Kick Ass (2010)

I really wanted to like Kick Ass more than I was able to. I thought “Hey! Kids imitating/deconstructing the notion of superheroes while making cheeky jokes! What’s not to like?” Sadly there was a lot not to like.

There was the silly-bad score (not usually something I comment on but definitely was distracting here), the overly flippant use of adolescent (sex/sexuality based) humor, and in my opinion, a failed effort to cover the back story of too many different characters to get me interested in any single one. I’d have much preferred a movie that delved deeply into the psychology of one instead of three (or four or five) misfit superhero/villain wannabes.

I think the makers of Kick Ass were going for smart pastiche of the extremely overplayed superhero genre, but ended up with something too insincere to be homage, and something with too much undirected minor tinkering with genre convention to be truly or interestingly divergent from what’s already out there.

Overall, underwhelming. Not worth it.

Fault Line (2009)

Fault Line is a gem of a short-format crime narrative that was written, directed, and produced by Garrison Comstock. The film tells the story of two brothers who find themselves involved in an investigation of a crime that could land one or both of them in jail for a very long time. As the story unfolds, details come increasingly into focus, but the question as to who is really to blame remains even after the credits.

Now I’ll concede that Fault Line is definitely a beginner work shot on a minimal budget, and that you can feel this pinch at certain levels throughout the eighteen minute film. Most regrettably, some of the acting is amateur to a distracting degree—particularly the performance of Garry Myers, who plays the older detective. Additionally, at certain moments the dialogue dealing with heavy-weight subject matter ranging from homosexuality to drug abuse thins, causing it to suffer blows to its credibility, but this may also be a result of poor delivery on the part of the actors.

However, I would argue that Comstock shows great potential in this short work on a number of important counts. In terms of narrative he interweaves complex questions of fraternal responsibility and loyalty, as well as what it means to be guilty in general. A deeper layer of rumination on American masculinity is also at play.

Visually the film is very well done. The color palette and the cinematography are areas in which the limitations of the budget are not at all apparent. Each shot is carefully choreographed and each shot is clearly thought through to the end. Restraint, taste, and intelligent decisions characterize the aesthetic and visual unity of Fault Line.

On a related note, the editing is also top notch. The use of flashback shows a level of mastery that is not often seen in student work. Comstock takes tropes used in the industry for thrillers and crime dramas, shows that he understands them very well, and then makes them his own. On top of all of this there is a shockingly good score that ties the editing and the story together, and makes the whole thing gel very well overall. Hugely impressive, Mr. Comstock. I commend you.

So I have to say that overall, Fault Line definitely makes me want to see more from Comstock. I would be excited to see what he could do with a bigger budget and better actors should he get the opportunity. And that is saying something coming from me, who does not usually like crime dramas or “serious” movies in general.

Well done.

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Where can you see Fault Line? Ask the board of your local film festival to screen it!
Link to it on Vimeo here.
The password is watchfaultline

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (2010)

Caution: SPOILERS ABOUND!

Jake Gyllenhaal runs around in the desert flailing swords and other weapons while half-heartedly courting an extremely beautiful but predictably shrewish woman. Oh crap! Everyone dies!! But wait—here come the magic swirling sands of time travel. BOOM! Every problem is fixable when you have the ability to access the ultimate do-over. Falling in love all over again, but now under the perfect circumstances instead of really really tragic ones. The end!

Ok now, despite what you may expect, I didn’t hate this movie. Even though the plot was decidedly silly, I still was left with a feel-good glow after all was said and done. Why? Several reasons:

1) I actually really enjoyed the wholesomeness of the romance between Gyllenhaal’s main character, Dastan, and Tamina, played by Gemma Arterton. There weren’t any of those lurid almost-but-not-really-sex-and why-would-anyone-like-this-when-they-could-just-watch-porn scenes. Instead there was some sweet hand holding and maybe two kisses. Refreshing.

2) I thought the color was really well done. Not something I usually notice unless it’s especially good or bad, and in this case, the images were just really beautiful to look at scene after scene. They were tied together into one wonderfully vibrant palette of oranges and blues, for the most part. Very nice.

3) The absurd moment of realizing I was looking at Alfred Molina in brown-face (playing the character Sheik Amar). What the hell? So ridiculous that I had to laugh. (Almost as ludicrous as Jake Gyllenhaal playing a “Persian” prince with an inexplicably British accent.)

4) Sometimes I like a sugar-coated happy ending and Prince of Persia definitely delivered in that regard. I was actually pretty appalled over the course of the movie as it became clear that literally everyone close to Dastan was going to die. So when the end rolled around and everyone was alive again, my relief was palpable.

So. Not the best entry for the one year anniversary of A Phantasmagoria of Complaints, largely because I didn’t really have too many complaints. However, I’ve enjoyed blogging for a year now, and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it.

The Phantasmagoria continues soon with a photo of a yet to be baked celebratory one year blog anniversary dessert, a top and bottom five (or ten?) list of movies that feature a jump to the future (or maybe time travel in general), as well as a review of a friend’s exciting indie film that I’ll provide a link to so you can watch it if you like.

As always, please let me know if there is anything you’d like to see reviewed here, or if you have a bone to pick with me regarding one of my reviews.

Thanks for reading! Always good to see hits on my statcounter.
-Cait, The Complainer

Machete (2010)

Not quite bad enough to be truly awesome yet not anywhere near good enough to be likable.

Definitely not worth seeing in theaters but maybe (maybe maybe) worth renting, eventually, if you have nothing else you’d like to watch.

Good for a few chuckles and a handful of cringes. Overall: fair.

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Note to people who read this blog regularly: the one year (!!!!!) anniversary of "A Phantasmagoria of Complaints" is coming up and I’d like to know if anyone would like to see anything specific appear here on the blog. A review of a particular movie, a new top (or bottom) ten list, etc, whatever your hearts desire. If I don’t hear anything I’ll probably just end up baking myself something fancy to celebrate and then posting a photo and everyone will be jealous so you should probably just suggest something fun, ok? OK.

The Girl Who Played with Fire (2009)

Pretty good overall. Noomi Rapace was awesome, again. And in the first few seconds of the movie it became clear that I’d misjudged the ending of the last one by a lot. All kinds of kick-ass going on in this movie, and no watered down B.S. romantic imperatives. What a relief.

The Girl Who Played with Fire, just like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, will make you consider what it means to watch brutal violence, specifically against women, on the big screen. Not necessarily a bad thing, but definitely difficult to watch at times. Worth the effort for the story and the compelling lead character.

Go see this (and rent the first one too) if you can, before Hollywood churns out its sure to be disappointing adaptation.

Dinner for Schmucks (2010)

Pretty funny, but not really the type where you’re laughing hysterically every three to five minutes. More like a chuckle every ten to fifteen minutes.

Questionable use of the word schmuck: the people in question aren’t really schmucks at all; they’re just sad-ish oddballs lacking in social aptitude.

Also, while the peripheral characters are interesting and definitely unique, you still have to suffer through yet another Paul Rudd playing a guy who used to be nice, became a jerk, and now has to win back his sweetheart by being nice again storyline. Ugh.

Overall, I’d say Dinner for Schmucks is worth a rental. Mostly for the seriously wonderful lovely mice taxidermy tableaux that Steve Carell’s character dedicates his time to, and also for Jermaine Clement’s (of The Flight of the Conchords) well done satire of a pompous artist who photographs himself in animal costumes. Highly silly. I approve.

The Runaways (2010)

This based-on-a-true-story film about the formation of the all girl rock band The Runaways was kind of a letdown, but that wasn’t particularly surprising given the criticism it already received, both when it made the festival circuit and when it was distributed more widely.

I was hoping that critics had been unjustified in rating it so low, but sadly they were right. It was a pretty boring movie overall. Eyebrow raising, considering that the story it tells (of how Joan Jett and company were brought together to form a rather groundbreaking band) is actually pretty interesting in and of itself. It just wasn’t served by the filmmaking and the way the whole thing was put together.

What I did like, however, was Kristen Stewart’s performance. Finally breaking away from the moody teenager romantic angst figure that she’s been associated with so far, Stewart actually convincingly portrays Jett in presumably accurate fashion (Jett herself has been quoted as saying Stewart actually became her for the film)*. Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that I’m already a fan of Stewart for various reasons, but I think here in The Runaways Stewart’s performance can show that she’s actually a quality actor to those who aren’t on Team Bella.

Maybe rent it if you’re interested in the music history already, or if you’re really keen on seeing Kristen Stewart make out with Dakota Fanning. Overall- meh.

*I don’t remember where. Most likely in an interview in Entertainment Weekly.