The Hobbit trailer and poster

2012 is shaping up to be an amazing year for film, and the final stroke just might be The Hobbit, which comes out in December. I love Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films. I saw the originals in the theater, own the theatrical and extended editions of all three and have watched those films several times over. The Lord of the Rings trilogy represents a triumph of cinema; they certainly represent some of the best filmmaking of this generation. The Hobbit can only be directed by Peter Jackson as his is the only vision anyone can trust to revisit Tolkien’s world. I’m delighted that Jackson has dedicated himself to making The Hobbit films.  Now we’re getting our first look of the film.

 

It looks like another film set in the Tolkien-by-way-of-Jackson universe, which is perfectly fine by me. It reintroduces us to the beauty of the world and some of the beloved characters, lest we’ve forgotten, and shows us for the first time the dwarves who assist Bilbo in his quest. We’ll be seeing much more of this in the year ahead.

I’ve also included the one-sheet that shows the Shire in its glory. I can’t wait for An Unexpected Journey.

Prometheus Trailer

Another one of my most anticipated films of 2012 debuted its trailer over the past couple of weeks. Ridley Scott is coming back to the Alien franchise with Prometheus. What started as a prequel to the series morphed into a stand-alone story set in the same universe. I’m guessing that means we won’t be seeing Ripley or Xenomoprhs in this film, but I think that will be okay.

It’s great to see Scott coming back to this franchise. The trailer looks as atmospheric and menacing as you would expect from a film set in the Alien universe. Whatever it is those guys found out there in the depths of space, I'm betting that it won't play nice. 

Dark Knight Rises Trailer

During my little Christmas vacation, a boatload of trailers for some of my most anticipated films of 2012 debuted. If you happened to see Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol in IMAX (And you should. It’s amazing), then you were treated to the first trailer for the The Dark Knight Rises. This is the final film in the Christopher Nolan-directed/Christian Bale-starring trilogy of batfilms.

Well, it certainly has the look of a Chris Nolan Batman film. Gotham City seems to be an even more dangerous place than it was in the second film. Gone is the insane, yet fairly small, clown posse of The Joker and in is a thug army led by the most menacing man around, Bane. We don't know much of the story yet, but we can surmise that the ending will not be pleasant for our hero. Does anyone think this won’t be good? 

The Expendables 2 Trailer

The Expendables was one of my favorite movies of 2010. As someone who grew up on 80s and 90s action films, I thought The Expendables rocked. It brought together almost all of the great action stars of that period and set them off on a silly/crazy adventure where bullets and bombs did all the negotiating.

A sequel is coming in 2012. Sylvester Stallone is back as writer, and he's bringing in the rest of the action stars of my childhood to join in on the fun. You've got Stallone, Jason Statham, Bruce Willis, Jet Li, Terry Crews, Liam Hemsworth, Randy Couture, Dolph Lundgren, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Chuck Norris all appearing in one film. How can one movie contain such awesomeness? I'm hoping that everyone's dialog consists of incredible one-liners.

99¢ Review: Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

I watch a lot of movies (Check out my list of movies seen in 2011), but I don’t always have the time to write up a full review. Instead, I thought I would start up a new column where I give you the discount version of the review. What’s good, what’s bad, if it’s worth your time.

The Movie: Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

The Good: kinematic action, beautifully shot, cool gadgets, Tom Cruise’s intestinal fortitude

The Bad: shallow or absent character arcs for the leads

Do we really need a fourth Mission Impossible film? The first was very good, the second was a little too zany and over-the-top, and the third nudged back into “good” territory. We’ve seen Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and the Impossible Mission Force grow and develop into top-notch spies over the course of the first three films. Is there more action and adventure to mine from this franchise? Short answer: Hell yes!

Director Brad Bird, who cut his teeth directing The Incredibles and Ratatouille for Pixar, takes a crack at a live action filmmaking. Talk about diving into the deep end, he took over an established franchise with an honest-to-goodness Hollywood megastar, and he shot most of it in IMAX, the huge screen, ultra-high definition format that shows everything, including potential flaws, in meticulous detail. It’s a bold choice that pays off nicely. Bird knows action, and he keeps things flowing along at a steady, enjoyable pace. Even the most hectic scenes are presented in a clean way so that we can actually see what’s going on. And there’s a lot of cool stuff to see. Bird’s eye for visuals explodes to life on IMAX. Some of the scenes, particularly in Dubai will blow you away.

The story itself is not particularly novel. A madman wants to entice nuclear war between the U.S. and Russia and busies himself by stealing launch codes and hijacking tactical satellites. The IMF crew of Ethan Hunt, Benji (Simon Pegg), Brandt (Jeremy Renner), and Jane (Paula Patton) must find a way to stop him. Right from the start, the IMF gets blamed for a bombing at the Kremlin, and the crew find themselves disavowed by the U.S. government. They must complete their mission with no resources or backup available, only what they can beg, borrow, or steal. We’ve seen this sort of “must stop rogue warrior” plot before, but there is a great sense of urgency and isolation in this story. It really is up to four people to save the world. There is also a subplot about Ethan’s wife that tries to humanize Ethan and his gang of IMF agents, but that story arc feels tacked on and falls a little flat.

What makes MI4 so awesome are the incredible set pieces. From an opening-scene Moscow prison break to break-ins at the Kremlin and the Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, to a climax in a high-tech parking garage in Mumbai, there is never a lack of cool places to sneak, fight or drive. Every scene is packed with coolness and intensity.

Cruise is amazing here. The guy is known for doing his own stunts, and I think he shows that he’s a complete maniac here. The highlight of the film, and one of the most incredible action scenes ever shot, has Cruise scaling the Burj Khalifa 130 stories up. 130 stories. Up. Off the ground. And he’s basically free-climbing the structure*. There are only a handful of people in the world who would risk doing that stunt, but Cruise attacks the role with such intensity and gusto that the audience is spellbound. There’s about ten minutes in the middle of the film where nobody in the audience dares to breathe. Great stuff, that.

Cruise isn’t the only member of the IMF engaged in this operation. Each of the other agents has their moment in the spotlight, and they all feel like real people. Real badass people, but real people nevertheless. It’s great that Cruise’s performance doesn’t overshadow the other members. It really does feel like a team of IMF agents out to save the world. They each have their strengths and weaknesses, and the combination of the four gives you hope that the team can pull off the intricate plans needed to save the world.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is an amazing action film. See it, but do yourself a favor and catch it in IMAX if you can. You will not be disappointed.

4 out of 5 stars

* I'm sure that a stuntman performed the stunts at the Burj Khalifa first, that the film crew had a cadre of safety people check every detail of the stunt 50 times, and that Cruise was harnessed in during the stunts. Still, it takes serious balls to run and jump out of a window 130 stories up, no matter how many safety precautions are in place. 

99¢ Review: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

I watch a lot of movies (Check out my list of movies seen in 2011), but I don’t always have the time to write up a full review. Instead, I thought I would start up a new column where I give you the discount version of the review. What’s good, what’s bad, if it’s worth your time.

The Movie: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

The Good: a few minor chuckles here and there

The Bad: overacting by everyone, overuse of slow-motion, too many twists and turns, overuse of silly costumes by Holmes

It's dumb.

2 out of 5 stars

99¢ Review: The Muppets

I watch a lot of movies (Check out my list of movies seen in 2011), but I don’t always have the time to write up a full review. Instead, I thought I would start up a new column where I give you the discount version of the review. What’s good, what’s bad, if it’s worth your time.

The Movie: The Muppets

The Good: The Muppets are back!, fun songs, cute characters, heartfelt story

The Bad: Those not familiar with The Muppet Show might not get all of the jokes

I love the Muppets. I literally grew up with the Muppets. The first theatrical film, The Muppet Movie, came out in 1979, the year in which I was born. When I was in elementary school, I would watch reruns of The Muppet Show on a little 13-inch tv at my grandparents house while waiting for my parents to get off work and pick me up. It was a quirky show with wild and crazy characters, each of them doing fun, often really smart things. It was just a lot of fun. I enjoyed the movies when they came, although I got a little disappointed when they stopped doing original films and started adapting classic literature. When The Muppets was announced and described as an original story, it instantly became my most anticipated film of 2011.

I’m glad to say that the movie surpassed my lofty expectations.

The basic premise of the film is that The Muppets must reunite for a benefit show to save their old studio from an evil oil tycoon who seeks to tear it down and drill for oil. The first 1/3 of the movie introduces us to Walter, the newest of the Muppets, his brother Gary (Jason Segel*), and Gary’s girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams). Gary and Mary are heading to Los Angeles to celebrate ten years of dating, and super-Muppet-fan Walter comes along so he can visit The Muppet Studios.  While at the studio, Walter uncovers the nefarious plot of Tex Richman, which sets the trio off on an adventure to save the studio. The middle 1/3 of the film is dedicated to reuniting The Muppets, who went off to do their own things when The Muppet Show ended. The final 1/3 of the film shows The Muppets efforts to put on one more great show to raise the funds to buy back the studio.

This is a real Muppets movie with all the fun songs, great jokes (yes, even the bad ones from Fozzie are great), adorable characters, and heartfelt and witty story that you expect from them. There’s plenty of humor for the kids, fun things for the adults, and just enough absurdity to make you smile and shake your head.

Anyone who is a fan of The Muppets Show will have a blast. Those who are not familiar with The Muppet Show, however, might not get the full experience out of it. There are so many winks and nods to the original show, that a lot of things might be missed. Don’t let a lack of prior knowledge of the original show dissuade you though. The Muppets is still a fun time, even if you don’t know any of the Muppets characters.

The Muppets represents what a fun time at the movie theater should be. There’s tons of laughter, tons of heart, lots of singing and dancing. It’s pure fun and is guaranteed to put you in a good mood.

4.5 out of 5 stars

* Segal not only stars as one of the human characters in the film, he also co-wrote and executive produced the film. Clearly, this was an important film for him. All that positive energy has paid off in a film that captures the tone of The Muppets characters and The Muppet Show perfectly. Good job Jason!