Fire up those queues and see what I thought of two of the summer’s big sequels, The Dark Knight Rises and Men In Black 3.
Also included is a Rankin-Bass special, The First Christmas Snow, Pixar’s Finding Nemo and my pick for the worst film of the year, The Apparition.
Happy watching!
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
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| Warner Bros. / Released December 4, 2012 |
Batman is unquestionably my favorite fictional creation. The character’s mythology, though dense, is flexible enough to be reinterpreted by writers, artists, filmmakers, musicians, and more, all of them preserving the spirit of character.
In Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and now The Dark Knight Rises, co-writer/director Christopher Nolan and co-writers David S. Goyer and Jonathan Nolan have grounded Bruce Wayne in a world of crime, corruption, symbolism and revenge. Utilizing a strong ensemble of some of the best actors working today including Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Heath Ledger, Cillian Murphy, Liam Neeson, Aaron Eckhart, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Katie Holmes, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Tom Wilkinson, Marion Cotillard, Ken Watanabe, Rutger Hauer, Linus Roache, Nestor Carbonell, Eric Roberts, Anthony Michael Hall and Matthew Modine, Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy concludes with a satisfying film that continues to explore many of the themes introduced in previous two installments.
It’s eight years since the Batman took the fall for the late Harvey Dent, who had been driven mad. By taking responsibility for Dent’s criminal actions, it preserved the late District Attorney’s positive work which resulted in Gotham City being a safer place. Now, a terrorist named Bane has drawn the retired Bruce Wayne from his hermit existence and back into the costume for one final showdown, turning his back on his family, his friends and his city.
The Dark Knight Rises concludes the tale of one man making a difference; reimagining himself as more than a man, rather as a legend. Although a far from perfect film, there are several plot holes, as well as a major issue with the passage of time, but like any good art it’s flaws stimulate discussion. Extras include second-screen experience, featurettes, and trailers. The Dark Knight Rises is dense and sometimes muddled, but a satisfying and successful conclusion to Nolan’s trilogy. Highly recommended.
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| Warner Bros. / Released November 27, 2012 |
A few years ago, Hollywood seemed to be releasing an American remake of an Asian horror film on a weekly basis. Thankfully, that trend seemed to end, resulting in Sarah Michelle Gellar and Jessica Alba looking for new work. Twilight franchise co-star Ashley Greene (the new Sarah Michelle Gellar?) must have thought that The Apparition would work for her since it feels like one of those films, but is an original idea.
Silly girl.
The Apparition is none of those things. Far from original and further away from actually working as a film, The Apparition is very likely the worst film I’ve seen from a major studio this year. Greene, who seems to have tweaked her nose with plastic surgery a little too much at this point, has teamed up with Sebastian Stan (Gossip Girl, Captain America: The First Avenger) to bring the story to life.
Here’s the official description:
When frightening events start to occur in their home, young couple Kelly and Ben discover they are being haunted by a presence that was accidentally conjured during a university parapsychology experiment. The horrifying apparition feeds on their fear and torments them no matter where they try to run. Their last hope is an expert in the supernatural, Patrick (Tom Felton aka Draco Malfoy), but even with his help they may already be too late to save themselves from this terrifying force.
Here’s the problem: when crazy shit starts happening in your home, you leave. End of story.
Instead the couple stays, dogs die, and ectoplasmic mold seems to grow throughout the house. To be honest, the plot above is far more comprehensive and explanatory than the film which was not only a mess, but fairly incomprehensible. The film offers featurettes as the lone extras, but an apology would be more appropriate.
THE FIRST CHRISTMAS: THE STORY OF THE FIRST CHRISTMAS SNOW
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| Warner Bros. / Released October 2, 2012 |
I had vague memories of seeing this rarely repeated Rankin-Bass special growing up and revisiting it thirty plus years later, I realized why it’s mostly been left behind; it’s not particularly good. Now, keep in mind, I love many of the Rankin-Bass specials (I have a complete set of the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer action figures), but didn’t find that it pulled on the old heartstrings like it intended too.
A young blinded shepherd, Lucas, is taken in by the kindly Sister Theresa, he overcomes a number of obstacles through her unconditional love. It’s very sappy, and Lucas has never experienced snow, having only heard about it from Sister Theresa. Lucas is playing an angel in a Christmas pageant when it suddenly starts to snow, prompting an unforeseen miracle. It’s fine enough for kids, and Rankin-Bass is responsible for the best Christmas specials ever, but this one wasn’t for me. Extras include previews for other available holiday DVDs and a brief featurette focusing on making your own holiday cards. Holiday specials, which used to occupy the entire month of December, seem to be limited to a mere handful run over a night or two, which makes The First Christmas a good choice to add to your holiday home library. This one wasn’t among my favorites, but I’d be a Grinch not to recommend it.
FINDING NEMO
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| Walt Disney Home Entertainment / Released December 4, 2012 |
Beautifully animated, Finding Nemo suffers from non-engaging characters and a tepid plot. I know that I don’t fit into the seemingly universal love for Pixar, but I find much of their work to be soulless; intricately and emotionally plotted to generate an emotional response, making up for what the film lacks with sentimental touchstones and triggers inserted to manipulate their audience.
An over-protective clown fish, Marlin, is raising his son Nemo, after losing his wife and all his other eggs. As all children do, Nemo rebels and finds himself deposited in a fish tank in an Australian dentist’s office with a number of other captive fish. Back in the ocean, the worried Marlin embarks on a quest to find and save his son.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Pixar produces excellent films. So good in fact, that the mere name of their studio, has branded the work with a level of quality. (“I want to see the new Pixar movie”). The animation is amazing and the voice work unquestionably is fantastic (In Finding Nemo‘s case, Albert Brooks plays Marlin. That’s awesome). I just personally don’t find myself resonating with much of their output. That being said, if you are a Pixar fan in any capacity, this release is a must have. Extras include a cine-explore feature, featurettes, deleted scenes, a short, marketing materials, interactive aquatic encyclopedias, trailers and more. Finding Nemo is a beloved Pixar film and a testament to entertainment that can be enjoyed by the entire family. This release highly recommended.
MEN IN BLACK 3
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| Sony / Released November 30, 2012 |
It’s been some time since we’ve seen this Will Smith.
Since the release of Men in Black II a decade ago, Smith has focused on producing and acting primarily in dramas rather than popcorn flicks. His three genre releases, I, Robot, Hancock and I Am Legend are fairly dark and none of them require Smith to be charming.
Well, the charm is back in Men In Black III, where Smith returns as Agent J.
When a vile alien terrorist, Boris The Animal (Jerome Clement) escapes from his 40 year incarceration in a lunar prison, he travels back in time to 1969 to kill his captor Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) and change history. Suddenly, K is plucked from the timeline and Agent J is the only one who remembers the previous timeline. From there, he’s headed back into 1969 to save a younger Agent K (Josh Brolin) and prevent the revised timeline from occurring.
You’d be hard pressed to find many enthusiastic fans of the previous sequel, but Men In Black III is a welcome return to the franchise. Smith and Jones are as good as ever, but it’s Josh Brolin, as the younger K, who’s the film’s secret weapon. With more than a passing resemblance to Jones, Brolin captures the cadence and tone of the actor without performing an extended impersonation. Clement is also entertaining playing two versions of the same character. Unfortunately it’s the other members of the ensemble who get the short shift, with Emma Thompson and Alice Eve, in particular, doing little more than an extended cameo.
Director Barry Sonnenfeld also delivers after a laborious run which has most recently included Big Trouble and RV. It’s nice to see his visual style and exuberant tone. Extras include featurettes an interactive game, a gag reel and a music video. Between some legitimate emotional moments and some solid laughs, Men In Black III is a fun and entertaining way to kill a few hours, Recommended.
