Jack the Giant Slayer (2013) - Movie Review

What if I told you that Obi-Wan Kenobi, Al Swearengen, Beast from X-Men: First Class and the Dad from Easy A were all in a movie together?  Slam dunk, eh?

Actually, that's not totally respectful to Stanley Tucci, but I couldn't think of his character's name from The Hunger Games.  Could anyone though, except for you nerdy book-readers?  I'm kidding of course, as I'm actually reading The Hunger Games right now.  What the hell was I talking about again?  Oh yeah, Jack the Giant Slayer.

Jack the Giant Slayer is the latest in the re-imaging of classic fairly tales, combining elements from both "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "Jack the Giant Killer".  This is one of the times where I felt the expansion on the existing tale worked well.  You get a little more backstory about their world and then they added more typical fantasy elements. It's done in a way that felt natural to the story.  It still manages to not be all that deep, so I didn't feel afterwards that this was a world I wanted to visit again.

The basic premise hasn't changed.  Jack (Nicholas Hoult) is an orphaned farmboy living with his uncle.  He's sent into town to sell off a horse and cart.  The cart gets stolen right away, and then a monk dupes him into trading the horse for a small pouch of useless, 'magic' beans.  Yes, Jack is kind of a screw up.  Jack does (unsuccessfully) try to defend the honor of Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson), so at least he's a nice guy.  It turns out Isabelle is a princess who is expected to marry Roderick (Stanley Tucci), but she's not having it and wants to have adventures of her own.

This leads to her getting lost and finding Jack's house.  While taking shelter from the rain, one of the beans gets wet and a giant beanstalk grows upwards rejoining the human and giant realms.  Isabelle is carried away to the giant realm, so the King (Ian McShane) orders a small group of soldiers, let by Elmont (Ewan McGregor) to rescue her.  However, the giants haven't forgotten the humans (the humans have forgotten all about them) and how delicious they taste, so they are anxious to get back down to the human realm for some snacking.  It's up to Jack, the nice screwup, and Obi-Wan to stop them.

The main issue I had with Jack the Giant Slayer was that I felt it was all kind of lifeless.  There's no zip at all to the dialog, and not much chemistry between any of the characters.  I think it's the same problem the Star Wars prequels had in that there's so much CG that the actors don't react naturally to what's going on around them since nothing is actually there.  I will say that the CG is good, actually great in a few places, but I still got that sterile feeling I get from movies that use too much of it.  It's like The Hobbit, where sometimes you feel like you're watching a video game cutscene.

Another issue I had was that you have this great cast, and then don't really get to do much.  I was hoping that Ewan McGregor would get to show his swashbuckling, Jedi swordplay chops (even though I still hate Obi-Wan for what he did to me), but he doesn't get much of a chance to fight.  He actually loses his sword pretty early on in the movie, and then in the one hand-to-hand fight he has it's with Stanley Tucci, who's holding his own against him, despite not being a trained soldier.  You'd think a trained soldier would be able to beat the crap out of an aristocrat in like two seconds.  Stanley Tucci plays 'obviously evil guy' and has a creepy henchman (Ewan Bremner). They were about as generic as villains can get.  I was disappointed that there wasn't much to Ian McShane's character either.  There's just not much for him to do other than deliver his lines.  He seemed kind of bored with it.

I did like Nicholas Hoult and Eleanor Tomlinson (who reminds of me of a young Rachel Weisz), even though I didn't think there was a ton of chemistry between the two.  They are attractive and easy enough to like, but again, there's just not that much beneath the surface of their characters.

I'm going to harp on the dialog again.  It's actually not bad, but it's disappointing that there wasn't anything really clever about it.  Most of the humor came from fart jokes, and I only heard kids laughing at those moments.  There's this scene at the end (it's in the trailer, but maybe I'm remembering it wrong from the film), where the main giant catches Jack and he goes, "Who are you?"  Jack replies defiantly, "It's Jack!"  As if the giant knows who Jack is, or that should mean something to him.  Dialog really fails when it's just for the audience, and not for the characters in the film.  It would have been great if the giant replied, "And that means 'what' to me?"  The screenplay by Darren Lemke, Dan Studney and Christopher McQuarrie (never a good sign when there's three writers), really needed some punch up.  I'm surprised especially with McQuarrie's involvement, as he has written some great stories in the past.

When I heard Bryan Singer was involved, I took that as a mark of quality, as I figured he was just producing.  I was very surprised to see he actually directed it, as I didn't think he would have made something that's so clearly a kids film.  There is a lot of action and with the effects being as good as they are, that aspect of the film is entertaining and it's biggest strength. Jack the Giant Slayer isn't boring and well paced for a two hour film.

Even though this is PG-13, I didn't think there were any particularly scary images, and I didn't see any of the kids in the audience covering their eyes.  It'll depend on the kid, of course, but it might be a little too much for kids under 5.  The whole movie I thought about how much my nephews (8 and 5) would like it.  Contrast this with both X-Men and X-Men 2, which were both PG-13, and while also not bloody, both films felt so much more adult.  There are a lot of deaths in the film, but the film was largely bloodless or the camera cuts away at the point of impact.  Most of the deaths are of the video game variety, and involve disposable 'red shirt' characters.  The characters are so disposable that they didn't even bother with giving them decent names, if they were given names at all.  One of the guards name was "Bald".  Yes, he was bald.  I kept waiting for "Four Eyes" and "Porkins" to show up.  Anyway, I really think they could have gotten away with giving this one a PG rating.

Jack the Giant Slayer is sometimes fun and has really good effects, but ultimately a little too flat to be considered great.  They assembled a great cast, but then didn't give them much to do or anything interesting to say. If there had been a little more wit about it, then I think this would have had a much broader appeal, but it's ultimately a kids film. If you have a kid in that 5-12 range, then I think you can take them to a matinee and won't be too bored yourself. For anyone else, this is a rental.

3 (out of 5) Death Stars

The Impossible (2012) - Movie Review

It's interesting that such a simple, nondescript title like The Impossible works on multiple levels...

Just when I thought I was done with all of the 2012 Oscar contenders, here's another one that flew in under the radar.  I was a little leery when the film started, as it opens with the phrase I usually hate seeing, "This is based on a true story."  They even let the "true story" linger on the screen for a few extra seconds.  It's not that I don't like movies based on true stories, it's just that it seems like most films embellish so much on the original story that it doesn't resemble what it was really about by the end.  The Impossible doesn't seem like that type of film though. Well, except for one part, but we'll get to that later.

The Belon family takes a vacation to Thailand on Christmas.  You don't get to know much about them other than a general idea of what Henry (Ewan McGregor) and Maria (Naomi Watts) do for a living, and that they seem like a fairly normal family.  Their vacation is interrupted the day after Christmas, when without any kind of warning a massive tsunami hits.  A weird part of my mind drifted for a moment, and I wondered why there wasn't any kind of warning like we get when we know a massive storm or hurricane is coming.  Is there something about the nature of tsunamis that makes them impossible to detect in advance?  It turns out that a Thai meteorologist actually did predict this tsunami, and advocated early warning systems, but wasn't taken seriously.  After this tsunami, they brought this guy out of retirement and put him in charge of development of a regional early warning system.  I wonder what this guy's 'I told you so' dance looked like?

Sorry about the side track there.  The tsunami is one of the most realistic and intense disasters sequences I've ever witnessed in a movie.  Much of what you see appeared to be practical effects, rather than relying too much on CG-effects.  It's definitely a sight to be seen, and heard, in the theater.  It doesn't glamorize the disaster either.  You really feel every painful moment and it's frightening to sit though.  Maria gets absolutely torn up by it and when you see the speed of tsunami it seems impossible that anyone could survive the initial wave, let alone being carried away by the current.

When the water finally recedes, Maria and her oldest son Lucas (Tom Holland) are are separated from the rest of their family.  They need to get to safety, but Maria desperately needs medical care.  You wonder how she's even alive at this point, and I could only be impressed by her will to live.  We then catch back up to Henry, who was able to stick with his two youngest sons.  Henry has no way of contacting his family back home, and has no clue if Maria and Lucas have survived. He's driven to find them, to the point where he's willing to risk leaving his sons to go with another group to get to high ground.  This was a part that was hard for me to watch, as I just couldn't imagine letting your kids out of your sight at this point.

When I said the title of the movie worked on multiple levels, it's because it finally did something that I thought was impossible:  it made me cry.  I don't think I've cried watching a film in more than two years.  The Impossible didn't just make me cry once, but I broke down multiple times.  When you see the ordeal these people go through, you can't help but be moved by what happens on screen.  There's a scene were the simple act of lending a cell phone to a stranger got to me.

Naomi Watts gives her finest performance to date, and it was also an impressive amount of physical acting on her part.  It's impossible (see what I keep doing there?) to not feel the hell she goes through.  She's my sleeper pic for an Best Actress Oscar nomination.  Ewan McGregor also gives a great performance and shows a range we aren't used to seeing from him.  Normally we see him be charming or having fun, but this time he's extremely vulnerable.  The kids are also fantastic, especially Tom Holland as Lucas.  He has to carry stretches of the film, and you get to see him evolve.  At the beginning he seems like a whiny, selfish kid, but he grows before your very eyes, and the movie is as much about his maturity and the compassion he learns for others than it is about reuniting his family.

My only minor complaint is after watching all of this you are finally shown a picture of the actual family, and see that they white-washed the real, Spanish family, to Europeans.  I kind of figured this was going to be the case, as they tend to change the ethnicity or look of the real people involved to sell the film to a larger audience.  I just found it a little surprising considering the director, Juan Antonio Bayona, is Spanish.

Speaking of the director, this is Bayona's first film since 2007's The Orphanage, another movie that caught me off guard with the range of emotions it put me through.  The direction is impressive for the realism of the tsunami sequence, but he is able to get a lot out of the film without it being cloying or having a sweeping score that manipulates you.  Sergio G. Sánchez's screenplay is a little light, but it didn't need much to get the point across.  Sánchez also wrote The Orphange, so these two need to keep teaming up and making more movies.  It's interesting to note that the real survivor, María Belón, wrote the story.  Another thing I appreciated about the story is that while it focuses on the plight of the Belon's, you never lose sight of how it effected other people.  A few of the moments that moved me didn't even involve them.

The Impossible is emotionally exhausting, but uplifts you at the same time.  It reminds you to never give up hope, and of the will of people to survive.  I thank the film for also reminding me that I still have human emotions.  It's one of the best and most realistic disaster movies that I've ever seen, with impressive effects and even more impressive performances by the cast.  This is one of the best films of 2012, and I strongly recommend watching it.

The Impossible is in select theaters, but you can see it at The Vine in Livermore (www.vinecinema.com) if you live in the Bay Area.

4.5 (out of 5) Death Stars

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - Movie Review

Winner of the oddest movie title of the year goes to...

I actually thought this was a documentary when I first heard about it.  While I like documentaries, it's rare when I make time to see them in the theater.  Documentaries have always felt like something you watch at home.  However, after seeing the trailer and that it stars Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt, I realized it was just a very unusual title for what now appeared to be romantic comedy.  Contrary to popular belief, I do have a soft spot for romantic comedies and will usually see them as long as they aren't obviously cheesy up front.

The title is pretty accurate though.  The goal of the characters is to introduce salmon fishing to the Yemen.  McGregor stars as Dr. Alfred Jones, a fish expert working for the British fishery.  He's also famous, in fishing circles anyway, for creating fly fishing lures.  While he's very good at his job, he sometimes has difficulty relating to people due to having Asperger's.  Initially, he's tasked with a feasibility study for bringing salmon fishing to the Yemen.  He actually considers the idea to be ill-conceived, idiotic and the dreams of a bored, rich Sheikh.  However, he is pressed to do this by his superiors once the aide to the Prime Minister (Kristin Scott Thomas) decides they need a good PR story.

Dr. Jones then has to work with Harriet Chetwode-Talbot (Blunt), who's handling the financials from the Yemeni side.  Although Jones still thinks the plan will never work, they provide him with all the resources needed.  He later meets Sheikh Muhammad (Amr Waked) and realizes that he's deadly serious about accomplishing this feat, as impossible as it seems.  The Sheikh doesn't just love fishing and is doing this as a hobby, but thinks this project will help his people and bring prosperity to the area.

The story was based on a book of the same name by Paul Torday.  I've heard that book is more of a political satire.  If that's the case, then that's kind of lost in the movie.  I think if it had been, in the vein of something like In the Loop, especially considering Kristin Scott Thomas' performance, it would have been much funnier overall.

That's not to say Salmon Fishing... isn't without it's charms.  The movie does have some nice themes regarding friendship, faith and finding love. I also thought the performances were good. Kristen Scott Thomas is probably the funniest thing about the movie.  While not nearly as vulgar as Peter Capaldi's character from In the Loop, her performance brought that to mind. Oh, and seriously, rent In the Loop (it's streaming on Netflix and Amazon) if you haven't seen it yet.  One of the funnier British films I've seen in years.

The two primary relationships, the friendship between the Sheikh and Dr. Jones, and between Dr. Jones and Harriet were touching and sweet.  It's always easier to care about what happens in a movie when you like the characters.  Emily Blunt seems to have that quality about her where she has a natural chemistry with people.  It's just like how I felt about her in The Adjustment Bureau (with MATT DAMON).  And, it's almost impossible not to like Ewan McGregor, even though he left me for dead by a lake of lava.  What am I talking about?!

Salmon Fishing..., like real fishing, starts off very slow and for a while I was having a hard time following what was going on.  That's not to say I was confused, but I couldn't get into it.  I'm not sure if there was something weird in the sound mix or the acoustics in the theater, but I just got a weird vibe from the start.  To make things even weirder, I had an unusual experience with the person sitting next to me and had to switch seats.  Once I got comfortable again was right around the time the story picked up and I started to get invested.

There are a few romantic comedy tropes used toward the end that felt a little contrived, and actually unnecessary.  It didn't completely ruin the movie for me, but considering the different nature of the film, I would have liked to see them take a few more chances. For the sake of spoilers, I won't say exactly what they did, but it isn't a spoiler to tell you that at the beginning of the movie McGregror's Dr. Jones is married and Blunt's Harriet has been dating someone for a short time.  It seems like a very unusual setup for a movie where it's clear from the beginning that McGregor and Blunt's characters are meant to end up together.

While I don't think director Lasse Hallström did a bad job, his track history shows he's better suited with light-hearted romance and family movies.  That's clearly the kind of movie he tried to make here.  Again, it seems like a missed opportunity with the political undertones of the film, the unusual circumstances and eccentricities of the characters.  Writer Simon Beaufoy (127 Hours, The Full Monty, Slumdog Millionaire), seemed like the right guy for the job, but I wonder how much of his final screenplay made it into the film.

I thought Salmon Fishing in the Yemen was a very average movie.  The film is carried by the chemistry of Emily Blunt and Ewan McGregor, but it had an opportunity to be funnier.  Having said that, it's still a pleasant movie and I enjoyed it more than I was expecting.  It's a decent date movie if you want to catch a matinee.  It's playing over at The Vine in Livermore (www.vinecinema.com) for a few weeks, I believe.

3 (out of 5) Death Stars