Pacific Rim ~ Apocalypse Canceled

Guillermo del Toro never grew up.  I can say this with some confidence based on the body of work that he has put out, either as a producer, writer, or director.  Guillermo del Toro's latest offering, "Pacific Rim," harkens back to the early 1950s when creatures like Godzilla and other Kaiju destroyed Tokyo repeatedly.  Mr. del Toro isn't ashamed that he is bringing back the Saturday afternoon Creature Features that he watched as a kid on television.  In today's modern world of high-tech electronics, he adds a new twist to the old tale of monsters from the deep.  “Pacific Rim” is a hackneyed, if not a sentimental look at the past, while giving it the full CGI action film treatment.  “Pacific Rim” is impressive and big.  The film stars Charlie Hunnam ("Cold Mountain," "Children of Men,” and TV's "Sons of Anarchy"), Rinko Kikuchi ("The Warped Forest"), and Idris Elba ("Prometheus," "Thor").  "Pacific Rim" runs just under 2 hours and is rated PG-13.

After a long exposition, narrated by Jaeger pilot Raleigh Becket (Hunnam) explaining that while he was a child he looked to the skies in search of alien life.  However, alien life came from deep below the sea, from a rift in the tectonic plates in the Pacific Rim (Ring of Fire) that a time-space anomaly has formed and these giant alien creatures are coming from another world.  These creatures, which look like a mixture of various earth creatures melded with prehistoric dinosaurs, are called Kaiju, which is the Japanese term for monster.  Becket goes on to explain that after sending conventional weapons to battle the creatures and failing, the major countries of the world got together and built giant mechanical "Iron Man" like robots that they call Jaegers. The term Jaeger comes from the German, and it means hunter.  Unlike the robots of the 2011 film "Real Steal," two pilot's minds tied together by a neural link between the two drives the giant mechanical robots.  The two will share memories and will have to work together.  Jaeger pilots became like rock stars as they did battle with the giant Kaiju.  All this is shown from the point of view of television news footage, which is mostly from Asian countries, however, not all.  Apparently, the first creature attacked San Francisco, and many other cities followed over the years.  Raleigh leads the story up to the point, where he explains that he and his brother Yancy (Diego Klattenhoff) fought their last battle against a giant shark like creature with arms and legs, and that it beat the crap out of their robot and killed his brother.  Then finally, with all the brassy pomp and ceremony, the title credits start.

General Stacker Pentecost (Elba), the man in charge of the Jaeger program, finds out in a video conference, with heads of state, that the rim countries have decided to go with the inane idea of building vast seawalls along the seacoast of the Pacific.  Becket has retired from the Jaeger service and has spent the last five years as a construction worker helping building these futile walls.  Understanding that this is a Science Fiction monster movie, allows one to suspend belief to a certain extent, but building a giant wall to stop these creatures is completely unbelievable.  Yes, humans do stupid things; however, I think Guillermo del Toro doesn't give humanity any credibility in this choice in plot point.  It's silly.  Obviously, del Toro agrees, as he shows the walls easily breached.  

Typical of the "pull the has-been out of retirement" school of storytelling, Pentecost, now on his own, finds Becket in Hong Kong and talks him into coming to work for him as a Jaeger pilot.  Idris Elba is a formidable actor in the role of Pentecost (a comic bookish type of name).  Although he is only an inch and a quarter taller than Hunnam, Elba seems to tower over him in both size and personality.  His presence on screen overshadows Hunnam, in every scene they are in together.  Enter Mako Mori (Kikuchi) as Pentecost's aide in charge of finding Jaeger pilot candidates.  Mori has issues, and those issues turn out to be predictable, and unpleasant.  Writer Travis Beacham along with del Toro, aim to put human faces, personalities and flaws inside these giant robots, and he does so by pairing Becket and Mori together.  Being linked neurologically is almost like a marriage, you share memories and emotions, and in the case of Mori and Becket, they both have emotional tragedies that bond them together at a more primal level.

Bringing "Pacific Rim" into focus musically is composer Ramin Djawadi (pronounced "Java-dee").  Currently he works on HBO's "Game of Thrones," Djawadi has worked on "Safe House" starring Denzel Washington, the remake of "Fright Night" with Colin Farrell, and Jon Favreau's "Iron Man" to name a few.  Working with guitarist Tom Morello the duo exhibit the musical sensibility that the film of this sub-genre of Science Fiction demands with a mixture of orchestral and rock that reminds one of your favorite Anime show.  Big and brassy sometimes, driving rock in others, Djawadi blends the two effortlessly.

When asked about the acting, one can say that Hunnam does his job and is a focus of the film.  However, he is not the main star.  Yes, he narrates the opening of the film, but there is so much happening, that the camera returns to him from time to time.  Half of those times, Hunnam is in a pilot suit, face covered.  Kikuchi is the other star, whose character, Mako Mori, although has an interesting backstory, falls prey to her own introverted character and it is the fears of her characters that make her role less substantial.  Idris Elba commands the spotlight from the beginning of the film to the point where he makes his Cancel the Apocalypse speech near the end.  He does this short speech almost as Bill Pullman does in "Independance Day," and the reference is not lost.

Let's talk about monsters.  The real stars of the film are the various forms of Kaiju that del Toro and crew have developed.  These creatures make the current Master of Disaster, Roland Emmerich's 1998 "Godzilla" look outdated, and immature compared to those depicted in"Pacific Rim.”  They rise from the deep from time to time in unseeingly never-ending types and variations.  Why do they come?  Well, that is up to Charlie Day as Dr. Newton Geiszler, and Professor Gottlieb (Burn Gorman) to find out.  Geiszler, played by FX's "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" actor Charlie Day, reminding one of Rick Moranis as the kind of mad scientist stereotype as he runs around squawking about the entrails that he is dissecting.  His partner, or nemesis, Gottlieb, on the other hand is the other side of the sci-fi intellectual scientist trope with his short-cropped hair, his halting British accent, his stiff gait, and walking a limp and with a cane, gives us the mathematical analysis of the Kaiju.  If one can actually reduce the attacks of these creatures to a mathematical formula?  Somehow they do.  Geiszler does a neural link with the creature and determines that this is in fact an alien invasion, and the creatures are the alien's version of the clean-up crew.  Gottlieb determines that soon there will be two and three incidents of these creatures at a time, and that they will get bigger.  The goal of these creatures is the total takeover of the planet Earth. It is up the humans, with the help of the Jaeger Robots, to stop them.  Sounds like a worthy goal.

Talking about del Toro's love of the past and what is familiar, Ron Perlman from "Hellboy" and "Blade Two" makes an appearance in "Pacific Rim" as the character Hannibal Chau.  A ridiculous name to say the least, but with his gaudy excessive outfit, gold capped teeth, and gold plated giant shoes, courtesy of costume designer Kate Hawley, it seems to work in making Perlman's Chau an interesting semi-antagonist in the world where the real monsters are, uh, monsters.  What keeps "Pacific Rim" from being overly serious and lacking humor are in fact the three actors mentioned in this paragraph.  Between Day, Gorman, and Perlman, their interplay and antics bring this film in to perspective, not to be taken seriously as story about humanity against monsters, but how humans, can work past their differences and work together for a common good.

Guillermo del Toro is a complete fan boy and loves to bring stuff from his childhood to the silver screen in bold new ways.  From "El Laberinto del Fauno"("Pan's Labyrinth"), "Hellboy," "The Devil's Backbone,"and the films that he has produced such as "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark," and recently "Mama," all depict a certain sense of Guillermo del Toro's longing for the days of his childhood and his sense of philosophical justice that he brings to his films.  "Pacific Rim" is not epic, but it is impressive and awesome.  He and Beacham bring action and adventure, characters designed to be liked and sympathized with, and in some cases, unexpected comic relief that brings to mind the days before our innocence was lost.  Overall, "Pacific Rim" is that movie that the whole family can enjoy and not feel guilty about having to watch a completely mindless action film.

Movie Data

Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Year:  2013

Staring: Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Ron Perlman, Charlie Day, Clifton Collins Jr.

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Producer(s): Jon Jashni, Mary Parent, Thomas Tull

Writer: Guillermo del Toro, Travis Beachamt

Rating: PG-13

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The Conjuring ~ Right Behind You Trailer

With this new trailer for "The Conjuring,"  I am hoping that this is the horror film that redefines the word scary for me. 

Here is the official synopsis of Warner Bros. new horror film "The Conjuring."

"Before there was Amityville, there was Harrisville. Based on a true story, "The Conjuring" tells the horrifying tale of how world renowned paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren were called upon to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in a secluded farmhouse. Forced to confront a powerful demonic entity, the Warrens find themselves caught in the most terrifying case of their lives."

Release date for "The Conjuring" is July 19th 2013 in the US

Related

The Conjuring ~ Summoning Up the Supernatural
Conjuring ~ Arranging the Pieces

The Conjuring ~ Getting Ready

Movie Data

Genre: Horror, Thriller

Year:  2013

Staring: Joey King, Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Lili Taylor, Ron Livingston

Director: James Wan

Producer(s): Rob Cowan, Tony DeRosa-Grund, Peter Safran

Writer: Chad Hayes, Carey Hayes

Rating: R

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Outlander ~ Beowulf For The Modern Age.

"It's not your sword nor your sheild, that makes you king, but how you rule your own heart."

It never ceases to amaze me how the classic story of Beowulf is reimagined in different ways.  In "Outlander," the classic tale takes on a Sci-Fi twist that explores the epic Scandinavian poem through the eyes of an off-worlder by the name of Kainan, played by James Caviezel ("The Passion of the Christ", "The Count of Monte Cristo").  Familiar characters such as King Hrothgar, played by John Hurt ("Alien," "1984," "V") and Unferth (Patrick Stevenson) found in this new story.  "Outlander" also introduces us to new characters like Freya (Sophia Myles) as the king's daughter, and Wulfric (Jack Huston), his heir.  Set in Scandinavia around 700 CE puts Kainan as the stranger in a strange land searching for a creature that, like a dragon, killed his family, and is now killing Hrothgar's people.  "Outlander" is Rated R for the violence, although, I would consider the violence tame by today's standards.  The film runs just under two hours.

Kainan comes from the stars, his ship is in trouble and crash lands in a lake in Scandinavia, and he is the lone survivor.  His companion is dead and his ship under water.  Writer and director Howard McCain, gives us glimpses of Kainan's life before the crash.  We see dream fragments, images of a family, as a soldier, and doing battle against some creature.  Upon awakening, he buries his comrade and sets up a beacon, in case his people come looking for him.  With limited technology, he is able to receive a language lesson in Old Norse in the matter of seconds.  Sort of like "The Matrix" where Neo gets skills and knowledge downloaded into his brain.  Armed with a blaster of sorts, he begins to explore the area and comes upon a half-devoured whale, a burnt out village, and death.  Suddenly Kainan is attacked, loses his only weapon, and is captured by Wulfric and his men.  Wulfric is in the service of Hrothgar, and has plans to marry Hrothgar’s daughter, Freya.

The changes in the Beowulf story are considerable, but the two main battles are there.  The addition of Freya, the king's feisty daughter, and Wulfric, who in many ways takes more of the Unferth's role of the doubter, then latter as Kainan's friend, enhance the story greatly.  After being captured, Kainan is interrogated by Wulfric. Kainan tells Wulfric about the dragon he is chasing, thinking that the word dragon would be a word the Vikings would relate to. Wulfric laughs at him. By the 700s, Chrisianity has begun to spread to the pagan north. After meeting Freya, as she comes to tend to the wounds Wulfric and his men inflicted upon him, escapes and hides out in the village.  Later that night the fortified town's walls are attacked and what they think is an attack by another chieftain called Gunnar (Ron Perlman); it is instead the creature called a Moorwen that Kainan has been chasing.  After a false battle that Kainan joins as a prisoner, the men of the village go to hunt the creature but end up killing a bear instead.  Kainan insists that the bear is not the creature that attacked the village, but Hrothgar is grateful for Kainan saving his life and gives him his freedom.

 An additional battle and story layer is added to the story between, Gunnar's (Pearlman) men and Hrothgar's village.  While Gunnar was away, the escaped Moorwen attacked and ate his people.  Intending revenge for his village, he skirmishes with Kainan, Wulfric, and Wulfric's men.  He sets up an attack on the village the next night, but the Moorwen attacks him and his men.  They flee to village for help.

Grendel is not mentioned in this story, so some may not recognize the story, however, the creature is essentially the same in the sense that it is what wreaks havoc on the village, and it has a mother.  The backstory on the creature that Kainan seeks, the Moorwen is interesting to say the least.  In a tale of conquest and genocide, Kainan's people colonized a planet that had vast resources, however, the one indigenous creature; the Moorwen was hunted until it was extinct, so they thought.  After constructing settlements, Kainan is sent away on a supply mission, and when he returns, his family and the settlement is slaughtered, not unlike Gunnar's family and village.  This similarity shows us that Kainan's people and the humans of Earth are not that different.  On his way to return their dead to their home planet, disaster struck Kainan's ship forcing him to crash on Earth releasing a Moorwen that stowed away on the ship unbeknownst to the crew.  The ship at the bottom of the lake contains Kainan dead family and friends.

Similar to the ancient poem, Kainan sets a trap from the Moorwen, which sets up the second act of this grand story.  We don't see much from director Howard McCain.  He is best known for writing the screenplay for 2009's "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans.”  The story served as the backstory for the whole "Underworld" franchise. For "Outlander," he wrote the story along with Dirk Blackman, using the Beowulf tale as framework for a hero story that has more layers than the original.  The story of man's greed and conquest for land and resources, gives Kainan's story a deeper foundation than the original hero story.  The addition of Freya, adds the element of romance that is not part of the original.  The character of Wulfric also adds the dimension, of friendship and loyalty.  The death of Hrothgar, adds the possibility of the future for Kainan.

Besides "The Passion of Christ," I think this is one of Jim Caviezel's best roles.  He fits the part of a man of honor in a society that respects honor and bravery. His battle with his own guilt and the genocide he and his people committed on the Moorwen, weighs heavily on him throughout the film. John Hurt is excellent in all his roles, however, as a more realistic Hrothgar, he is down to Earth and wise.  Jack Huston, who plays Wulfric, is the son of Tony Huston, Angelica Huston's older brother.  Huston is an actor I wouldn't mind seeing again in another film.  If you have seen the original "Underworld," you may recognize Sophia Myles in the role of Freya.  If anything, she doesn't seem to be a damsel in distress, but more in line with a warrior Queen.  The visual effects for the Moorwen are decent but not spectacular.  You see the creature as some hybrid between a fire-breathing dragon and a dinosaur of sorts.  The key element is that it does use a flame as a weapon.

As far as this being a Science Fiction story -- it isn't really, it is a people story.  But most true Sci-Fi is really about people. With all the science and technology in the world, one has to look at what makes that technology and how does it affect the people who use it. It could simply be said that Kainan's people were the original people of Earth. That they came at a time that the Neanderthals were dying out. Perhaps that is why they knew about the civilizations of Norway? To me, I don't dwell on a good story too much. I liked the Beowulf aspect, along with a layer of Sci-Fi, intertwined with some intense action and romance. “Outlander”is a fun film for all.

Movie Data

Genre:  Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Year:  2008

Staring: Jim Caviezel, Sophia Myles, Jack Huston, John Hurt

Director: Howard McCain

Producer(s): Chris Roberts, John Schimmel

Writer: Dirk Blackman, Howard McCain

Rating: R

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Hanna, a Review of a Modern Fairy Tale

You're a Freak, but I like You 

Once upon a time, in the not too distant future, a man and his daughter live in the forest, in the desolate wastes of Finland. The two lived in a big cabin, wore clothes made of reindeer skin, and hunted and fished for their food. At night when the snow fell, it's always snowing in Finland; the father would read stories to his little girl, from a book of fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm. The girl loved the stories during the day, the father taught his daughter to hunt with a bow and arrow, and how to capture, kill, and clean her prey. By the time his daughter was 16 years-old, she could kill a man with her bare hands. The little girl's name is Hanna, and she is the most unlikely, and the newest assassin to come to theaters in a while. Eric Bana (Hulk, Troy) plays her father, Erik Heller; a secret agent who went off the grid and went rogue, when Hanna was two years old. Cate Blanchet is Marissa Wiegler, the CIA agent, who, 14 years ago was to terminate a program that experimented with creating genetically-enhanced soldiers. Lovely Bones and Atonement star, Saoirse Ronan is Hanna.

There comes a time in all children's lives, when they must leave the nest. Hanna's time is now. After proving to Erik, that she could have killed him several times; decides it is time for his baby girl to go out into the world. Hanna's lessons are complete, Erik had taught his daughter to "adapt or die," "Thinking on her feet," "always watch her back - even when she is sleeping"; and most importantly; to kill Marissa Wiegler- the evil witch who betrayed and murdered Hanna's mother. In the dark of night, and the cold of winter, Erik paces out his steps to where, like a precious treasure, he buried, long ago, a radio transponder. Before getting a head start away from their little house in the woods, Erik instructs his child that she is the only one who could get close to Wiegler, and in doing so, must kill her.

The die is cast, and Hanna trips the signal which alerts Wiegler, who in turns alerts her CIA cronies about a possible situation. However, she is unable to get any support and must look outside for contract killers to do her dirty work. Wiegler, speaking in a southern drawl, reminiscent of Silence of the Lamb's Clarice Starling, What becomes clear within the first half hour of the film is that both Hanna and Wiegler are well matched opponents, one in skill, and the other in cunning and treachery. The one thing that the two women have in common is a personal need to kill each other. Hanna's need is one that is both genetic in her nature, and nurtured in the cold, dark forest by her father Erik, a rouge CIA operative. Invoking the theme of a fractured fairytale, director Joe Wright depicts Hanna's life as Spartan and bleak. Enhancing this aura of grimness is the slightly washed out cinematography of Northern Europe. Hanna, who has never had contact with the outside world, other than encyclopedias and an old copy of Grimm's fairy tales, finds herself a stranger in a strange land. After escaping the Wiegler's clutches, Hanna finds herself a stowaway with a hippie family who are traveling through North Africa, and Europe. These images, in contrast, are bright, colorful, and hopeful; however, as the troupe closes in on Hanna's destination, Berlin, where she plans on rendezvousing with her father, the images gradually sink into bleakness, and seriousness. Hanna first makes contact with their daughter Sophie, and the two girls become fast friends. Friends and human contact are the things that Hanna desires and wants. Traveling with the family we get to know about Hanna and about the quirky family she has stowed away with. All the while Wiegler has her henchmen trailing the family and Hanna from town to town ready to make their move.

The Chemical Brothers provide the soundtrack for the film, although is cool but not inspiring. The story is not of revenge, although that plays a part, and in revenge films, there are always unexpected casualties. No, what Hanna is truly about is survival, survival of the fittest, the smartest, and the most skilled. What is not about is survival by treachery, or ego, which are character traits displayed beautifully by Cate Blanchet as Weigler. Eric Bana displays the tough love that we need to give our children as needed to help them adjust to life's bumps and ditches. No, we don't need to teach our children how to kill with a blow to the throat, but it doesn't hurt to teach them self-defense. Director Joe Wright had worked with Saoirse Ronan before in The Atonement, where she played the young Briony, a jealous girl who essentially ruins her sister's chance at happiness. In Hanna, she is also excellent at portraying all the emotions a young girl would go through if she was brought into this world full of death and destruction. This movie is not funny like Kick Ass (2010), but it wasn't meant to be. Ronan is not the cute and loveable Hit-Girl played by Chloe Moretz. Ronan, is endearing, but in her own way. Who can resist a pretty young girl who kicks ass, not for the sake of right and wrong, but in order to save her father's and her own life.

In many ways, Hanna plays like a well-choreographed ballet, where every image has a reason, every action scene is necessary, and any spilling of blood is there not just shock value, but lends to the violence, of Marissa's character, to show the extent of violence she is capable of, in order to eliminate Hanna and her father. Hanna is also a story of a broken family, where the wicked stepmother, the Queen looking into the mirror, and asks if there is one who is better than her, and the answer is Hanna. I liked Hanna for these reasons, and I believe that Hanna is a film worth watching in the theaters or at home when it comes out on DVD or Blu-ray.

Movie Data

Genre:  Action, Adventure, Thriller

Year:  2011

Staring: Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana, Cate Blanchett

Director: Joe Wright

Producer(s): Marty Adelstein, Leslie Holleran, Scott Nemes

Writer: Seth Lochhead, David Farr

Rating: PG-13

Originally posted on Yahoo Voices on 5/8/2011

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The Lone Ranger ~ Wrong Brother? Or Right Movie

Before we get our underwear all in a bunch, let's start at the beginning.  The legend of the Lone Ranger began in the imagination of two guys in the Midwest.  In last days of January on a Detroit radio show in 1933, the story of the masked crusader and his Native American partner was an idealized version of an old west that never was.  “The Lone Ranger” radio show aired on WXYZ in the days when radio was king.  Many actors have played the part of both the ranger himself, and his partner, Tonto.  In some sense, this is another in a long line of buddy-cop stories that we have come to both love and or hate.  In Disney's new film about the lone Texas Ranger, and Tonto, we see some familiar old western film stereo types played out once again on the big screen.  Johnny Depp playing the iconic Native American has some folks a bit uptight.  Armie Hammer ("The Social Network,” "J. Edgar") plays the famed lawman.  Directed by Gore Verbinski, and produced by TV and movie mogul, Jerry Bruckheimer, Disney brings action, comedy, and renewed sense of justice to the dying Western genre.  “The Lone Ranger” is rated PG-13 and runs two hours and twenty-nine minutes.

Our story begins, not at the beginning, but at the end, kind of.  In the mid-1930s, a young boy is wandering around a carnival wearing a Lone Ranger outfit.  Eating a bag of peanuts, he finds himself in the Wild West exhibit.  Pictures of the Southwest, a stuffed American Bison in the foreground, the boy is not impressed.  Dime store Westerns were big around this time.  What does catch the boy’s eye is a figure of a Native American in his natural habitat.  Stereotypical of displays of the time, the engraved title is "The Noble Savage.”  Growing up in the late 60s and the 1970s, I watched "The Lone Ranger" on television, reruns of course.  At no time growing up and watching the series did I ever think of Tonto as a noble savage or a savage of any sort.  In my mind, Tonto was his friend and partner.  I grew up on the West Coast, and perhaps the social implications didn't hit me.  As far as I knew, Tonto was the Lone Ranger's equal.  The very old, wrinkled, wooden Indian comes to life scaring the boy. The old Indian mistakes the boy for his Kemo Sabe.

At this point the audience is aware that  the narrator telling this story by an extremely aged Tonto, that his memory may not be all there, and the tale we are about to hear, may not be entirely reliable.  But hey, this is Disney, the land of the Magic Castle.  The story slips into the AMC's television series "Hell On Wheels" in atmosphere and tone.  The time is the late 1860s, the civil war is over, and the expansion west is in full force.  The First Transcontinental Railroad is underway and moving deep into "Indian Territory.”  Tom Wilkerson plays a Thomas Durant type of character named Cole as he announces the "good" that the railway will bring in united the East with the West.  The subtext of "what about the natives" and the fact that history shows that the railroad was done at the expense of the Native Americans and Chinese labor is not lost on Bruckheimer and Verbinsky.

As in the radio show, the origin of “The Lone Ranger” has to do with Tonto saving the younger brother of Texas Ranger Dan Reid.  James Badge Dale has been busy lately, from playing a soldier in "World War Z," to a bad guy in "Iron Man 3," and a cancer patient in last year's "Flight.”  Here he plays John's older brother and seasoned Texas Ranger.  He's married to Rebecca (Ruth Wilson) and has a young son, Dan (Bryant Prince).

However, before we get to the fateful ambush, there is a cursory introduction to Armie Hammer as Dan's brother John.  He is the county's new District Attorney and doesn't believe in guns.  He is arriving on a train riding in the train car with a group of Presbyterian churchgoing folks.  In a rear car, is the dastardly villain, Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner), in chains, and on his way to his hanging.  Next to him, we find our star, Depp, in a ridiculous white war paint and a dead crow on his headdress.  There would be no movie without Butch Cavendish, and keeping with a sacred rule that the original show creators held to was that adversaries are never other than American; this was to keep the radio sponsors happy and minority groups.  Of course, Cavendish's outlaw gang rescues him, leaving John Reid and Tonto chained together to figure out how to save the train before it hits the end of the line.  Fortunately, for all, big brother Dan is there to save the day.

In saving the passengers on the train, we get an idea of what type of action that director Verbinsky has in store for us.  The scene that features an unreal train wreck and the fact that both John Reid and Tonto survive shows that screenwriters Justin Haythe, Ted Elliott, and Terry Rossio are not afraid to break the rule that "The Lone Ranger" never wins against hopeless odds.  Throughout the film, the writers have Reid and Tonto in ridiculous, but fun predicaments, and "magically" they escape.  Remember, that this is a Disney picture with magical horses.  We pause for a scene that sets up that John and Rebecca (Dan's wife) were once romantically involved when they were much younger.  Rebecca, played by Ruth Wilson reminds me of character Lily Bell from the aforementioned "Hell On Wheels.”  John accompanies his brother as he goes after the escaped Butch Cavendish, and his gang.  Along with them is a tracker by the name of Collins, played by Leon Rippy ("The Alamo,” "The Patriot").  Looking suspiciously like character actor Jack Elam, from the old westerns, he is supposedly a good friend to the Reid family; he leads them into an ambush. 

Between intercutting between the young kid at the carnival talking to the aged Tonto, we start to pull together a plot that puts Western tropes and the legend of the Lone Ranger back into place.  The mask, which Reid is not supposed to take off, Hammer's Reid, takes it off.  Never shooting to kill but to disarm his opponent is largely in place.  Espousing both Lock's philosophy on justice and Bentham's thoughts on Utilitarianism, that one must do what's best for the greatest number.  The names of most of Butch's gang have single names, keeping with carefully choosing the names of unsympathetic characters, and keeping them to a single name.  There is a scene in a saloon of ill repute (bordello) that supplies the railroad workers with drink and entertainment that is run by Helena Bonham Carter.  Depp, of course has worked with Carter many times before, as part of the recurring cast of actors that Tim Burton uses frequently.  Carter plays Red Harrington, she acts more of a distraction in helping the dynamic duo in getting out of trouble.

In radio, television, and in the couple of films that Clayton Moore starred in, the character of "The Lone Ranger" was played seriously, and was meant to be taken seriously.  These were the days before the Vietnam War when the Western Film was about good and bad, black and white, and no gray in between.  We are long past those days now.  We live in a world of ever-increasing gray.  The difference between right and wrong is probably now more of a slippery slope than it ever was.  The real old west was never black and white.  The lawmen of the old west were usually known for the lawless shenanigans in other states or territories, and that didn't matter, as long as the cash flowed and the towns were peaceful.  In today's version of "The Lone Ranger," we have Tonto, who has more comical, but leading role.  We have a Lone Ranger character, which by all standards has the foundation of lawfulness, but is a bit naive, and needs a Tonto to guide him, no matter how insane Tonto seems.  Speaking of which, we get a very good back-story of Tonto, and what his motivation is all about.

Depp's Tonto speaks in halting, but complete sentences, tells Reid, the importance of not taking off his mask, that "Kemo Sabe means “wrong brother,” rather than” trusty scout.”  As silly as Tonto is with the Spirit Warrior talk and of the cannibalistic spirit windigo, he is an important part of the story.  I don't think I would trust the job, of bringing that type of lunacy, pulled together by logic, and held together by sheer charisma to any other actor.  Armie Hammer, on the other hand, holds his own, as the naive lawyer from the East in a land no longer his own.  Hammer's characterization of Reid is not necessarily comical, but more fun.  He is not mean, condescending, and his look of wonder is amazing.  Although he wears a black suit (which suits him), he does, however, wear a white hat.  The bad guys play their parts in tune with the stereotypes that the Western film genre is known for.  Tom Wilkinson embodies the greedy railroad baron.  William Fichtner is greasy, grimy, and just plain ugly as Cavendish, black hat and all.  While most of the comedy comes from the interplay between Depp and Hammer, Cavendish's bad guys provide some of the comedy as well, somewhat reminiscent of a couple of pirates in the "Pirates of the Caribbean"franchise.  A running gag throughout the film is “What’s with the mask?” rather than “Who was that masked man?”  The US Army Captain, played by Barry Pepper ("Snitch," "True Grit"), is somewhat reticent in throwing in with the bad guys, but eventually, does so while made up to look like Colonel George A. Custer getting ready to massacre the natives.  Various Deppisms appear throughout the film, I guess, as Easter Eggs for the audience to catch, a spinning paddle illusion of a bird in a cage for one.

Historically the film is kind of out of whack.  They filmed in Utah, giving the scenery of the classic old west that never was in Texas.  Picking a time in Ranger history right before the Rangers were disbanded and replaced by Union called the Texas State Police, rather than in the mid 1870's when the Ranger myth was on the increase.  The age of the ancient Tonto, leads the viewer to believe that with evidence from the storyline that he is over 100 years-old.  As much as that is possible, it sounds more improbable.  

Musically, like Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby," the compositions are anachronistic.  Between a blend of songs written by Jack White, to music that was composed by John Phillip Sousa in 1898, the music goes nicely on film however, giving us that are aware of the music and the history a bit of nervous tick. We do get to hear the familiar Rossini's "William Tell Overture."

In some magical sense, Disney is trying to bring back the traditional Western film genre by injecting adventure, and reinventing iconic characters and giving them a new look.  Disney maintains some of the old lessons of the original legend of "The Lone Ranger.”  Lessons of “The Lone Ranger” have been and always will be of equality, justice, which the bad guys will not prevail, and good always triumphs in those magical and mythical days of yesteryear.  While using older stereotypes and believing that society has moved on from the old belief system that created them, we look forward, not into the past for a newer, more modern and less serious look at a past that never was. At the end, Tonto, like Pi, from “The Life of Pi,”asks which story you prefer to believe, Tonto asks the young boy does he choose to believe.  I choose to believe. 

Look for the "The Lone Ranger" in theaters now.

Related

The Lone Ranger ~ Infographic
The Lone Ranger - Official Trailer #4
The Lone Ranger - Foreign Posters

The Lone Ranger - Russian Trailer

The Lone Ranger - Back For Justice

The Lone Ranger - Trailer (previous)

Movie Data

Genre:  Action, Adventure, Western

Year:  2013

Staring: Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, Helena Bonham Carter

Director: Gore Verbinski

Producer(s): Jerry Bruckheimer, Gore Verbinski

Writer: Justin Haythe, Ted Elliott

Rating: PG-13

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The Debt ~ a Review

Sometimes when you work hard and plan, and plan and practice to perfect an operation, the best - laid plans do not go as planned. That is the case to the characters in John Madden's ("Shakespeare in Love," "Proof") English version of "The Debt." Assaf Bernstein, Ido Rosenblum wrote and directed an Israeli version back in 2007. Madden, working with film veterans Helen Mirren ("The Queen," "Red") and Tom Wilkinson ("Michael Clayton," "The Patriot") put together a suspense thriller that takes places in two different decades about a group of people who made a mistake and for over 30 plus years have lived with that mistake. In addition, like a former President of the United States covered up a mistake with a lie. Evenly paced and told in two different times - periods, the mid 1960s and in the late 1990s. As young Mossad agents sent to Berlin to capture a former Nazi doctor and bring him to justice. If you like suspense and good solid acting then you will enjoy "The Debt." 

In 1997 Sarah Gold, the daughter of former Mossad agent Rachel Singer (Mirren) has written a book about her mother, her father and their partner who in the 1960s, while in their mid to late 20s were operatives in a mission to bring the Nazis to justice. National heroes, their story was now being told for all to hear. A problem arises as the time for the book's debut arrives, hoping to have all three of the original spies attend her daughters book release, the third member of the team, David Peretz (Ciarán Hinds), suddenly walks in front of a bus and is killed instantly. As the story unfolds and as we jump from the late 90s back to the mid-60s, we discover details of that mission so many years ago. Playing the three spies in their youth is Jessica Chastain ("The Tree of Life," "The Help") as Rachel Singer on her first mission in the field. Sam Worthington plays Peretz, idealistic and acts as Rachel's husband during the operation. Stephan Gold is the leader; Marton Csokas ("The Bourne Supremacy," "Æon Flux") plays the oldest of the three, who turns 29 during the beginning of the mission. During the war, Dieter Vogel (Jesper Christensen) was known as Surgeon of Birkenau. Like Mengele, Vogel did gruesome experiments on prisoners. Now a practicing physician under the name of Bernhardt in the city of Berlin, the group's job is to capture him, and smuggle him out of the country and back to Israel to be tried in world court for crimes against humanity. 

Each of the characters played by both sets of actors give off a sense of weight and share the burden of guilt for their sin. During the flashbacks between "the present" and the time of their mission, we see how they bonded, how they trained, how they lived, and how they decided together to lie when Vogel escapes from their custody. We see how Rachel and David are attracted to each other, and ultimately how Stephan takes control of the situation, and of Rachel. Knowing that Vogel will not dare resurface the three concoct a story where Rachel is the hero by killing Vogel as he tried to escape. Returning to Israel with their story of heroism the three lived out their lives dealing with the guilt in their own ways. David, the quiet one, internalized the guilt, it ate away at him, debilitating him, and in the end, he decided to commit suicide. Stephan continued his career with Mossad, even after a bomber blew off his legs. It is he who convinces Rachel that after all these years later, that she must step forward and become the hero she never really was. Helen Mirren gives a fantastic performance as a woman whose daughter is proud of her for the wrong reasons. Wilkinson shows the drive and determination as the elderly spy that Csokas displays with intensity as a young man in charge of an important mission. Jessica Chastain plays the younger Mirren who is scared, determined, and at the same time brave. Sam Worthington shines as the sensitive and quiet member of the team, whos parents were killed in the concentration camps. You see the sadness in his eyes and you believe him as a survivor. Ciarán Hinds ("Lara Croft Tomb Raider:" "The Cradle of Life") looks haggard, and worn from the years of knowing the truth and not being able to be free of the lie. Director Madden and Editor Alexander Berner cut the film together with short scenes to keep the pace moving. Slowing from time to time for the audience to catch some details, Madden focuses on subtle details giving us some clues in order to keep us on our toes. Berner's cutting between the different times was done well, without leaving the audience dazed and confused. 

I must say that when it comes to playing a Nazi, Jesper Christensen does an excellent job, portraying Vogel as Olivier did as Szell in "Marathon Man" (1976). Like Michael Myers, or Jason Voorhees, Christensen keeps coming back like a bad penny. Ultimately, we all pay for our sins. History is written by the winners, however, eventually, there comes a day when we can't hide from the things that we've done. "The Debt" is about atonement, and about freeing yourself from your sins. 

I think you will enjoy the 113 minutes (1 hour and 53 minutes) you spend watching "The Debt" is well worth your time. The MPAA rates the film R, but the violence and sex are at a minimum. What is at the maximum is good suspense, good acting, and a good story.

Movie Data

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Year:  2010

Staring: Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson, Ciarán Hinds,  Jessica Chastain, Marton Csokas, Sam Worthington

Director: John Madden

Producer(s): Eitan Evan, Eduardo Rossoff , Kris Thykier, Matthew Vaughn

Writer: Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman, Peter Straughan, Assaf Bernstein, Ido Rosenblum

Rating: R

Originally posted on Yahoo Voices on 1/26/2012

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The Heat ~ A Unfunny Tragedy

Paul Feig's "The Heat" will go down in cinematic film history as a goofy, corny, silly, contrived and ridiculous version of a film in the buddy cop comedy genre. I like Sandra Bullock, and I like Melissa McCarthy, however, together I found them both unfunny and almost repulsive in "The Heat."  The Old adage opposites attract does not apply to this film.  The Heat is almost two hours of cinematic strangeness. 

Sandra Bullock plays FBI special agent  Sarah Ashburn as the overly typical cliched overachiever. Melissa McCarthy is overly mean, horribly obnoxious, and just an ugly character in the role of Shannon Mullins.  Ashburn (Bullock) solves more crimes, than any person in your area. However, because of her arrogance she is also the most despised agent in her office. There is a vacancy in a higher position, however, her boss, Hale (Demian Bichir), is doubtful, to test to see if she can get along with other people, and to take out some big time crime lord, Ashburn is sent to Boston. 

In the cop buddy genre of films, you have the straight one (Ashburn), and you have the opposite. Unfortunately, the character of Shannon Mullins comes off more unbelievable as a cop, or as a person than Mel Gibson, did in the "Lethal Weapon" franchise. I know that they have the good cop, bad cop game, however, one may find McCarthy's Mullins a bit too overboard. The first scene we see her in she is checking out a guy in a car, down the street from her, looking to hire a hooker for some sex. She bust this little activity up, with no sense of skill, or grace. She breaks the guys fingers, takes his cell phone and calls the guys wife, and then drags him out the window of the car. In another scene, Mullin's boss is in his office with Ashburn, while Mullins shouts to the rest of the squad that she needs help looking for the Captains family jewels as they are so tiny.  The police captain, is played by Thomas F. Wilson, more famously known as Biff from "Back to the Future". Although Wilson's portrayal  is  perfect for the part, I just cannot believe the script. No officer, no matter how good, would not have been disciplined. Once again too unbelievable.

Director Paul Feig and Katie Dippold who's writing credits include TV's "Parks and Recreation,"  and "MADtv" are squarely accountable for this mess. I am not sure what they were thinking in the writing of the characters. As I mentioned before, I find both Bullock and McCarthy's acting credible in other roles, just not here. Along with and the way the characters were written I found the storyline is just too incredible for me to be able in good conscious suspend my sense of belief for almost two hours. Unlike "Hot Fuzz," which I saw more as a parody of the Buddy Cop genre, I found "The Heat" unfunny. .Perhaps if is was supposed to be a parody, I would reset my expectations   Maybe the 70's-ish main title sequence was a clue, but then again, perhaps not. 

 Overall, I found "The Heat" to be sometimes funny, and mostly not funny, mismatch of star actors, as unlikable characters in a ridiculous plot, with plenty of silly nonsense. If you must see "The Heat," do yourself a favor and watch it on DVD.or Blue-ray.

Movie Data

Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime

Year:  2013

Staring: Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy, Demián Bichir

Director: Paul Feig

Producer(s): Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping

Writer: Katie Dippold

Rating: R

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