Green Lantern

OPENING: 06/17/2011

STUDIO: Warner Bros.

RUN TIME: 105 min

ACCOMPLICES:
Trailer, Official Site

The Charge
In brightest day. In blackest night.

Opening Statement
While DC Comics has a large stable of iconic superheroes that ranks as a worthy rival to the lineup Marvel has to offer, considerably more of Marvel’s characters have been given the swanky big-screen treatment. While Marvel has provided us with films about The Fantastic Four, The X-Men, The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Daredevil, Captain America, Thor and others, DC has primarily focused on the one-two punch of Batman and Superman (with occasional flops about characters from those two universes, such as Supergirl, Catwoman and Steel). At long last, we’re breaking away from the old routine with Green Lantern. Unfortunately, this new franchise is off to an awfully rough start.

Facts of the Case
Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds, The Proposal) is a hotshot pilot whose remarkable talent is only matched by his penchant for irresponsible behavior. He’s had a hot-and-cold relationship with employer/fellow pilot Carol Ferris (Blake Lively, The Town) for years, and lately things have been on the cold side of that spectrum. A recent disaster at work, an increasingly strained relationship with his siblings and haunting memories of his father’s tragic death have only amplified Hal’s personal problems in recent days.

Hal receives a welcome distraction when he’s suddenly transported to the site of a spaceship crash. Inside the ship is a dying alien, who presents Hal with a mysterious green ring. Before Hal has time to process this, he’s whisked away to the planet Oa and trained as a member of the Green Lantern Corps, a universal police force devoted to keeping life forms of all sorts safe from a wide variety of threats. Soon, the hotshot pilot finds himself faced with the task of battling foes both foreign (and I mean really, really, really foreign) and domestic.

The Evidence
Martin Campbell’s Green Lantern suffers from a variety of problems, but perhaps most prominent among them is a severe case of origin-itis. Here’s the thing: we’ve seen a seemingly endless supply of comic book origin stories at this point, and they’ve generally grown less intriguing as time has passed. I’m fairly certain that audiences are willing to accept on faith the idea that a character has been given a set of superpowers. Is there really a need for would-be franchises to provide us with feature-length explanations of how these miraculous things happen rather than simply dealing with such business in a prologue and focusing on delivering a compelling story? Green Lantern feels like a warm-up for an actual movie, which is something which can be said about entirely too many cinematic origin stories of late (the recent X-Men: First Class comes to mind, though that film delivers more entertainment than this one).

The premise of the Green Lantern Corps is one which contains a tremendous amount of potential for thrilling space opera, yet there is nothing operatic about Green Lantern. The film is a curiously mundane experience; one which spends entirely too much time wallowing in Hal Jordan’s uninteresting personal problems on Earth and precious little time exploring the vast, detailed, well-constructed wonders of Oa. Indeed, Hal’s one extended trip to Oa seems to fly by at an alarming speed, as if the filmmakers are counting the special effects cost of every second of screen time (despite the film’s vast budget of $300 million). The Oa material is interesting, but Campbell gives us little time to soak it in; the film rushes through some nifty visuals and exposition and then shuttles Hal back to Earth for the rest of the film.

I don’t have a problem with the fact that Green Lantern spends a good bit of time setting up the details of how Hal was recruited as a member of the Green Lantern Corps, but I do have a problem with the fact that the film then proceeds to force Hal to have some sort of half-baked personal crisis in which he debates whether or not he wants the job. This material feels strikingly similar to the sort of thing Peter Parker went through in Spider-Man 2, but the key difference is that Spider-Man actually had a legitimate reason for his “maybe I should just quit” period. That Hal Jordan would quit over the smallest of problems seems a blatant contradiction to the notion that he’s an adventure-loving rogue. After a while one begins to feel that the whole enterprise ought to be titled Green Lantern: Whiny Space Cadet.

The film is lacking in wonder, yes, but it’s also lacking in energy. The lackluster romance between Hal and Carol tends to sap the film of its momentum; a problem exacerbated by the fact that Reynolds and Lively really don’t have much chemistry together. The writers also struggle in their attempts to inject some humor into the proceedings, giving Hal a series of Spider-Man-style quips which probably read better than they actually sound (Jerk: “Watch your back.” Hal: “That’s impossible.”). There’s very little that doesn’t feel like filler; even the massive battle with the evil space demon Parallax (voiced by Clancy Brown, Carnivale) feels like a half-hearted attempt at giving Hal something important to do while the groundwork is being laid for a sequel.

Still, Green Lantern isn’t quite a Catwoman or Jonah Hex-level disaster. In fact, the film is perfectly watchable, as Campbell and co. have done solid work on a technical level and there are a handful of smaller elements which add much-needed spice to the mix. Most valuable is Peter Sarsgaard’s (Orphan) offbeat turn as Hector Hammond; a nerdy scientist fueled by a compelling mix of buried rage, insecurity and nervous intelligence. Tim Robbins (The Shawshank Redemption) also seems to be enjoying himself as Hector’s fatuous U.S. Senator daddy. As I mentioned, the visit to Oa is entirely too brief, but the world itself is compelling and the characters there even moreso: the charming Tomar Re (voiced quite well by Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech), the gruff Kilowag (a thunderous Michael Clarke Duncan, The Green Mile) and the crisp, polished Sinestro (a nearly unrecognizable Mark Strong, Kick-Ass). There’s also a grin-inducing moment which pokes fun at the absurdity of supposedly identity-disguising superhero masks.

Closing Statement
There are promising ideas in Green Lantern, but this is a film which promises far more than it actually delivers. The idea of a sequel is kind of appealing, mostly because it feels like the writers were saving their best cards for later installments. However, I doubt most viewers are going to feel much enthusiasm for the franchise after sitting through this underwhelming origin story. Sadly, Green Lantern is one of this summer’s most disposable blockbusters.

The Verdict
5/10

The Proposal

OPENING: 06/19/2009

STUDIO: Touchstone

ACCOMPLICES:
Trailer, Official Site

The Charge
Here comes the bribe…

Opening Statement
“Honey, if you hold on to my ass one more time, I’ll cut your balls off in your sleep!”

Facts Of The Case
Bitchy N.Y. book editor Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock, Miss Congeniality) is thoroughly disliked by all the cubicle workers under her. Her young assistant Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds, Definitely, Maybe) has put up with her witch-like attitude for nearly three years and is getting sick of it. And their bitter working relationship is about to be put through a most unlikely challenge.

Tate is Canadian, and is notified by her superior that she’s now in danger of deportation. As luck would have it, Andrew interrupts the meeting and she gets an idea. Announcing her “engagement” to Andrew seems to be a way out of her predicament…that is, until she must meet Andrew’s family in Alaska for an eventful weekend. Andrew is going along with Margaret’s scheme simply because he’s promised a promotion, but the plan goes awry when they begin to fall for each other.

The Evidence
Sandra Bullock must be pleased with The Proposal. This is the first time in years in which she’s had a #1 hit at the box office. Even with the impending Transformers sequel crushing it, she should be satisfied that her box office clout hasn’t waned. And why should it? The actress who made a name for herself with ‘90s hits Speed and While Were You Sleeping still has plenty of easy-going charm and grace to coast on. Plus, now in her in-40s, she remains a knockout, as evident in a scene from The Proposal were she’s required to be nude for a good 15 minutes. Unlike her Transformers competition Megan Fox, Bullock has the looks and experience to carry her own movie.

Yet, as hard as Bullock tries, she can’t seem to raise The Proposal above sheer slightness. Virtually everything from set-up to conclusion in first-timer Pete Chiarelli’s script is contrived and recycled. Two charismatic stars at the helm certainly compensate for the lack of originality. And their efforts are valiant without a doubt. Thankfully, director Anne Fletcher (27 Dresses) works well with her menagerie of a cast, and takes advantage of the many New England locations (with a lovely Massachusetts substituting for Alaska). With Fletcher’s assistance, Bullock & Reynolds generate an infectious chemistry which is sorely needed. My major problem with the film is how it wants us to believe these two will fall head over heels in love over the course of 48 hours when they’ve hated each other for years.

Perhaps the problem was the jarring shift in location. The opening scenes in New York establish the characters and their needs well. Andrew is earnest and loyal even in the face of borderline harassment. Like most up-and-coming assistants, he kisses as much ass as he can, even if the ass belongs to a female tyrant hell-bent on militarily maintaining her staff. There’s a reason for Margaret’s icy nature, and naturally it’s revealed later at a pivotal point in the plot. After the narrative hook snags predictably, there is the suggestion of a Shakespearean role reversal which is initially interesting. But Chiarelli throws all that out the window when Andrew’s Alaskan family take over the proceedings. Any romcom devotee will see Margaret’s difficulty in adjusting to the culture shift. Once you include Andrew’s sarcasm, the family’s eccentricities, the numerous silly shenanigans (a general store owner doubles as a male stripper), et al, and you have another rehash begging for more sting.

To be fair, some of the scenes deliver. For instance, Margaret’s and Andrew’s nude meeting is cutely executed. A hair-raising moment involving a hawk and the family’s pet dog is offbeat and clever. And any scene with the legendary Betty White produces laughs no matter how ridiculous the dialogue. All of these sprinkles soon evaporate, however, once The Proposal surrenders itself for the obvious in the third act.

What rescues the film from total banality is the devoted cast. Bullock’s star power is, as usual, electric. She confidently grabs Margaret’s red pitchfork and successfully draws us in with her thousand-watt appeal. As for Reynolds, he also scores highly as Bullock’s disgruntled assistant, even if his actions are questionable throughout. Oscar Nunez is having a blast as the jolly stripper. Unfortunately, veterans Steenburgen and Nelson are given the short end of the development stick as Reynolds’s parents. No matter, as the 87-year-old White is given plenty of scenes to steal due to her relentless good nature and cheery disposition. Some may be tempted to brush off White as simply using her Rose Nyland shtick, but she’s so delightful it’s hard to complain.

The Closing Statement
The cast is engaging enough to make this film worth a rental five months down the road. Just don’t expect some delicious juice not from concentrate, that’s all. The Proposal is standard and uninspired, but not without its revelry. Bullock and Co. are free to go, but the film is found guilty.

The Verdict
6/10

Paper Man

OPENING: 06/18/2009

STUDIO: Artfire Films

ACCOMPLICES: N/A

SOUNDTRACK: N/A

The Charge
What happens when life stalls but the world keeps moving forward?

Opening Statement
Opening night of the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival showed much less glam and glitz than years past, focusing more on the art than the Hollywood. The heart of Westwood was almost serene tonight. Broxton Street, once host to lavish after parties, remained open and quiet; Lindbrook Avenue wasn’t lined with fans hoping to catch a glimpse of celebrity royalty, as there were none to be found; and the Mann Village Theatre was full, but not bursting, requiring no overflow theatre to accommodate the crowds. While some might point to the economic downturn as the main reason for the change, looking up and down this year’s 200+ film schedule, you’ll quickly see a conscious choice by festival director Rebecca Yeldham (Anvil! The Story of Anvil) and her team to present a more introspective palate. Kieran and Michele Mulroney’s Paper Man was a most appropriate choice to establish the tone.

Facts of the Case
Richard (Jeff Daniels) is suffering from a most debilitating affliction: writer’s block. His wife Claire (Lisa Kudrow), a successful surgeon, gets him out of NYC and rents a house on the Long Island seashore, hoping to reawaken the creative process. Despite his first novel being somewhat of a commercial flop, Richard’s publisher has him under the gun to complete a second, which isn’t doing anything to dispell his disillusionment. Even his childhood imaginary friend, Captain Excellent (Ryan Reynolds), can’t seem to break Richard out of this downward spiral. Yet, just when things seem most bleak, along comes Abby (Emma Stone), a local high schooler and kindred spirit. Immediately drawn to her own obvious angst, the two form a unique bond, setting their individual worlds on a collision course whose ripple effects will impact everyone around them.

The Evidence
I love films that are unapologetic for what they have to offer. Despite fronting an all-star cast and opening a major film festival, Paper Man is not destined to become a mainstream success… and that’s okay. This is a film for people who love film, one which can’t be spoon-fed to the masses as anything other than what it is: a slow but beautifully unfolding character study, deliberate in chewing on every element of its own existence. Its two-hour runtime may make the art house uninitiated squirm — as evidenced by tonight’s increasing amount of aisle traffic in the second and third acts — but those willing to take the journey will have their investment pay off in spades.

Much like Sophia Coppola’s Lost in Translation, Paper Man centers on an unconventional relationship between two lost souls. Richard and Abby are doing penance for injustices in their lives, but somewhere along the way that solitude defined them. They no longer know themselves outside of their pain and it takes seeing that in each other to truly recognize and deal with it. While some people’s brains will immediately turn to Woody Allen or Mary Kay Letourneau, this is not that type of relationship, and yet everyone in these characters lives make that same leap in judgment. This then begs the question: Can two people, vastly different in every way, make a deep connection that transcends conventional labels?

The Mulroneys show us they can and do so in style. Known more for their writing and producing efforts, this directorial turn is quite impressive. After a Juno-esque opening title sequence, the overly indie earmarks take a backseat to more conventional filmmaking. While there are some interesting setups, transitions, and focus pulls, Kieran and Michele let their characters drive the aesthetic. The stark winter setting echoes the bleakness in the characters lives, hinting at potential new life gestating beneath the surface. Anyone who has spent time living in a home not their own will sympathize with the uncomfortableness of one’s foreign surroundings. And those who are writers will immediately identify with Richard’s myriad distractions that keep him from facing the cruelty of a blank page. Paper Man is an excellent companion piece to Sam Mendes’ Away We Go (which also features Jeff Daniels). The two films share a similar tone, in that life can very easily be lived outside of the margins defined by modern society. We only have to choose to believe it can and give ourselves the power to do so.

While words on a page are one thing, once put into the hands of gifted actors they give life to characters who will echo in your subconscious. This may well be Jeff Daniels finest role. It’s easy to play crazy for laughs, but to pull off a 50 year old man with an imaginary friend and make you believe it, that’s Jimmy Stewart caliber work. The authenticity he brings to Richard demands the attention of audiences, critics, and peers… and he’s not alone. I’ve been a fan of Emma Stone since her work on the short-lived Tim Minear series Drive and she keeps getting better with each outing. Holding her own opposite Jeff and co-star Kieran Culkin (who looks like 10 miles of bad road) is accomplishment enough, but when the time comes for Abby to dig deep and confront her own demons, Emma generates a light all her own. Together they make this story sing.

Lisa Kudrow continues to do well for herself and this is another solid performance. The same goes for Ryan Reynolds, well on his way to becoming the next Bruce Willis, milking that wry comic charm and making it look effortless. Speaking of looks, the boy spends the entire film in wholly unforgiving spandex without a hint of imperfection (aside from that obnoxious peroxide job), and that ain’t easy.

Closing Statement
Life has no easy answers or clear cut happy endings, something that Hollywood works hard to make us forget, and yet we often grow the most from seeing ourselves in that truth. Paper Man helps us see, even in deepest despair, there is wonder to behold and adventure to pursue. More importantly, it reminds us all that even the smallest films can pack one heck of a punch.

The Verdict
9/10

Approximately nine months ago, my wife brought up an interesting proposal: “Why Don’t We Go to San Diego for Comic Con?” This was without virtually any prompting on my part; I had no horse in the race, so to speak. I’m not that big of a comic book fan, but we were looking for something to do. So why not go, right? And if you’re going to go, go in style; I booked a room at the newly opened Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego, which seemed like a pretty cool status symbol. Aside from an experience at the franchise’s New York restaurant years ago, I did forget that the Hard Rock plays music. All the time. But, compared to other places, it was rock music. The merchandise shop played Black Flag in there, so booyah bitches!

Anyway, the film lineup was pretty good, and I’ll be sharing those here after the jump of the films I managed to sit in on. I’m sure the webs have the footage somewhere, so feel free to search on your own time. On with the opinions!

The Day The Earth Stood Still: Fox was the first to the show, and Keanu Reeves (The Matrix), Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind) and Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose) came out to pimp the remake of the 1951 classic to be released in December. It was discussed, sometimes at great length, with a couple of shots from the film, and an extended trailer. No, we didn’t get to see Gort, but WETA is doing the work on him now, and things are still very close to the vest. Aside from Connelly being VERY much out of place, barely talking, I’d come in fresh to this, and personally am still wondering why it’s being remade to begin with.

Max Payne: Mark Wahlberg (The Departed), Mila Kunis (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), Chris Bridges (a.k.a., the artist formerly known as Ludacris) and John Moore (The Omen) discuss the film which is coming out in October. Wahlberg clearly had fun and played up to the crowd, and everyone talked about how fun it was to do it, meaning how cool it was to fire weapons all day. Moore talked about their own little version of “bullet time” that was employed for the film. Aside from an extended trailer cut to a live version of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love,” this was a bit of a yawner.

Wolverine: Ole Wolverine himself Hugh Jackman came onstage as an unannounced surprise to throngs of delirious hysterics. After shaking the hand of Len Wein, the creator of the comic book icon, Jackman was happy to finally actually be onstage, as he’d apparently missed the X-Men presentations that occurred in previous Cons.  I’m going to rattle off the cast here; Ryan Reynolds (The Nines) as Deadpool, Liev Schreiber (The Sum of All Fears) as Sabretooth, Tim Riggins from Friday Night Lights as Gambit, to name a few who appear in the trailer. And it’s loaded with action too, which doesn’t hurt. Definitely the one people will be looking forward to in ‘09, unless the GI Joe teaser comes strong.

As a side note; what was particularly interesting about the Fox presentation was that a lot, and I mean A LOT of people got in early so they could be ready for Summit Pictures’ presentation of Twilight. Everyone around my wife and I was there in their “Team Edward” and “Team Jacob” shirts, whatever that means, but unfortunately I was called away for other events. I’m told though that the Twilight footage was essentially an extended version of the second trailer with the climatic ballet room sequence, and everyone ate it up. As they should I suppose. But I thought it was a little funny that the Fox gang seemed to trot out their products to hordes of Twilight fans, without knowing what they were getting into. Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Watchmen: Try as I might to stay away from the masses, I snuck in for a second, where Zack Snyder (300) and the cast were discussing the film. Aside from an extended trailer, more shots of the heroes were shown which really illustrated Snyder’s vision and faithfulness to the source material, and since this is being released in March, expect some more mad money on a Snyder production.

The Spirit: Frank Miller (Sin City) might be an influential comic book figure, but he needs to lay off the liquor or something. At times he seemed to ramble, and cast members Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) and Jaime King (Blow) seemed to notice. Still though, the footage that was shown of the film looks good, done visually much in the same way that Sin City was. While there’s humor, there are also a couple of required action sequences that look impressive as well. A concern I have a little with this film is that it might not seem to possess the spark of similar comic book films that possess a similar visual style, but I hope I’m proved wrong in this because at least from what I saw, The Spirit could potentially be a good film.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno: Showed up a little late to the game on this one, as I was drinking with some of the cast of ABC Family’s Samurai Girl, which appears to be a Buffy-ish show, except without some of the wit and wisdom. But I will say this about Kevin Smith, he’s got some fans in the biz, for sure, and now in this film, he’s got a couple members of the Judd Apatow stock company in Seth Rogen (Knocked Up) and Justin Long (Accepted) together in this film that looks pretty funny. Bonus points for Long’s, er, “moment” with Brandon Routh. Yes, that Brandon Routh, from Superman Returns. Aside from listening to Rogen’s kind of funny Ian McKellen joke and Jason Mewes looking very impressive all cleaned up from addiction, Zack and Miri comes out in October hopefully, and should be worth the hubbub, even if they might have to change the title.

Terminator Salvation: You know, Christian Bale and Bryce Dallas Howard(?) aside, McG seems to carry himself as a bit of a pompous arse. Why exactly would we want to see a film about a battle with first-generation terminator robots? Why would Arnold Schwarzenegger even consider appearing in this? Ugh. To be fair, McG (Charlie’s Angels) likes paying homage to the previous three films, even including attendees who dressed like Robert Patrick and Linda Hamilton from T2 on stage with him, along with an Asian kid whose Arnold accent seemed to venture into Walken-esque territory. He showed an extended teaser of sorts, without any CG shots in it, and the results? Meh. I counted nods to The Road Warrior and The Great Escape in there, along with something that looked visually a little like Charlie’s Angels, right now to the hot chick almost taking her top off. I’ve got to say I liked the teaser in front of Dark Knight more than I did this stuff, and unlike some of the buzz so far, am concerned that this “reboot” might nuke the franchise from orbit.

Pineapple Express: Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to sneak into the preview screenings that apparently were going on in town, and the footage that Judd Apatow (40 Year Old Virgin), Rogen and gang brought seemed a little to be desired. It seemed like they basically brought stuff from the website or something. One of the scenes came from the Superbad DVD. But come on, you know what this film is going to be about, you’re either going to go see it or you’re not. Oh, and Green Hornet is still on the track of getting made, so yay to that.

Well, that’s the short story on the film side. A quick note on things to come, expect a review of Tropic Thunder in the very near future, along with TV Verdict thoughts from the Heroes and Lost panels, including some teasing of Heroes 3^rd season, as the opener was aired in its entirely exclusively for the Comic Con folks. Until next time, get the funk out your minds and into your hearts people!