The Debt Review (Matt Hodgson) – Movies I missed

The Debt

Starring Helen Mirren, Sam Worthington, Tom Wilkinson, Ciaran Hinds, Jessica Chastain, Marton Csokas, and Jesper Christensen

Screenplay by Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman, Peter Straughan

Directed by John Madden

Still on my non-National Lampoon’s European Vacation (mine is much funnier), I’ve been catching up on some flicks that I have missed out on. Now I don’t think that I let any of the best movies of the year fall through the cracks, but who knows, that’s why I’m taking precautions and catching up on ‘Movies I Missed’. Some will be praised and some will be slammed, and just maybe I will find a hidden gem somewhere. First up is the international spy thriller, The Debt, based on an the 2007 Israeli film Ha-Hov.

Initially the story of The Debt seems quite simple: In 1965 three Mossad spies, Rachel Singer, Stephan Gold, and David Peretz (Chastain, Worthington, and Csokas; Mirren, Hinds, and Wilkinson play the present day versions) go into East Berlin to apprehend and bring back for trial one of the most notorious Nazi war criminals. His name is Dieter Vogel and during the war he essentially tortured countless human beings in bizarre experiments, masquerading as science. In the present day the mostly successful mission is in the history books and the three agents are regarded as heroes, especially thanks to a new book written by the daughter of the now separated Singer and Gold, but everything is not as it seems. The trio of ex-spies are harbouring a terrible secret. In a blending of past and present, The Debt revisits the old while trying to move forward with the new, but the past may prove to be too haunting for these agents to ever live what could be called a normal life.

I had been browsing through IMDB or some other film website when I stumbled upon The Debt. It had received a lukewarm score of about 7/10, but that was more than enough to intrigue me. I’m very glad I took the time to track it down, as it turned out to be one of the most pleasantly surprising films I have seen in a long time.

The real strengths of The Debt lie in three areas: the acting, the storytelling, and the script.

There are many recognizable actors in The Debt, and luckily, they are recognizable for their acting talents, not only for walking down red carpets. The cast handles the material very well with Mirren, Wilkinson, and Chastain standing out for me. It should be said that some of the casting for the old and young versions of the same characters was a little questionable for the male agents; I thought that Worthington and Wilkinson looked more similar than Csokas and Worthington, likewise for Csokas and Hinds, but I’m sure the casting decisions were made regarding the type actor needed for the role, rather than who looks like who. Still, it does pull the viewer out of the story a little.

The film flips back and forth between past and present so often that it could have been a jumbled narrative if it wasn’t handled with expertise. Despite all the jumps in time, The Debt manages to stay crystal clear throughout. I did not find myself forgetting character names, or wondering what was going on very often, unlike my recent experience with Haywire.

Finally, I have not yet read the script (I intend to), but from what I saw onscreen, this is one of the freshest spy thrillers of recent memory with just enough suspense and violence, and more than its fair share of intrigue as the plot unfolds.

If you’re a fan of spy movies or thrillers in general then you owe it to yourself to check out The Debt, a film that’s very unlike typical Hollywood spy fare, refreshingly so.

 

 

John Carter Review (Kirk Haviland)

John Carter (2012)

Starring Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Mark Strong, Ciaran Hinds, Bryan Cranston and the voices of Willem Dafoe and Samantha Morton.

Written by Andrew Stanton, Mark Andrews and Michael Chabon

Directed by Andrew Stanton

Hello All,

John Carter marks the live action film directorial debut of Pixar director and scribe Andrew Stanton. Much like his fellow Pixar alum, Brad Bird, Stanton has chosen a big budget action project for his first foray into live-action filmmaking. Unfortunately for Stanton, Bird hit big with Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol while John Carter has stumbled out the gates.

We are introduced to the titular character (Kitsch) as he is followed down the street during the late 1800’s. He drops his tail to deliver a telegram to his nephew, writer Edgar Rice Burroughs (Daryl Sabara). When Burroughs arrives he finds Carter apparently dead with strange requests regarding his last rites and a journal left behind for him to read. This is the backdrop for our introduction to John Carter, a native Virginian who was a Captain in the civil war. By the time we meet him he is a ruff and tumble prospector looking for a “Cave of Gold” which is part of the local folklore. After a jailbreak and a run in with natives Carter does discover his cave. Unfortunately for John, he ends up being transported unknowingly to Barsoom (know on Earth as Mars) by a member of the mysterious “Thern” who have the ability to shift between space with the aid of a talisman. Carter awakes to discover that he can leap miles high and wide due to the different gravity he is under and that Mars is perfectly suitable to sustain human life.

Carter almost immediately stumbles on a nesting ground for the Tharks, a race of gigantic green tusked warriors, whose leader Tars Tarkas (Dafoe) quickly recognizes Carter’s abilities and adopts him as part of his tribe. While Tars Tarkas sees Carter’s abilities as an asset in Barsoom’s own Civil War, John has no desire to fight for anyone as the War took a heavy personal toll on him. Alas, trouble finds its way to Carter as he literally leaps to the rescue of Deja Thoris (Collins), the beautiful humanoid princess caught between two warring factions, as her father (Hinds) has promised her hand in marriage to end the bloodshed. Carter’s actions land him firmly in the middle of all the fighting and once again he must reluctantly choose a side and fight.

If that synopsis seems overlong and overstuffed then you’re absolutely right. There’s about three movies worth of plot and story crammed into this epic, and unfortunately the film feels muddled and rushed because of it. Somewhere I’m sure there is a kickass 3 1/2 hour cut of John Carter that was lost on the editing room floor. That said John Carter still packs enough fun and action to give it a mild recommendation. This film will captivate the kids who are patient enough with it as it packs some great effects work and well staged action set pieces, even if one is directly lifted from Attack of the Clones. Taylor Kitsch does good work here as the titular character; his charisma and likeability center the film and keep us involved. Mark Strong, Ciaran Hinds, and Bryan Cranston are given little to do though. Collins is fine as the love interest, but ultimately the entire film lands on Kitsch’s shoulders.

In the end, John Carter is a bit of a missed opportunity. This could have been the next great Science Fiction series if they had the patience to let it play out over a series of movies. Instead, it’s a passable film that will have a hard time recouping its cost, and unfortunately that will probably disuade any chance of this becoming that series.

Til next time,

The Movie Junkie TO

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A Dangerous Method – Photo Review

For those who may have found my A Dangerous Method review a little too harsh, I give you a second opinion. Feast your eyes upon the very first Photo Review at Entertainment Maven!

PHOTO REVIEW:

Image is not the property of Entertainment Maven

Yeah Keira…you and me both.

 

Four Flies on Grey Velvet Review – Dario Argento

Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971)

Michael Brandon (Roberto Tobias), Mimsy Farmer (Nina Tobias), Jean-Pierre Marielle (Giani Arrosio) and Bud Spencer (Godfrey ‘God’)

Screenplay by Dario Argento

Directed by Dario Argento

This is my third entry in my short blogging series – ‘My Early Mornings with Dario Argento’. I didn’t intend to review the early work of Dario Argento, I just kind of stumbled into this project thanks to the fact that I don’t have access to many new films in my temporary home, located in Nice, France, and I was battling some serious jet-lag when I arrived, which caused me to wake up in the middle of the night. At first it was enraging to be on this schedule, but then I found that nothing goes better with early morning delirium than Argento’s dreamlike films. The combination is really quite satisfying, but now that the jet-lag has subsided I need to wait until I am lucky enough to wake up in the early morning naturally. Sorry Mr. Argento, but I’m not about to set an alarm clock for 4am. So far I have reviewed Argento’s first film, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (which I enjoyed but greatly prefer the novel it was based on ‘The Screaming Mimi’ by Fredric Brown), and The Cat o’ Nine Tails (in which Argento shows off his very real story telling skills). Next up on the docket is his third film, Four Flies on Grey Velvet.

The film tells the story about a young, musically talented, and attractive drummer named Roberto. One night after band practice Roberto finds himself caught in a blackmailing trap set by a strange masked perpetrator. Roberto is made to unwittingly commit a crime, which is simultaneously photographed by the masked villain. Roberto is subsequently blackmailed by the same character. It is left to Roberto to either catch his blackmailer or give in. But is it only blackmail that the masked villain has in mind? Could it be something more sinister?

After the visual delights of The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, and the attention to plot in The Cat o’ Nine Tails, I was sure that Argento would hit it out of the park with his third film. Unfortunately, this couldn’t be further from the truth. While I remember reading somewhere that Argento’s first three features were theatrical successes, I think there is a huge difference in quality between the first two, and Four Flies on Grey Velvet. The main character is annoying, as are a rag-tag cast of ‘private eyes’ that assist him later in the story. The dialogue has that inanity that I sometimes associate with Argento films, whether it is a translation issue, writing issue, or both is unknown to me. Some scenes in the film are unintentionally hilarious, while others that are supposed to be humourous left me scratching my head: see the reoccurring scenes with an odd-looking mailman. Finally, the elaborate and creative kill scenes that viewers have come to expect from Argento are completely absent.

If, like me, you are interested in watching Argento’s early works in their entireity then you are unfortunately required to watch this piece of garbage (normally I’m not so harsh, but this one made me really mad). If on the other hand you are looking for something that is actually scary or mysterious then for the love of god steer clear from this one. I want those two hours of my life back.

Battle Royale – Fright Nights at the Projection Booth in Toronto (Kirk Haviland)

Fright Nights at the Projection Booth hosted by Kelly Stewart

March 2nd 2012

Familiar (2012)
Starring Robert Nolan, Astrida Auza and  Cathryn Hostick
Written and Directed by Richard Powell

Battle Royale (2000)
Starring Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Chiaki Kuriyama and Takeshi Kitano.
Written by Kenta Fukasaku based on the novel by Koushun Takami
Directed by Kinji Fukasaku

Hello Folks,

Once again I get to talk to you about the fantastic series from the Projection Booth known as Fright Nights. Kelly outdid himself this time by landing the first “official” Toronto screening of Battle Royale for this month’s outing. This happily affords me the opportunity to talk about one of my all time favorite movies. It was preceded by a world premiere of the new Fatal Pictures production Familiar. I was unfortunately running late for the screening and missed the mass of humanity socializing prior to the screening as this was a highly anticipated and heavily attended event. I did however get to sneak in while Kelly did his intro at the front of the cinema, in front of a giant Battle Royale symbol on the screen no less.

The night started off with the psycological thriller Familiar. John Dodd (Nolan) is a troubled man. He is plagued by thoughts of dissatisfaction and murderous impulses directed towards his family while he counts down the days till his daughter departs for college and he can finally just leave. Slowly we become aware that the inner monlogue may be more than just John’s inner rumblings as events occur which will prohibit his plans of escape. The inner struggle continues to a grisly conclusion.  A strong cast keeps you enthralled throughout the entire film, and Nolan’s performance in particular is mesmerizing. During the Q&A after the movies, director Powell mentioned he’s looking towards a feature of one of his other films starring Nolan “Worm” as Fatal Pictures next production. Things are definitely looking bright for the future of Fatal Pictures.

And now our glorious feature presentation.

I should provide some of my history with this film. It starts with me scouring Chinese owned video stores in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga, as this is where I was living at the time. After much searching I found a VCD copy (basically a VHS quality copy on disc), but even that could not dampen my excitement. After watching the movie for the first time, I immediately watched it again. It was like nothing I had ever seen. Over the years I have owned different versions of this film at least 8 times, with Anchor Bay’s upcoming set due to be my 2nd copy on Blu Ray and 9th overall. Yes I love this film that much.

For those non-indoctrinated few let me summarize the film for you. Japan’s society is crumbling due to overpopulation, youth gang violence and overall apathy. The government devises a plan to both keep the population and youth in check and this is the BR ACT. The BR ACT states that once a year a class of students is selected to participate in Battle Royale, a ” fight to the finish” where only one may survive to be declared the victor. This is the environment this year’s “winners” are placed in as they are drugged on the way to their senior class trip, only go wake up surrounded by soldiers with strange new necklaces on. Our protagonists are Shuya Nanahara, whose best friend Nobu once attacked a former teacher which leads to a early exit from the game. And then there is Noriko Nakagawa, desperately infatuated with Shuya, and the object of Nobu’s affections. This leads to Shuya vowing to protect Noriko throughout the game out of his loyalty to Nobu. As loyalties break and deception rules, Noriko and Shuya stay true to each other and their hope that their new friend Kawada is right when he says he can get them all out alive.

Going into any more detail would be giving away too much. Needless to say, finally seeing this on the big screen with a crowd was a special treat. After 20 times, seeing this on the big screen for the first time I saw certain things I had never seen before for the first time. Man I love this movie. I will be one of the first in line for the Blu Ray set on the 20th.

On a quick side note, those who may be familiar with the story behind this year’s high profile release of the Hunger Games movie will notice obvious similarities. Keep in mind that Battle Royale’s origins lie a full decade prior to Suzanne Collins’ novels. Yet despite Battle Royale’s heavy influence in the creating of the Hunger Games, Collins’ was smart in infusing her story with aspects different than Takami’s vision.

Next month Kelly is presenting Monster Brawl for the first time in a Toronto theater since the Toronto After Dark Film Festival back in October, 2011. I have it on good authority that the director Jesse T. Cook will be present along with some of the Cast and Crew. So come out for some monster fighting fun and stick around to talk with the Junkie aka me!

Til Next Time

Movie Junkie TO
follow me on twitter @moviejunkieto
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