Tropic Thunder (2008) September 29, 2008
Posted by gproject in : Cinema, Recently Viewed , add a commentDirected by: Ben Stiller
At a cost of $92 million, Tropic Thunder is a juggernaut in comedy terms, pairing big budget action with a powerhouse comic cast. Billed as a kind of Full-Metal-Apocalypse-Now via Platoon, it makes some scathing attacks at Hollywood stereotypes, and especially the performers who work within that system. Strangest of all though, is seeing all this done by some of the system’s most successful stars.
Its ridiculous plot sees failing action star Tugg Speedman out in the tropics making a Vietnam War movie with first-time director Damien Cockburn. When everything seems to be going wrong, the film’s army advisor convinces Damien to up the stakes for his actors - to make it real. The director takes Speedman, along with the other stars: crude comic Jeff Portnoy, method actor Kirk Lazarus, rapper Alpa Chino, and youngster Kevin Sandusky, deep into the jungle, where they can experience war first hand. With hidden cameras, he plans to recreate a battle environment, but of course, it isn’t long before the movie cast find themselves caught up in a real stand-off with a dangerous jungle-dwelling, heroin-producing gang. Taking it all as part of the movie, the actors stumble into a deadly environment, and give the performance of their lives.
With such a large and varied cast, it’s no wonder that director Ben Stiller has called upon some of the best current comic talent to fill his roster of character types. He himself plays the fallen action hero, desperate to reclaim former glories in a constant succession of stupid sequels. We get Jack Black as the heroin addicted slapstick star, who plays every character in an overweight family comedy that is a non-too-subtle nod to Eddie Murphy’s recent output. Also topping the poster is Robert Downey Jr. in a role as the ’serious’ actor who takes his method to the extreme when he undergoes pigment augmentation in order to play a black soldier.
This bizarre racial twist has potential to be the most offensive thing in the movie, but he is sparingly paired with Brandon T. Jackson, who plays the rapper / actor / entrepreneur of every industry. Then there’s the failing director, played by British comic Steve Coogan, as well as Jay Baruchel levelling everyone else out as the new kid. And that’s just the principal cast. The film also features parts for Danny McBride, Bill Hader, Nick Nolte, Matthew McConaughey, and, strangest of all, a bullish, foul-mouthed studio head played by non other than Tom Cruise. The more cynical (like me), may see this as a much-needed publicity stunt for Cruise, but on the basis of his performance, it just may have worked.
So, there’s no lack of potential, but how does the film manage that potential alongside a rather silly premise and a multi-million dollar effects budget? Well, for the most part, okay. While it seems redundant to mention the effects of having money on your side, unlike the comparatively low budget action comedy Pineapple Express [review], the visual spectacle here is much more polished and cinematic. In a way, it is almost too clean, often coming off as the glorified Hollywood blockbuster that it is trying to parody. Maybe that’s a credit to the accomplished visual style, which is shown no better than during the fake trailers that form the prelude to the movie.
And it is these trailers, serving as rather inspired character introductions, that form the high point of the film. Complete with relevant studio credits they are quick, satirical and very funny, to the point where they end up creating high expectation for a movie that then struggles to deliver. The script by Ben Stiller, Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen, contains a peppering of witty lines, so while there’s something to make you laugh at regular intervals, it never quite holds up as the rip-roaring comedy it should have been. There’s so much going on at times, the film can seem messy, cluttered even, and it has to work twice as hard to push its comedy to the fore.
With this kind of atmosphere, it’s no wonder that Jack Black is a little wasted in his role, and no more than the sum of his Murphy-baiting parody. While the much-hyped Downey Jr. role is of such ludicrous extremes that it steers itself well clear of offensiveness, and often just ends up being incomprehensible - especially in a audio sense, where the emphasised accents (both in and out of ‘character’) sometimes fail to clearly convey the dialogue. It’s not a huge problem, but since he has most of the funniest lines, you’d be missing out on maximum entertainment if you don’t pay attention.
Tropic Thunder is actually quite an ambitious action comedy, mainly because it doesn’t skimp on the spectacle contingent inherent to the format. Nor is it ever afraid to cross some rather controversial lines - confronting both racial issues and those related to the on-screen depiction of the mentally handicapped. There’s always the risk, of course, that this lack of financial and satirical boundaries will lead to over-indulgence and a reliance on easy laughs, which sometimes occurs during the film’s hour and fifty minute running time. Mostly though, it has done exactly what a comedy juggernaut is supposed to - pull in the audiences, provide some mindless entertainment, and remind you that movies, inherently, are a bunch of stupid nonsense. A point well made.
Pineapple Express (2008) September 11, 2008
Posted by gproject in : Cinema, Recently Viewed , add a commentDirected by: David Gordon Green
Where stupidity and ineptitude meets underachieving and misguided, that’s where you’ll find the characters of a typical stoner comedy. Often concerning male friends who are usually on the run from, or to something, the whole genre can seem like a grab at an easy audience and even easier laughs. Pineapple Express changes little of the archetype, because it already has its biggest pulling factor built in: the failsafe comic teaming of producer Judd Apatow and star Seth Rogen. Two gentlemen for whom these are high times indeed.
Its story concerns two stoners: one a process server named Dale Denton, the other his lazy dealer named Saul Silver. Their relationship is one of mild acquaintance, until events conspire that Dale witnesses a murder by a cop and the biggest drug pusher in town – a guy who, according to Saul, is “crazy about murdering”. The two bumbling losers then try to go on the run, but are forever bumping into the wrong people, be it drug middle-man Red, or working thugs Budlofsky and Matherson. The one consistent link between them all: weed, specifically a potent strain that goes by the name of Pineapple Express.
Looking back on the comic legacy of this genre we find movies such as Up In Smoke, Dazed & Confused, and Half Baked, along with more recent additions like the Harold & Kumar films. All fairly safe tales of comic intent and, depending on where you stand, all successful in their own way. What the Apatow crew have added into the mix is a healthy dose of action, in order to make Pineapple Express unlike any stoner movie ever attempted. And it’s certainly present, although you may argue that their interpretation of ‘action’ seems to mean rough and tumble violence more than anything else.
So what we get is 111 minutes of fairly foul-mouthed comic banter, punctuated by moments of wild gunfire and no-holds-barred punch ups. It’s an odd mix, especially when done with such a strong intent on showing people getting injured, but apparently that’s exactly what the writers wanted. Superbad [review] writing team Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are behind the script, which sees our two protagonists bounce around Los Angeles with rather too little focus, bumping into other characters along the way before reaching the natural showdown conclusion. While the story is fairly simple, it’s not terribly engaging, and so it’s the moments between the moments that provide the film’s strongest laughs.
As always, there’s a heavy emphasis on improvisation, which the cast are presumably chosen based on their ability to participate in. Interestingly though, because of all the down time in Pineapple Express, I actually found the improv somewhat intrusive – a first for any of Apatow’s movies. 
Stripping the dialogue back might have made it seem less desperate, and while its true that most of the humour comes out of the random exchanges between characters, there are times when you want people to shut up and move on. It’s a difficult line to tread, but where these movies have succeeded before, this one pushes its ad-libs a little too hard.
Having said this, the cast itself is completely solid and play perfectly into their characters. Expect to see all the old Apatow faces, namely Seth Rogen as the hapless Dale Denton and James Franco as the drug dealing Saul Silver. While we get this kind of thing from Rogen all the time, it is Franco who particularly stands out here, taking a break from his more serous work to show that he still has the funny side that got him his job on Apatow’s Freaks & Geeks series eight years ago. Also worth mentioning is rising comic talent Danny McBride, who is part of the “he’s everywhere” contingent that also currently consists of Craig Robinson and Bill Hader – both of whom have parts in the movie.
It’s a strong comic cast, and their already existing friendships only make the on-screen relationships work even better. That’s maybe why it’s a surprise to see David Gordon Green in the director’s chair. Even though he has ties with some of the cast, this isn’t his typical job at all. As the director of All The Real Girls, Undertow and, most recently, Snow Angels, he is known for his drama more than his humour; he’s even been nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance twice. And yet, here he is, throwing himself into this stoner action / comedy combo with as much intent as ever. Unfortunately, intent doesn’t always equal results.
While he equips himself for the genre appropriately, shooting the comic stuff exactly as expected, there’s something lacking in the action sequences that shows up the holes in this supposedly kick-ass stoner flick. What hangs over the movie is the ghost of Hot Fuzz [review]; Edgar Wright’s action comedy that held its action in as high a regard as its humour. A scene in Pineapple Express which shows the rapid cocking of various guns looks lame in comparison to the Tony Scott-inspired visual aesthetic that Wright managed to adopt to do exactly the same thing.
That’s pretty much where this movie stands – as a fantastic idea that never quite lives up to expectations. Notably, the trailer for Pineapple Express was a superbly put together piece of editing that brings together the humour, the action, a great piece of music, and some of the best cinematography, in a way that never occurs in the final film. It’s still a fun movie and one that has so many gags that you’ll undoubtedly be laughing at some point, but maybe the film works best fulfilling the typical role of a stoner flick – as a secondary stimulus. One of the funniest scenes comes right at the end, as the main characters sit around and discuss the events as if it was a movie they just watched. That, I feel, is exactly how audiences will get the most enjoyment too.
Pineapple Express is on UK general release from September 12th.
The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008) September 7, 2008
Posted by gproject in : Cinema, Recently Viewed , add a commentDirected by: Chris Carter
Returning to a series as seminal as The X Files should bring with it a sense of purpose and meaning, yet this seemingly standalone instalment arrives as more a product of timing than anything else. Lead actors were willing, series creators were interested, Vancouver was open for business, and six years since the TV show ended had left a void that was, apparently, waiting to be filled. But without real impetus or reason, isn’t this just a supernatural thriller trading on the X Files name? Quite possibly, and yet there’s still something very watchable about it.
This particular ‘X-File’ takes place in rural Virginia, where women are mysteriously going missing on a regular basis. The only lead the FBI has is a disgraced priest, who claims to have psychic visions of the women. His supposed ability seems to herald results, but not without scepticism from those working on the case. And so, ex-paranormal agents Mulder and Scully are dragged back into the thick of an investigation, using their vast experience to find out one more time, if the truth is really out there.
What X Files mastermind Chris Carter has done here essentially boils down to a ‘Monster of the Week’ storyline with some extra time for Mulder and Scully to pontificate about their rather fragile relationship. On paper, it’s not the best outline for a feature-length return, 
yet its finished form is more entertaining than you might think. Firstly, the fantastical element of the story develops itself quite nicely, dropping question marks as it goes and instilling the plotline with a nice sense of mystery. It never feels ‘important’, like the best mythology episodes of the series, but Carter has no problem making throwaway content that holds your interest.
His script is a little ponderous at times and there are moments where inspiration seems lacking, especially during the conclusion which, in both story and thriller terms, is quite flat and comes as a bit of a disappointment. Yet there are some rewarding parts too - scenes that see Scully fight a cause outside of the investigation and have her battling her internal scepticism, are among the most effective. Where things eventually fall down is through the loose tying of its two storylines, and a role for Mulder that sees him do little outside of be his usual self.
It’s character issues like this that highlight the rather weak links between I Want To Believe and the rest of the X Files universe. In all honesty, this would have been a perfectly acceptable thriller even without the well-known characters and six-note whistle. We are told enough to understand that there is a history between the leads, and as only a casual watcher of the series, I had little problem catching up on the few past events that were mentioned. Sure, there are some sly references for fans to pick up, but shouldn’t a six-year wait hold more for The X Files most dedicated followers?
The biggest coup, of course, is the return of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson in their career-defining roles as Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. Both have gone on to have solid careers, and I’ve especially enjoyed Duchovny’s performances in both the good and the mediocore. Each actor falls neatly back into character and there’s certainly a credibility to their relationship that exudes from years of working so closely. Holding the supporting roles are Amanda Peet as a trusting FBI agent, Xzibit as an untrusting FBI agent, and Billy Connolly as the visionary, paedophile priest (yes, you read that correctly).
I Want To Believe has struggled at the box office, maybe a little undeservingly so, but with no real draw for fans outside of a quick catch up with Mulder and Scully, it was never going to be enough to drag people back into theatres. Its biggest mistake comes down to the fact that it doesn’t escape the ‘extended episode’ accusation that is so easily attributable to feature films upgraded from TV shows. If there’s one saving grace, it’s the involvement of Chris Carter, who still has the ability to spin an interesting yarn, even though he’s the only one with the belief that his characters alone can hold the whole thing together.
RocknRolla (2008) September 3, 2008
Posted by gproject in : Cinema, Recently Viewed , add a commentDirected by: Guy Ritchie
If there is any working director who has experienced such a dramatic turning in the past few years, it’s British filmmaker Guy Ritchie. Exploding onto the international scene with his stylised London gangster flick Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, he was heralded as Britain’s biggest hope for a competing with Hollywood. But after jumping the follow-up hurdle successfully with Snatch, he took a beating for betraying his genre roots on Swept Away and then again for making the introspective bizarre-o-fest, Revolver. This time it’s back to London, back to the gangsters, back to the heists and back to the well. Like a lost child returning home, it’s good to see him safe and sound.
The film opens by introducing us to an underhand property deal gone wrong, which leaves a usually cocksure guy who goes by the nickname One Two, owing money to London’s most dangerous criminal, Lenny Cole. In a bid to earn what he owes, One Two starts doing jobs for the mysterious Stella, who just happens to be the accountant for Uri, a Russian mobster who has got his eyes on Lenny’s turf. Throw into the mix a miscreant rocker named Johnny Quid, a bunch of One Two’s mates (who together form ‘the Wild Bunch’), and a much-desired ‘lucky’ painting. It all adds up to war in the Capital – with everyone vying to get the upper hand.
RocknRolla is much closer to the Ritchie archetype laid out in Snatch and Lock Stock, which leads to easy and obvious comparisons with his earlier works. And why not? I don’t think there’s any doubting that this is an attempt to claw back the respect received by those films, and produce another enjoyable, knockabout London gangster flick for the fans. Just for the record, I really liked Lock Stock (after dismissing it originally and then catching it on DVD), and I enjoyed, but was less enthralled by, Snatch. It’s the unique character-based spin that makes Ritchie’s movies what they are though, and in that respect, RocknRolla succeeds ten-fold.
We are introduced to what seems like fifty different characters, all with distinct personalities and their own descriptive nicknames. Early on it can become a little overwhelming, especially as you’re trying to take in the voice-over back-story (typically Ritchie with its tales of dodgy dealings and a “you owe me money, son” setup), but as the film progresses, you gradually grow accustomed to the rogues gallery of characters. Importantly, it’s these people who drive interest in the back-and-forth storyline, which follows the classic interweaving tales structure from Lock Stock, and means that careful choice of acting talent is required throughout.
Luckily, the cast doesn’t disappoint. Gerard Butler is good as cheeky hard-man One Two, and it’s a welcome return after a couple of weaker loved-up roles in Nim’s Island and P.S. I Love You. Similarly well-suited is Tom Wilkinson, who follows up his Best Supporting actor nomination for Michael Clayton [review], by playing the respected Godfather figure, Lenny Cole. Then there’s support from a whole host of lesser involved, but equally as effective, supporting players, including Mark Strong, Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, Karel Roden, Matt King, Ludacris and Jeremy Piven. Thandie Newton provides the femme fatale element, but for me it is Toby Kebbell, playing rock star Johnny Quid, who steals the show with his whacked-out but educated deliveries.
The only person who could draw attention away from such a huge cast is Ritchie himself, and it’s likely that he will take most of the brunt for the success or failure of this film. As scriptwriter, he loads up the dialogue with as much regionalised dialect as he can find, and lets the gags flow thick and fast whenever the opportunity strikes. The actual story, on the other hand, feels a little like a Lock Stock throwback and never manages to tie all the threads together in a manner that satisfies like it did in ‘98. 
The ending, in particular, is a bit of a let down after all the build up, while the final twist is openly divulged about thirty seconds before the ‘reveal’ sequence plays out. This all holds the movie back a bit, along with some drawn out scenes that serve to slow down the pace of a film that often feels like it should be moving faster.
Where the picture breaks from its ten-year-old origins is in its editing and shot style. Ominously, the influence of Revolver rears its head, and we get a few odd ‘out of body’ moments mixed into the expected fast cutting, stylised atmosphere. It’s an infrequent occurrence though, and never takes on the navel-gazing, smarter-than-thou attitude from that messy previous feature. RocknRolla may well be proclaimed as a ‘return to form’ for a director who has seen both great success and strong derision in equal measure. A good job too, since Ritchie apparently plans a trilogy of stories with this film’s ‘Wild Bunch’. It’s certainly an entertaining couple of hours, and the best thing that Ritchie has done in eight years, but that still leaves it far from perfect. If you hated his early work then stay well away, but for everyone else, this is a partway return to the classic era, and I think you’ll agree that it’s nice to have him back. Safe, but sound.
RocknRolla is on UK general release from September 5th.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) August 22, 2008
Posted by gproject in : Cinema, Recently Viewed , add a commentDirected by: Guillermo del Toro
It is usual for sequels to be the product of popularity; a return to characters we were already introduced to so that they may continue their seemingly endless adventures, all while making the pockets of a hungry audience that little bit lighter. All’s fair in love and box office I suppose, and it would be unjust to say that every sequel strategy turns out badly (The Dark Knight [review], anyone?). Hellboy II, on the other hand, may be the complete antithesis of this. A sequel born not of the money-grabbing “give ‘em more” attitude that plagues regular follow-ups, but rather a film that only exists but for the grace of director Guillermo del Toro: the Pied-Piper of Hollywood.
Del Toro is a rare breed, and one who happily mixes his independent foreign language commitments with mainstream Hollywood engagements. What’s rare is that he has found great success in both. This makes him like gold dust for the big studios, who want to channel his off-beat credibility and spellbinding imagination into their seat-filling summer blockbusters. Now, some back story. Anyone familiar with the tale of Hellboy’s inception onto the big screen will know that it was something of a passion project for the Mexican director. As a huge fan of Mike Mignola’s comic books, it took plenty of work and proof-of-ability (see: Blade II) before he was allowed the chance to make it for Sony Pictures. For all intents and purposes the film underperformed, and never captured the public imagination in the same way that Spider-man or Batman Begins did – but the story does end there.
Since then, Guillermo has gone and turned himself into an Oscar-nominated auteur, the success of Pan’s Labyrinth securing him a seat at Sony’s head table when he wanted to come back and do an American film. But what does Del Toro want to make? Another dark and interesting adult fairytale? No, Hellboy II, of course! So Sony dumps the license for financial reasons and without hesitation it is picked up by Universal; a new studio to fall under the spell of Del Toro’s hypnotic tune. Against better judgement, they give the go-ahead for a sequel.
Which leads us to this, The Golden Army, a story that sees ‘Big Red’ and chums (minus John Myers this time) take on an indestructible army of mechanical warriors, under the control of the vengeful Elf royalty, Prince Nuada. Meanwhile, Hellboy and girlfriend Liz are having relationship issues, and aquatic investigator Abe Sapien falls for Nuada’s twin sister, Nuala, after she is brought in by the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence (BPRD) for her own safety. Both interpersonal bonds are stretched when Hellboy and his crew track Nuada down to stop him before he wages a one-sided slaughter of humankind.
It’s clearly a fantasy movie at heart, as all comic book adaptations are, although this one maybe more so because of its entanglement with goblins, trolls, elves and witches. As such, it has rather a bit of back-story to get through in the first ten minutes, which can often be the period when you’re paying the least attention. In order to sidestep this, the film makes use of a wonderfully animated storybook sequence to divulge the plot history. Built like the workings of a child’s imagination, it’s an inventive way of getting the back-story on screen, and the first of many spectacular visual delights.
Other highlights include the fantastic action sequences, which is an area where Del Toro has really coming into his own. The high-quality of choreography on display, matched with similarly stylish cinematography, leaves you genuinely impressed at the skill of these sequences, which are light years head of most of this summer’s supposedly ‘exciting’ blockbusters. Add to this some superior computer generated effects that appear frequently, but not distractingly so, and you’ve got the kind of old-school action adventure that actually bothers to instil excitement and spectacle into its set-pieces.
Hellboy II is also more evenly paced than its original [review], with time to delve into themes of love and rejection. I might have liked a little more about Hellboy’s turbulent rise and fall in the public eye, but what’s there is enough to paint a clear picture. All the returning actors do a fine job, especially Ron Perlman who brings a difficult character to life even under full prosthetics. Speaking of which, mime actor Doug Jones gets to provide both vocals and movements for his character of Abe Sapien this time, and makes fine work of it. I’m still a little unconvinced by Selma Blair, who serves to set up a rather ominous plot-point if there’s ever another movie, but it is nice to see an expanded role for Jeffery Tambor, as BPRD chief Tom Manning. Only Luke Goss gets left out in the cold - his evil Prince Nuada is not the most memorable of villains.
If there’s a criticism to be had it’s that the whole thing has gone a little bit ‘Pans’, which is great for Guillermo’s sketchbook, but a little overbearing for the rest of us. There’s an awful lot of fantasy creature stuff this time around, way more than just the villainous beasties of the first Hellboy. Maybe the studio’s concession for making the movie was that they could play a little off the success of Pan’s Labyrinth, but some of it feels awfully familiar - especially the misplaced eyes on the Angel of Death, which is almost a direct lift of the Pale Man in Del Toro’s Spanish fairytale. Where the unique designs fare better are in the more Hellboy-specific characters, especially the Golden army itself, who whirr and clank to great effect.
Hellboy II is a combination of great fun, great fights, and a good bit of humour (rather like Del Toro, the film is not afraid to make fun of itself). It’s a terrific summer action flick and an imaginative, single-minded piece of popcorn entertainment. This film deserves to be a bigger success than it probably will be (because despite best intentions, how do you get people to go see a flick when they either didn’t watch or didn’t rate the original?), but it’ll make money, and it certainly won’t stop Del Toro from moving on to the next big studio project. He’s got ideas, they’ve got cash. Time to whip out a merry tune and dance them all the way to Hellboy III.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army is currently on UK general release.
