Premium Rush Review (Dustin SanVido)

Premium Rush (2012)

Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Shannon, Dania Ramirez, Wole Parks, and Jamie Chung.

Directed by David Koepp

Editor’s note: We’re very happy to add yet another member to our team of enthusiastic cinephiles. Dustin SanVido, aka The Film Authority, is off the charts when it comes to enthusiasm and appreciation of modern movies. I have a feeling that when Ridley Scott or Chistopher Nolan become attached to a new project, Dustin knows what they will be directing before they do. Add to this enthusiasm some very entertaining writing, and I think Dustin will fit in just fine here at Entertainment Maven. I hope you enjoy his first review: Premium Rush.

Walking into Premium Rush I couldn’t help but feel that it was rife with potential. The cast is lead by Joseph Gordon Levitt and Michael Shannon, two personal favorites of mine. I don’t believe there are any other actors working today, with the lone exception of Gary Oldman, who can slip into a character with such ease that you forget you’re watching a performance. Watching these actors play with dialogue in any of their work is an utter joy, despite whether their characters tread softly or outright dive into a pool of madness.

Premium Rush is directed by David Koepp, a man whose talent for screenwriting has resulted in some of the great blockbusters of modern cinema, including Jurassic Park and Spiderman. His efforts behind the camera have been far more disjointed and uneven, but I laud him for trying different themes and genres to broaden his artistic pallet – for every Pitch Black there lies a Secret Window!

The premise of Premium Rush is simple enough. Wilee (JGL) is a law school dropout who has chosen the path of a bike messenger instead of taking the bar exam and beginning a mature adult life. He lives for the rush of bicycling into NYC traffic on a hot summer day with his secure goods in tow, while dangerously weaving through traffic with complete disregard for the safety of himself and others. In fact, this seems to be the unwritten code of all bike messengers in Premium Rush. He’s also in mid breakup/fight/make-up with his girlfriend Vanessa (Dania Ramirez), also a bike messenger, who is being comforted and consoled by Manny (Wole Parks), also a bike messenger and the foresworn rival of Wilee. Did I mention Manny refers to himself only in the third person for the duration of Premium Rush? (Yikes, this guy’s a badass).

Enter NYPD Detective Bobby Monday (Shannon), a good intentioned officer of the law whose penchant for gambling in low-rent Asian establishments and back-door gatherings has landed him in a rather large debt with the local mob. After detective Monday’s resistance to a simple non-payment beating ends up proving fatal for the opposition, Monday finds himself in hot water. To save himself he accepts a standing offer from his friend, a current member of said mob organization. Instructions are simple: retrieve a letter from a woman (Jamie Chung) across town and the debt is forgiven. Simple enough right?

What follows is a film that shows great disregard towards the most entertaining character (Monday) and instead focuses heavily on JGL’s Wilee. This would normally be more than enough for me, and it has in the past (see Jingle All The Way), but in this case there just isn’t enough to like about the protagonist, leaving the plot to spiral out of control with its unnecessary complexities and contrivances. Unfortunately, the fact that all of the exposition is revealed in backwards format becomes increasingly frustrating as the plot moves along, especially because of the predictability of the script.

During Premium Rush’s brisk running-time I found myself asking the same questions: Why must these bike messengers purposefully cause accidents that injure and cause pedestrians and drivers untold amounts of damage and tragedy, when following the rules of the road would get them to their destination nearly just as quickly? Why must Wilee stop mid-delivery to have a race with his rival through central park? Why must the detective allow the messenger to peddle away when he’s within arm’s reach so many times? Why must all the actors in the film of Asian descent speak with generic, forced, and shall I dare suggest borderline offensive accents? Finally, why is the protagonist’s name Wilee? I understand the joke, but his name CLEARLY should have been Road Runner with the detective taking the name ‘Wilee’.

And then there’s the bike messenger super sense (yes, you read that correctly). It seems Wilee has the power to slow down time and view all the outcomes of the directions he can choose with all the examples of potential vehicular manslaughter included. This was an interesting idea on paper, I’m sure, but the result is rather silly.

The few positives I can take away from Premium Rush are mainly due to the effective cinematography during the action sequences. The camera moves quickly and fluidly around the streets of Manhattan and I was genuinely thrilled by the stunt-work and speed of the sequences. I also enjoyed a scene in which Detective Monday interrogates Wilee in the back of an ambulance. This was the single moment in the film where a genuine sense of danger was created and I felt like something bad could realistically happen to our protagonist.

In the end, Premium Rush truly offers no surprises or anything fresh, and is anything but premium. Although I feel generally let down by his latest effort, I am excited to see what David Koepp has in store for his return to the world of Riddick. Joseph Gordon Levitt and Michael Shannon will also escape this film relatively unscathed as their stars continue to rise.

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UFC 146 DVD Review – Dos Santos vs. Mir: The All Heavyweight Card (Kirk Haviland)

UFC  146 DVD Review

MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise Nevada

May 26th 2012

Heading into UFC 146, the UFC was presented with one of its biggest scandals in recent years. The original headliner, Alistair Overeem, failed a drug test with severely inflated testosterone levels. Overeem, coming off his dominant victory over former champ Brock Lesnar, was the clear choice for contender for the heavyweight belt. This sent Dana White and the UFC scrambling to final a main event. The result is that the all heavyweight main card was sent into turmoil, as Mir was bumped up from the co-main event against Cain Velasquez, Cain’s opponent was changed to the debuting Antonio Silva, who was originally scheduled to fight Roy Nelson. But perhaps this helped the card in the long run as it led to very aggressive tactics in the ring.

The Undercard fights were as follows:

Mike Brown vs Daniel Pineda/ Glover Teixeria vs Kyle Kingsbury/ Jacob Volkman vs Paul Sass/ Duane Ludwig vs Dan Hardy/ CB Dollaway vs Jason Miller/ Edson Barboza vs Jamie Varner and Darren Elkins vs Diego Brandao.

Only three fights went the distance as the Brown/Pineda and Elkins/Brandao fights felt like wars. The Miller/Dolloway fight was a bust as it appeared that either Miller injured himself during the fight or entered the ring injured already. Miller got slapped around pretty badly for three rounds and ultimately did himself no favors as this fight caused the UFC to outright release him from his contract. Glover Texiera makes a strong debut in the first round as he dispatches Kingsbury very efficiently. The other submission comes in the Sass/Volkman fight. The other two fights bring us two very impressive KOs. Varner shines mightily as a last minute replacement for Evan Dunham as he dispatches Barbosa, and Dan Hardy gets his first win since 2009 in bonus winning fashion as his impressive KO of Duane Ludwig earns him co-knockout of the night honors. A very strong undercard that featured many exciting finishes, after watching this disc I held some reservations going onto the main card.

Recent UFC DVD reviews will let you know that a certain trend has been occurring more often than not. Either the events have a strong undercard combined with a lackluster main card or vice versa. So after the watching the prelims, combined with the scrambling of the five main event fights, I had my reservations. The Main Card Fights are as follows:

Lavar Johnson vs Stefan Struve/ Stipe Miocic vs Shane del Rosario/ Roy Nelson vs Dave Herman/ Antonio Silva vs Cain Velasquez and the main event Frank Mir vs Junior Dos Santos.

The main card starts with a slick submission in the Struve/Johnson fight in the first two minutes of the fight. It was one of the co-winners of submission of the night. Next up is a devastating TKO in the 2nd round of the Miocic/del Rosario contest. So far the main event is delivering strong. Next we get a one punch beauty of a knockout from Roy Nelson as he crumples Dave Herman then follows up for the quickest finish of the night and the other half of the co-knockout prize. Next up is the utter and complete domination by Cain Velasquez. Cain obviously went into this fight determined to make a statement after his loss of the title to Dos Santos and boy does he ever! The gash he opens almost right away above Silva’s nose is nasty, and the blood starts pouring everywhere. Eventually Silva cannot see to defend anything and the fight is mercifully stopped. Cain looks primed for a title rematch. The Main Event of the evening also does not disappoint as all five main card fights are stoppages, an unbelievably fantastic result. Dos Santos shows why he is the champ as Mir never really has him in any trouble with the eventual TKO coming in round 2.

The bonus features are split between disc 1 and 2 this time around, as Disc 1 features the main card and the traditional Countdown show. The Countdown show this time runs a little flat as the shuffling of fights leaves little room for any growing animosity between fighters and the only bit of turmoil that comes up between Mir and Dos Santos is the fact that Mir broke Dos Santos’ mentor Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s arm in a previous fight. The second disc features your typical promo pack, a short behind the scenes feature and footage from the official weigh ins. The weigh in footage is the real gem here. You get the obvious stare downs and gamesmanship that always comes with fight preparation. But this time we get some fun antics from some of the participants as “Mayhem” Miller comes resplendent in pink. And Kyle Kingsbury shows that he is an old school wrestling fan with his “Ravishing” Rick Rude tribute and hilarious pose down attire. Ultimately though, until the UFC starts putting the Primetime series leading up to the fights on these discs they are incomplete for me.

In the end UFC 146 delivers exactly what you want and more, as one of the year’s most compelling and satisfying cards is finally available to purchase. UFC 146 is a solid recommend.

Till Next Time,

Movie Junkie TO

Make sure to keep up with what’s going on at Entertainment Maven by liking our Facebook page and having updates delivered right to your Facebook News Feed. It’s the only way to stay on top of all of our articles with the newest blockbusters and all the upcoming films and festivals in Toronto, as well as our expanding Home Video coverage.

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The Walking Dead Season 2 DVD Review (Kirk Haviland)

The Walking Dead Season 2

Starring Andrew Lincoln, Jon Bernthal, Sarah Wayne Callies, Laurie Holden, Norman Reedus, Steven  Yuen, Chandler Riggs, Lauren Cohan, Melissa McBride, Jeffrey DeMunn, IronE Singleton with Pruitt Taylor Vince and Scott Wilson

Created by Robert Kirkman and Frank Darabont

One of the hottest shows on television today, out on DVD and Blu-Ray this week from AMC and Anchor Bay Entertainment is The Walking Dead Season 2. With all the behind the scenes turmoil involving the release of co-creator Frank Darabont mid-season as show runner, many people wondered if the show would suffer in quality because of his departure. Fortunately the second season proves that the dead are still running strong.

Starting perched on a lonely rooftop, walkie talkie in hand, Rick Grimes (Lincoln) recaps briefly the recent events from the final episodes of Season 1 over the device, aimed at reaching the man who helped him back in season 1 episode 1, Morgan. This leads us into a fragmented season 2 as it is split into two parts, separated by two months in its original network airing, the first-half focused on the children of the group and the last dealing with the resolution of the Shane (Bernthal) storyline. As the group leaves the remains of the CDC they run into a herd of the dead causing the group to lose Sophia (Madison Lintz) as she runs off petrified into the woods, Rick in chase. Rick draws off some walkers from Sophia’s trail, but ends up losing her in the process. During the preliminary efforts to find Sophia, Rick’s son Carl (Riggs) suffers a horrible accident that takes Rick and company to the farm of Hershel Greene (Wilson) for help. The crowd is temporarily segmented as Lori (Calles) joins Rick, Shane and Hershel’s clan in caring for Carl while Dale (DeMunn), Andrea (Holden), Darryl (Reedus), Glenn (Yeun) Carol (McBride) and T-Dog (Singleton) are left roadside looking for Sophia. Needing medical supplies to treat Carl, Shane and Otis (Vince) take off to an overrun Fema shelter while time becomes of the essence for Carl’s survival. The rest of the group slowly reconvene at the farm, while still sending out search parties for Sophia, and Glenn develops a relationship with the attractive farmer’s daughter Maggie (Cohan). Debate sparks over the treatment of the walkers and how long the group will be allowed to stay, as Hershel does not agree with Rick and the rest of his group, all the way up to the shocking mid-season finale.

The second-half of the season deals more with Shane’s descent into madness as Lori unveils a life altering secret that forces him over the edge. After Rick, Hershel and Glenn have a nasty encounter with some other survivors, Hershel begins to see Rick’s point of view and realizes correctly that the humans left are just as dangerous if not more than the walker’s presence. The season ends with members of the group not surviving, as the show proves yet again no one cast member is safe, and the farm becomes overrun. The group starts again on the road looking for salvation, with Andrea separated from the rest of the group desperately struggling to survive. We are also introduced to a pivotal new character from the original book series that fans have been clamoring for.

The Walking Dead features some of, if not the best, writing on television. Suspenseful and filled with dread, the scripts aim to tell stories and develop characters rather than just apply jump scares and gore all over the place. Many complained about the slow burn of the season with the Sophia storyline playing out over the first seven episodes and the drawn out story of Shane over the last five before the action packed finale. That said, both stories play out much more satisfying the second time around when you know where they are headed as many little nuances in the script and performances come to light when you know how they will play out later. This style of intelligent writing has been evident since the beginning, and since the original material of Kirkman’s Graphic Novel series is so ripe with carefully written material to begin with, it begs to be tapped into.

On top of the writing, the show has brought together one of the strongest ensemble casts on television. With many Darabont regulars like Holden and DeMunn supporting our leads Lincoln, Bernthal and Callies, the supporting cast may actually be the strongest part of the show. DeMunn’s Dale is the conscience of the group and Shane does not fool him for a second. Holden’s Andrea transforms from suicidal and ready to give up to a fiercely determined deadly soldier in the groups ranks. The Rick/Lori/Shane triangle is resolved and Lincoln’s Rick evolves as an even stronger leader as Bernthal’s Shane proves exactly why he shouldn’t be in charge of anything during the mid-season finale. Wilson is a welcome addition to the cast as his Hershel provides both a companionship to Rick as well as an adversary. Eventually and begrudgingly Hershel comes to see that Rick is correct. Wilson’s performance lends gravitas and a seasoned presence that is welcomed to the show and will be welcomed in the new season considering the loss of one character in particular.

The effects from Greg Nicotero and crew are top notch. Most studio film productions can’t compare to the effects work being put forward here. This helps lend to the overall cinematic feel of the show.

The disc is loaded with extras as we get over an hour of behind the scenes featurettes, all of which are well done and interesting to watch. We get five episodes with commentaries from writers, directors, producers and cast, and while they can be dry in tone they are full of information. Deleted scenes from eight of the episodes are also included here along with all of the segments, including commentary by director Nicotero, of the six-part web series based on one of the series’ most iconic walkers. All in all, the DVD/Blu-Ray provides a great set of behind the scenes footage.

Is the Walking Dead Season 2 worth the price? You better believe it is. The Walking Dead Season 2 is a MUST OWN.

Till Next Time,

Movie Junkie TO

Make sure to keep up with what’s going on at Entertainment Maven by liking our Facebook page and having updates delivered right to your Facebook News Feed. It’s the only way to stay on top of all of our articles with the newest blockbusters and all the upcoming films and festivals in Toronto, as well as our expanding Home Video coverage.

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ChickFlicking – A Reflection Brought on by Sci Fi (Nadia Sandhu)

The Monsters and Martians Science Fiction Film Festival recently showcased the festival sensation “Dimensions,” a film which has been wracking up Best Film and Best Director Awards from science fiction film aficionados the world over (Best Film at 2012 London Independent Film Festival, Boston International Science Fiction Film Festival, and Long Island Science Fiction Film Festival)

However, despite this pedigree my male blogging colleagues showed no interest in attending the screening or reviewing the film – even though most of these same gents were at Fan Expo this weekend, a convention that science fiction built.  So science fiction was clearly not the issue at hand.

What was it then, that kept these self-confessed film nerds from embracing this festival darling?  Was it the marketing emphasis on steampunk or was it the period costumes?  It couldn’t have been the time travel plot, because I know these guys speak glowingly of films like Back to the Future, The Terminator and even Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. (Watch the trailer and decide for yourself.)

As I mulled things over I kept coming back to the period costumes and the British accents.  I thought back to the screening I attended for Hysteria, which in retrospect was mostly female even though the film was an honest to goodness sex comedy.  That film too featured British accents and period costumes.  Then there was that whole The Social Network vs. The King’s Speech divide. Curiouser and curiouser.

Simplistic as this may sound then, British accents and period costumes are integral to the definition of a chick flick.  Armed with this evidence it has become clear to me that what we have here is a clear case of a Science Fiction Chick Flick that will require special handling for its inevitable release.

So while this summer we’ve been getting our feet wet, feeling our way around the boundaries of the chick flick before we plunge into more complex academic dissections, at this early stage it seems safe to categorize films that are largely the provenance of chicks thusly:

–       A plot concerned primarily with romance/romantic relationships

–       A comedic plot concerned primarily with romance/romantic relationships

–       A plot revolving around family dynamics

–       A plot revolving around a female protagonist

–       An adaptation of classic literature or chick lit

–       A period piece (British accents optional)

–       Musicals

These are the films we take/drag our significant others to.

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TIFF Bell Lightbox – Candyman 35mm Review (Matt Hodgson)

TIFF Bell Lightbox

Rue Morgue

Candyman (1992)

Starring Virginia Madsen, Tony Todd, and Xander Berkeley

Written by Clive Barker (story) and Bernard Rose

Directed by Bernard Rose

Candyman, Candyman, Candyman…Candy – I can’t even make it to four times on a freaking written review! That’s the kind of impact this nightmarish slasher had on kids growing up in the 90’s. For a while Candyman was one of the movies often talked about in between classes, but few had actually experienced the fear and the violence elicited by the gory hook which had replaced Candyman’s right hand. I hadn’t seen Candyman for years, but thanks to Rue Morgue, the TIFF Bell Lightbox and Fan Expo, fans had a chance to watch a 35mm print of the beautiful and talented Virginia Madsen opposite one of the most iconic killers in the history of horror cinema. And that’s not the end of the story: Tony Todd, the Candyman himself, would be present for a Q&A after the screening. If this doesn’t excite you and strike a little bit of fear into your heart at the same time, then you may not be familiar with the story of the Candyman.

Based on The Forbidden, a short story by the prolific and talented horror author, Clive Barker, Candyman is the story about two graduate students trying to complete a thesis about the origin and transmission of urban legends. Helen (Madsen) and Bernadette (Kasi Lemmons) are having a difficult time coming up with an urban legend that hasn’t already been investigated ad nauseam. However, while conducting a series of recorded interviews Helen comes across the legend of the Candyman. In the poorer areas of Chicago the residents seem to attribute horrible killings to a murderous ghost or vengeful wraith with a bloody hook in the place of his right hand. Once a slave, the Candyman experienced an unfathomable amount of pain in life and a little over a century later looks to share his horrible past with the living. Despite the horror of the urban legend, it seems easy enough to avoid the Candyman – don’t say his name five times while looking into the mirror. Unfortunately, the curious and incredulous Helen can’t help herself, and after chanting his name her horror begins.

SPOILERS

Despite a couple of issues, Candyman holds up remarkable well after an unbelievable 20 years since its release. The movie feels incredibly violent and bloody, yet there isn’t a lot of onscreen violence. I can’t help but think that this feeling is elicited by the great practical effect of Candyman’s gore-covered hook. Rose uses many close-ups of this weapon throughout the movie and as a result it becomes embedded in the viewers brain. This sort of psychological skill seems hard to find in the current crop of slasher movies being made, and it’s really a shame as it is much more effective than having a high body count.

The chemistry between Tony Todd and Virginia Madsen is incredible, with Madsen turning in a particularly amazing performance as an intelligent and adventurous graduate student who gets a little too attached to her research as many graduate students are apt to do. During the Q&A Todd told the audience that he and Madsen practiced fencing, horseback riding, and other elegant sports or activities in order to ensure that their chemistry was as close to genuine as possible when they finally shot the film. Another interesting story brought up during the Q&A involved the amazing ‘bee’ scenes in the film, in which bees crawled all over Todd or Madsen. One scene in particular had a few dozen bees crawling over Todd’s face and open mouth. He assured us that this was in fact REAL. The shot was made possible by placing a device in Todd’s mouth which would prevent the bees from crawling into his mouth and down his throat. The filmmakers also hired a ‘bee wrangler’ for the set with the focus on using young bees, as they don’t develop the ability to sting until they have reached the 12-hour milestone in their lives. Despite these precautions, Todd was still stung 26 times while shooting the movie, and collected a cool $26,000 in the process as he had a ‘$1,000 a sting’ clause in his contract thanks to a savvy lawyer.

There were only two issues that really bothered me about Candyman: a particular costume and a bit of sloppy logic in the story. Firstly, why in the hell does Candyman wear chef pants and a fur coat? Maybe this worked back in 1992, but it was a little distracting in 2012. Last time I checked Candyman was not a pimp. I also found myself waiting for Flavor Flav to jump onto the scene and start a public enemy music video. Secondly, when Helen gets arrested for the first time the police think that she has beheaded a dog, attacked a young mother with a meat cleaver, and finally kidnapped a small child and is the only one who knows his whereabouts. Of course they promptly let her out on bail and allow her to go back to her apartment. I can’t believe that this seemed logical in 1992, but I don’t recall having a problem with it then.

It was a great night out at the Lightbox; Candyman looked great on 35mm, and Tony Todd had a hugely entertaining Q&A with local film critic, Richard Crouse. I can’t wait until Rue Morgue and TIFF screen another classic horror film like this and really make it an event. Todd also told the audience about another screening in Toronto that he is attached to later in the year, although he was not clear if he will be present for it. More news on this in the near future.

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