got a puzzled look was from the cash register employee. The employee even reminded me (and my 11-year-old sister) that this was a black-and-white silent film. I kinda guessed that one coming. But I'm a film buff and I'm willing to watch films that actually take a risk, especially in this day and age. I can honestly say that I love this film. It's truly amazing how the simple, complicated and even heartbreaking things can be said, without actually saying a word. I felt like I was watching a classic silent film. So much in fact, that at times, I even forgot that this was made last year.
The performances (as silent as they are) are incredible. Jean Dujardin is engaging as the lead and Berenice Bejo is right up there with him. They also have great chemistry together, which is something I noticed a few years back when they starred together in OSS 117, a French James Bond parody, which was also directed by Michel Hazanavicius. John Goodman, James Cromwell, and Penelope Ann Miller fill the supporting roles and they're all great as well. Goodman plays a commanding producer, Cromwell is Valentin's trusty butler, and Miller is Valentin's wife. Malcolm McDowell has a part in here and if you watch How I Met Your Mother or to an animated extent, SpongeBob Squarepants, you'll notice Bill Fagerbakke in a very small role as a police officer.
The film is written and directed by Michel Hazanavicius, who I mentioned before is the director of OSS 117 and its sequel, OSS 117: Lost in Rio, both starring Dujardin (Bejo, Hazanavicius' wife, was only in the first). In this day and age, a director bringing up the idea of making a silent film is risky, because let's face it, a general audience isn't gonna line up to see a silent film in theatres. Much of my generation won't see one either. But hopefully that changes soon. I'm not saying we should have a lot of them, just at least one a year or two. Ludovic Bource's musical score is phenomenal. It hits all the right notes from the jaunty and happy to the sad and emotional. Gorgeous cinematography is provided by Guillaume Schiffman. Here's a fun fact: though the film is shown in black-and-white, it was shot in color.
People were already talking about this film since its world premiere at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. That talk continued to grow after its TIFF premiere and grow even further when it was released in November. Thankfully, I'm now part of the conversation. I went through this entire review without mentioning its 10 Oscar nominations. It's a frontrunner for the Best Picture category and I could definitely see why. This is a film that uses a technique Hollywood has mostly abadoned due to what the mainstream audience is hoping for and even wanting for. The Artist proves that it is important we never forget the way films were made. This is a film many people will remember for a very long time. I won't even repeat myself, so from everything I wrote about this outstanding film, I give it **** (4 stars).
