Entertainment Maven

Rise of the Guardians Review (Kirk Haviland)

Rise of the Guardians (2012)

Starring the voices of Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Jude Law, Isla Fisher and Hugh Jackman

Written by David Lindsay-Abaire based on the books written by William Joyce

Directed by Peter Ramsey

New in theaters in time for US Thanksgiving weekend, and ready to fight for box office domination against stiff competition, Dreamworks and Paramount Pictures bring us the new animated film Rise of the Guardians. Classic iconic characters such as Santa, the Easter Bunny, Sandman, Tooth Fairy and Jack Frost are all in this rousing tale of camaraderie and teamwork. But how does Rise of the Guardians fare against other options out there this weekend?

Rise of the Guardians starts by introducing us to Jack Frost, the fun-loving yet very lonely master of ice and snow, who runs around in secret as the humans of the world cannot see him. When an evil spirit known as Pitch lays down the gauntlet to take over the world the Guardians, the group of legendary characters mentioned above, are re-united to defend the earth and its children. But Pitch knows the Guardians’ weakness and is ready to take them on. It’s up to Jack to decide whether he will change his solitary lifestyle and become a true guardian.

Dreamworks has managed to produce what is destined to be another holiday classic, yet for Easter, not Christmas. You read that right, the film is set three days before Easter, not Christmas. The script is very funny and while it still hits familiar notes, the film makes these conventions work and introduces its own rules specific to this universe. We see not just Santa’s Workshop but the Tooth Fairy’s palace and the Easter Bunny’s burrow. Many films have shown Christmas in full prep mode, but Guardians shows us a fun, if not slightly Willy Wonka creepy, interpretation of the Easter Bunny’s prep. Having the writer of the original books William Joyce along on the production adds to the quality of the film and has obviously helped in the creativity department.

The voice cast here works for the most part, even though it is a touch gimmicky. Chris Pine as Jack Frost and Isla Fisher as Tooth Fairy are both charming and sweet. Jackman’s bunny and the non-verbal Sandman are highlights for sure. Alec Baldwin doing basically the Russian version of Mike Myers’ goofy Shrek accent works most of the time, but does to go over the deep end at times. The best work though belongs to Jude Law, whose work as Pitch Black, the villain, is impeccable.

The CG animation work is great, with many photo realistic touches and elements. The character models are updated takes on the classic imagery we have of these iconic characters. Santa becomes a large tattooed burly man with a thick Russian accent; The Easter Bunny is a 6 foot tall Kiwi with boomerangs for weapons and the Sandman is actually made out of sand. These ingenious little touches lets you know right away that we are dealing with new takes on these characters and set the right tone for the adventure to come.

Destined to become a crossover holiday classic, much like Henry Selick’s Nightmare before Christmas is both a Christmas and Halloween favorite, Rise of the Guardians will be the same for Christmas and Easter. Fun, smart and endearing, Rise of the Guardians will be fun for kids of all ages. Rise of the Guardians is a definite recommend.

Till Next Time,

Movie Junkie TO

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Reel Asian Film Festival 2012: Cold Steel Review (Kirk Haviland)

Reel Asian Film Festival 2012

Cold Steel (2012)

Starring Peter Ho, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Jia Song, Mickey Ho, Ringo Yu and Wilson Chu

Written by David Wu, Li Xiao-Min

Directed by David Wu

Making a welcome return to Chinese action filmmaking after a long absence working in North American television, frequent John Woo collaborator David Wu brings us Cold Steel. After a very successful showing at Fantasia in Montreal this year, the war-time epic has finally made its Toronto debut thanks to Reel Asian and co-presenter Toronto After Dark. So how does Mr Wu’s Cold Steel stack up to the classic films of Woo’s that he worked on?

In 1938, during the second Sino-Japanese War, Mu Lianfeng (Ho), a 19-year-old orphan, watches an American military plane crash in the forest. Lianfeng comes to the pilot’s rescue and takes him to his village where Liu Yan (Song) has transformed her teashop into a makeshift hospital. As the pilot gradually recuperates, a relationship between the three slowly blossoms. However, when Lianfeng defends Liu Yan against soldiers of the Nationalist army, commander Wu (Xinyu) arrests him. On their way back to base their convoy is attacked by a Japanese sniper who is eventually neutralized by Lianfeng. Impressed, squad leader Zhang Mengzi (Leung Ka-fai) selects him to take part in an assassination mission targeting four Japanese generals. However when nothing goes as planned, Japanese general Massaya (Chu) is infuriated prompting him to send out his best sharpshooters to take down every last one of them.

The strongest part of Cold Steel lies in its action sequences, of which there are tons. Having expert action director and editor Wu behind the lens helps elevate these to things of beauty. The script is goofy with many tongue in cheek gags and situations. Our lead is a goofy, gangly treat with a face a rubber as Jim Carrey as he mugs his way through awkward situations. The love interest is a gorgeous older woman, which could have been a risky choice but it works well in this context. The relationship between Lianfeng and Liu Yan plays out modestly, yet honestly, and helps give Lianfeng’s decisions more weight and gravitas. Chu is way over the top here, in a performance that goes almost entirely cartoon bad guy. This performance and the not so subtle fleecing of the Japanese characters in the film, it is decidedly one-sided, may alienate some. But having the director Wu actually execute the English subtitles himself leads to a lot less confusion and misinterpretation of the humor and dramatic sequences of the film, some of the things that can occasionally get lost in translation.

But as I have said, the real bread and butter are the action sequences. The ambush scene where Lianfeng proves his worth is a tightly directed treat. The final sequence where an entire village is decimated is an explosion bonanza. Throughout the film the bullets zip by with authentic pace and timing, the film does a great job of depicting just how devastating a sniper rifle can be in the right hands. Freely borrowing from films like The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Bourne Ultimatum, director Wu incorporates his own spin on films that have served as inspiration to him over the years. Wu also decides to use practical explosions and effects work to heighten the tension and reality of the film, especially with the intricacies of some of the well-executed stunt work.

A solid action film, not without its issues, Cold Steel offers wall-to-wall action and should be more than enough to please any action fan. Wu proves he is more than ready to step into the spotlight and his next effort should be eagerly anticipated. Cold Steel is a recommend.

Till Next Time,

Movie Junkie TO

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The Watch Blu-Ray Review (Kirk Haviland)

The Watch Blu-Ray

Starring Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, Richard Ayoade, Will Forte and Billy Crudup

Written by Jared Stern, Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen

Directed by Akiva Schaffer

Hitting Blu-Ray and DVD this week from Fox Home Entertainment is the action comedy that disappointed at the box office this summer, The Watch. Hurt due to a truncated advertising campaign and name change to avoid all possible ties with the real life Trayvon Martin incident, The Watch finally gets its chance to be seen on home video. But can the combined comedic chops of Stiller, Vaughn, Hill, Ayoade (director of last year’s brilliant Submarine) and Forte along with director, and one-third of the comedy troop of The Lonely Island, Akiva Schaffer, deliver the comedy of the year?

Evan (Stiller) seems to have it all together. He has a lovely wife (Rosemarie DeWitt), a great house and a steady job as a manager of the local Costco in a sleepy suburb of Glenview, Ohio. One morning Evan arrives for work to find his night security guard has been murdered and the police have him on the list of suspects. Evan decides he must start the Neighbourhood Watch to find the real killer and patrol the streets. Evan is taken up on the offer by Bob (Vaughn), a father of a teenage daughter who desperately craves male bonding time; Franklin (Hill), a high school dropout and reject from the police force who wants to crack some skulls; and the awkward Jamarcus (Ayoade), who simply is looking for a way to fit in. The Watch are ridiculed and not taken seriously by the community at large, especially by the police and Sgt. Bressman (Forte). Eventually they discover that the killer may be extra-terrestrial in origin and they end up in a bigger fight than they had first thought, which may or may not include Evan’s strange new neighbour, Paul (Crudup).

The Watch does not get much more sophisticated with a second viewing and remains a very silly movie. Obviously a believer in free reign and tons of ad-libbing, Shaffer lets his stars run loose and it shows. Shaffer goes as far as to mention in the special features that he only records two ‘script’ takes but gives the cast as many alternate takes as they like to goof on the lines. Stiller and Vaughn deliver exactly what you have seen them do so many times before with Stiller bringing his goofy everyman with a penchant for landing in awkward situations, while Vaughn’s motor-mouth rapid-fire style is in full effect. Jonah Hill gets a little edgier than normal here, but also manages to hit all those familiar “too close” moments that he’s famous for. Hader brings to life another awkward character that doesn’t completely work all the time, his Bressman is one of the weaker parts of the film and in some situations feels shoehorned into parts of the script. The real star here is and remains to be Ayoade. Ayoade manages to steal every scene he is in and during the repeated viewings it’s Ayoade who can be seen adding layers to his performance as hints can be seen throughout the film as to what happens to his character later on.

Going for mainly practical effects work on the aliens in the film, Schaffer does an effective job in the one on one sequences with the man in the suit. Obviously not too schooled in action sequences, the finale involves a lot of CG work which does not quite work as effectively. The most fun of the action set pieces involves a montage with a ball the Watch find and the fun the boys have with it. The film does look good overall and a lot of its ancillary budget after paying off the cast salaries and the suits for the aliens may have gone straight to the huge booming finale.

The disc comes packed with extras including half an hour of deleted/alternate scenes that sadly do not have as much Ayoade as I was hoping for. A gag reel of goofs and flubs, not uncommon for comedies like this, along with some other standard behind the scenes fetaurettes: ‘Watchmakers’ and ‘Alien Invasions and You’. The two additional featurettes that stand out are a reel of Jonah Hill’s riffing and alternate takes as his character was apparently not as weird in the script and comes out on screen not nearly as far out as Jonah went with it during filming. And the ‘Casting the Alien’ segment which is an in-character interview with the film’s alien that is well written and very ‘Spinal Tap’ in feel.

Not the film everyone was hoping for, The Watch hits video more under the radar than would be expected because of its pedigree. Far from a terrible film, The Watch does play better at home than it did in theaters, but in the end its just there. A decent rental option that will not offend, The Watch may be a purchase opportunity at the right price. In the end though, The Watch remains a mild recommend.

Till Next Time,

Movie Junkie TO

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Reel Asian Film Festival 2012: Cha Cha for Twins (Kirk Haviland)

Reel Asian Film Festival 2012

Cha Cha for Twins (2012)

Starring Huang Peijia, Paul Chiang, Lun Ou Yang

Written by Yi-Chien Yang

Directed by Jim Wang, Yi-Chien Yang

Kicking of Saturday’s lineup at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts is the award winner from this year’s Taipei Film Festival, Cha Cha for Twins. This coming of age story centers on the tale of twin sisters who, now that they have turned 17, are discovering just how different, and alike, they truly are as they both strive to emerge as individuals apart from each other. But growing pains aren’t called ‘pains’ without reason.

Poni and Mini (Peijia in a dual role) have always done everything together. They go to the same school, get good grades, and play on the basketball team. But Poni starts to feel angst about being so inextricably linked to her identical sister, and desperately strives to stamp out her own individual identity. What was once convenient and even advantageous has become a burden for Poni, especially once Mini catches the eye of the Debate club captain Yogurt (Yang), who can easily tell them apart and only has eyes for Mini. Desperate for the same attention, Poni bumps into Ping (Chiang), a boy already held back one due to poor grades, who has no idea how to tell to the two apart.

Cha Cha for Twins carries all the typical trappings of a twins movie. Mistaken identity, false accusations and other typical sitcom fare are all evident but in this instance there is a lot more. The film plays out as a standard formula picture until we get half way though, then the script and direction change. Writer and co-director Yang brings in the real life experience of her being a twin to flesh out the background and stories of both girls while infusing each of the girls with a distinct personality. Poni’s desires, as she also serves as narrator, become clearer and Mini’s trepidations come to light through their relationships with Yogurt and Ping.

The real strength of the film comes in the performance of Peijia as both Mini and Poni. Peijia manages to deliver two very different and separate performances as each sister. Her performance is what elevates the film from the real possibility of this becoming a very generic picture, her work really picks up in the second half when the film could easily make the transition to goofy but instead becomes stronger. The supporting characters do decent work here, Chiang’s Ping is a lot better realized than Yang’s Yogurt, but this film is really a showcase for Peijia’s talented work.

Sometimes when we get a film with two directors the direction can get muddied and split between the two vantage points. In this case having two directors may have been a blessing, as the film manages to keep a crisp pace with emotional sidebars with the twins that are clearly influenced by director Yang’s personal experiences. This allows us to adopt a close relation with the twins and makes them all the more relatable. The effects work put in to place Peijia against herself on screen are actually a well-executed mix of cg and body double work, despite one sequence involving a track meet that has some very clearly evident work done to it.

A complete surprise, the film almost dies in the first third of the film but really grabs you in the middle and gets you to buy in until the end. Cha Cha for Twins is a one woman tour de force for Peijia and it’s because of her performance that I give Cha Cha for Twins a recommend.

Cha Cha for Twins plays on Saturday Nov 17^th, more info can be found on the Reel Asian website HERE.

Till Next Time,

Movie Junkie TO

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Reel Asian Film Festival 2012: Wolf Children Review (Kirk Haviland)

Reel Asian Film Festival 2012

Wolf Children (2012)

Starring the voices of Aoi Miyazaki, Takao Osawa, Haru Kuroki, Momoko Oono, Yukito Nishii and Amon Kabe

Written by Satoko Okudera, Mamoru Hosoda

Directed by Mamoru Hosoda

Considered by many in Japan as the heir apparent to the anime crown currently adorning the master animator Hayao Miyazaki, director Hosoda delivers a fairy tale/fable with a very sophisticated and adult message, Wolf Children. An anime master in his own right, Hosoda shows off classic hand drawn characters on sophisticated backgrounds in a coming of age story with a very worthwhile message at its core. But how will Wolf Children measure up to the classic Miyazaki fare like Princess Mononoke, Ponyo and Spirited Away?

Hana is a nineteen-year-old college student. She meets and falls in love with a man, only to discover he is a direct descendent of the Japanese wolf, able to change between man and wolf at will. The two build a life together and Hana bears two children, a son and daughter named Ame and Yuki. After a tragic accident Hana and the children are left alone, Hana having no idea how to raise the children to deal with their inherited abilities. She makes a life-altering decision to take her children and move to a rural town and raise them in seclusion. Ame and Yuki suffer growing pains in their new environment, but soon they must make difficult life choices of their own, to lead a life as either a human or a wolf.

The story and script for Wolf Children is eloquent and moving, and yes I am talking about an anime. The film depicts the trials, tribulations and sacrifices of a single parent, living and raising children completely lost without her soul mate, in a more mature and realistic way than a lot of more established productions could hope for. The children are portrayed as some of the most realistic of that age I have ever seen. Rambunctious, curious, enthusiastic and fiercely stubborn, these children have oodles of personality and jump of the screen. The story forces the brother and sister to fight and literally claw their way towards adulthood, and while the two take different paths which lead to much tension between them, there is still a love there, just below the surface.

The animation here is fantastic. It’s great to see a fantastically executed hand drawn style in this world dominated by computer generated animation. The backgrounds are part CG and in most cases are breathtaking, photo realistic vistas. But all the characters in front of these pieces of set and scenery are wonderfully animated by hand and the characteristics of them shine through because of this. The setting of the farmhouse where they move is fantastic and shows how even animation can use a setting to enhance storytelling.

A charming and fantastic surprise, Wolf Children is a tale that will enchant and delight audiences of all ages, and it really does it in a smart and funny way. This is a film that stays with you and grows in fondness the more you think upon it. One of the best animated films of the year, Wolf Children is an absolute recommend.

Till Next Time,

Movie Junkie TO

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