Rising is broken up into six chapters, although it’s less a series of vignettes and more six placemarkers to tell you how far you’ve gone so you don’t get lost, which ties in well with the film’s plotline. As best as I can glean, Rising is the story of a Viking slave named One-Eye who escapes from one group of Viking heathens and accidentally comes into the accompaniment of a group of Viking Christians who are setting out to free Jerusalem but get lost along the way. Also he speaks through a little boy. Rising features very little dialogue throughout almost half of the film, but that’s fine because the visuals speak for themselves. Eerily colored shots flash by and blood is made redder than ever, lending a queasy unease to violent scenes.

Ultimately Rising is a film about the hubris of man. The owner of One-Eye watches his clan be murdered because he refused to give up ownership. The Christian Vikings get lost in fog when they rely on God to lead them to Jersusalem and are massacred when they try to build a new Jerusalem in heathen territory. Even One-Eye falls to the heathens in the end.

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I’m talking, of course, about Toy Story 3. But I’m also talking about Tron Legacy. Both Lotso and CLU use fear, intimidation, and the destruction of dissidents to build a world that only seems perfect on the outside, and both meet their ends when they face off against a hero who also deals with abandonment issues. While Toy Story 3 has a deep story, Tron Legacy relies more on special effects to blow the viewer away.

This isn’t a bad thing though. I’m a big fan of the original Tron and even I can admit that it’s all style and no substance, whereas some reviewers seem to have been watching it with rose-tinted glasses. I didn’t go in to Tron Legacy expecting a deep storyline, considering I can barely make sense of the one in the original. The same goes here. Sam Flynn, son of Jeff Bridges’ Kevin Flynn, goes back to his dad’s old arcade and finds a secret computer (that looks eerily like the interface of Master Control Program) where Kevin built The Grid, a digital playground that he hoped would unlock the deepest secrets of humanity. Sam gets zapped in, we see some awesome action sequences (including a breathtaking sequence on the Game Grid that beats almost everything actionwise this year) , we get some exposition in which we find that Kevin uncovered a new lifeform that is somehow both digital and organic (I think), and some more action and then the movie ends. It borrows a lot of beats from the original while at the same time feeling fresh, and the one-two punch of bouncy acting by Olivia Wilde (in what hopefully is a breakout role, she needs more great work like this) and scene-chewing courtesy of Jeff Bridges doing double-duty as the aged zen master Kevin and weird CGI monstrosity that is CLU makes star Garrett Hedlund almost invisible and unnecessary.

Where the film stumbles is trying to flesh out a backstory for the twenty years between the first film and now. I get the feeling that writer Steve Lisberger was hoping to turn Tron into a Star Wars-esque trilogy and wrote two sequels and unfortunately Disney didn’t let him make the second sequel. The backstory offered here smacks of Empire Strikes Back whereas Tron Legacy itself is almost certainly Return Of The Jedi. This “two films crammed into one” factor becomes blatantly obvious when an entire race, the weird digital-and-organic-possibly-who-knows Isomorphs is brought up and killed off within minutes with almost no explanation on how they were Kevin Flynn’s “gift to the world”. Also I still don’t see how CLU is so sure that invading the real world is even possible for programs such as himself.

All in all, Tron Legacy is a cotton candy-like experience, a two hour long sugar rush that crashes near the end. While the cheesy sci-fi fan in me hopes that a second sequel is made (indeed, the groundwork is laid both in the film and in the video game TRON 2.0) I know deep down that this may not be the financial success I hope it is and Disney just won’t make another one, making Legacy a fitting, if flawed, send-off to a film that some seem to forget is groundbreaking for its GRAPHICS and not its story.

I have to admit at the outset of this review (if the above paragraph didn’t make this readily obvious) that I am a Scottaholic. I knew going into this film that it’d be one of my favorites of the year. I’ve read and re-read the comic books many times since I discovered them three years ago and was excited to see a story that had resonated with me brought to life by one of my favorite directors, Edgar Wright.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World did not disappoint. Michael Cera takes on a not entirely challenging but certainly slightly different role as Scott Pilgrim, the titular video game obsessed hero, and the supporting cast (led by Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Kieran Culkin and backed up by unknowns and familiar faces alike) kept the film’s humor afloat almost all throughout the near two hour running time. The film’s structure felt like that of a catchy tune, the Evil Ex Boyfriend fights being the chorus and hooks of the picture, a familiar place to return to as the film progressed and the parts that seem to dig into me the most as I left the theater.

The effects were spot on with an 80s video game vibe that brought an edge of surreality to what could have been a rather cookie cutter romcom, and the writing and editing worked hand in hand to create visual, audio, and oratory gags that worked in unison and rarely failed (a favorite moment was the “Seinfeld scene”, in which laugh track, Seinfeld-esque sound cues and a three camera sitcom esque mise en scène add to the humor of Scott describing his night with Ramona [Mary Elizabeth Winstead] to gay roommate Wallace Wells [Kieran Culkin]).

But of course, this is at heart an action movie in a sense, and the fight choreography is spot on as well. Here we have actors that probably will never have to be trained to fight in a film again battling each other in a way that rarely calls attention to this fact. Cera holds his own against Chris Evans (as action star and second Evil Ex Lucas Lee) and the sword fight between him and Final Evil Ex Gideon Graves (played brilliantly by Jason Schwartzman) is one of the more compelling fight scenes in the film.

All in all, this is more or less the perfect summer film, a seemingly unassuming sugar high of special effects and humor that slowly reveals its bittersweet center and ends in a way that would even give Chris Nolan pause. We find at the end that while we’ve witnessed the birth and death of an ultimately superficial relationship, we see the beginning of (hopefully) a stronger and more meaningful relationship, and as Scott learns to get over himself and accept responsibility for his actions we see that he’s getting a second chance with Ramona and (hopefully) will do a better job of handling it than he has with his other relationships. End scene.

However, it seems that filmgoers and critics alike just AREN’T seeing what fans of this film are seeing, passing it up to see The Expendables and Eat Pray Love and (from the critical level) calling it shallow and self-centered.

And that’s fine. This isn’t a movie for everyone. But trust me, even if you don’t get the video game references or never read a comic book before or don’t like Michael Cera, at least TRY and give this film a chance. I mean, you’ve read this far into a review for it, so you’re somewhat interested.

And fans, don’t be discouraged. The fact that this film was made at all is a testament that there is SOME justice in the world. And I have a feeling that it will develop a word-of-mouth cult when it comes out on DVD, more so than The Expendables and Eat Pray Love ever will.

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Scott Pilgrim movie poster image courtesy of artist Martin Ansin. All rights to image held by him.

This might seem unusual for a film blog to cover a tv show, but I feel like there are some areas of television that equate to, and even surpass film. LOST, Mad Men, The Wire, Breaking Bad, and Doctor Who, just to name a few. (spoilers and write up below the jump.)

Last week, the last two episodes of David Tennant’s (and less importantly, Russell T Davies’) run on Doctor Who aired. And it was amazing.

Now, there were parts that were horrible. There were plot points that made no sense, there were plot points that were brought up that weren’t expanded on in anyway. And they brought Timothy Dalton as the Lord of all Time Lords to…glower and wave a fist around.

But the last twenty minutes, after the Doctor saves Earth once again, only to sacrifice his life to save Wilf (Donna’s grandfather) were probably some of the most heart-rending television I’ve ever seen.

So, Who-ligans, what did you think?

So anyway, this has been a fairly interesting decade for film. The Transformers series made as much money as the annual GDP of a third-world country, indie film was giving new life, only to see it snuffed out by studio “indie” (or as I like to call it, fauxndie, which is impossibly to say so don’t try it) film, and Shia LaBeouf remade Citizen Kane, or something! (I’m not even sure I spelled his name right, or if he’s a real person!)

Trying to sum the decade in film is hard, but I’m going to do it anyway, because that’s how I roll. The order they are in don’t really matter, unless you want them to matter. Then they will.

5. The Spider-Man Trilogy

I know, I know, I’m cheating by putting three movies on here. I’ll be doing that a lot, you’ll see.

Spider-Man is probably one of my favorite superheroes, and these films essentially rejuvenated the superhero film industry after the debacle that was the last two Batman and Superman films, to name a few. They showed that it was possible to do a superhero film without it being too schlocky. Well, at least until the last one. Which, if you look past the bloatedness of it, could have been a great film, even with Emo Peter Parker’s Jazz Dancing.

4. Kill Bill (both of them)

I don’t think you have to argue with me that Inglourious Basterds might just be Tarantino’s masterpiece, but in many ways Kill Bill was his magnum opus. A culmination of every single thing that ever influenced Quentin ever, the long (4 and a half hours!) film is almost like stepping into his mind.

3. Pretty much anything Coen Brothers-related, but specifically Big Lebowski.

If anyone redefined what an arthouse movie could be, it was the Coen Brothers. Throughout their prolific career, they’ve tackled screwball comedy, noir, historical epic, and even slice-of-life films. And despite their few slip-ups, they’ve proven to be one of the best directing teams of the decade.

I want to point out specifically The Big Lebowski, which I know isn’t from this decade, but still, because it’s probably one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen, and infinitely quotable.

2. Bubba Ho-Tep

The second most important midnight movie of the decade. Brilliantly funny, touching, and dark. Bruce Campbell is always a treat to watch.

1. Donnie Darko.

Probably one of the most important films of the past decade, was the rebirth of the serious, non-ironic midnight movie, genius film all in all, despite Kelly’s wrongdoings in recent years. Don’t watch the Director’s Cut.

That’s all, folks. Leave your opinions in the comment section.

And now, without further adieu, Clockwork Orange.

Like many of these films, there isn’t much for me to say about them that hasn’t already been discussed ad nauseum. The film easily lends itself to comparisons to other Kubrick films, and it certainly doesn’t feel or look like much else that you’ve seen before.

I find that the story works a lot better in film form than in the book. I’m sure you are willing to agree/disagree with me. If so, feel free to leave a comment in the comment section. I just didn’t find the book too interesting and difficult to read at times, but enjoyed the movie.

I know that the original list I had posted on here had A Clockwork Orange before Godfather, but through some user error on Netflix on my part I ended up watching this before Clockwork. And it ended up working just as well.

This had been the first time that I have ever seen this film, and honestly I didn’t know what to expect. It wasn’t much like anything I had seen before. While there had been gang films before this one, but none that put the mafia in such a, well, not POSITIVE light, but in such a bright light.

This was a great film but my main problem was that the plot, which is great and had me on the edge of my seat for about the first hour or so, basically stops after Vito Corleone is shot and Michael Corleone executes some enemies of the family. Once they show Michael in Sicily you can basically walk away and not miss much, but then the plot picks up almost instantly and if you aren’t focusing you’ll miss some pretty key incidents.

All in all, a relatively great and beautiful film. Would recommend.

There really isn’t much I can say about this film. I didn’t enjoy it as much as everyone else did, but I certainly didn’t find it horrible. It would probably be better served by a repeat viewing, but I don’t want to wreck it for anyone who hasn’t seen it so I don’t really want to talk much about it. Feel free to do so in the comment section though.

Rosebud is Charles Foster Kane’s sled. There. Let’s move past it.

Rosebud represents lost youth. It’s appropriate that I’m running the Citizen Kane write up right after the Where The Wild Things Are post. This was not my intention, but I noticed a parallel between the two. WTWTA is about growing up, Citizen Kane is about the perils of that.

Citizen Kane is a truly visionary film by a truly visionary director. It’s one of the earliest uses of shaky cam and several other camera techniques used today, and it is one of the earliest biopics (it’s widely believed that the film was based on the lives of William Randolph Hearst and Orson Welles himself). It is widely regarded as one of the best films ever made, and let me tell you, it is.

There really isn’t much that I can say about this film that hasn’t been said already, so I’ll only say this: watch this movie.

the following post contains possible spoilers for a movie still in theaters. read at your own discretion.

I’m breaking my own rules set in place for this blog just to talk about this movie, so you better listen up. Where The Wild Things Are is quite possibly the best movie this year. It is definitely the best movie this fall season, and it blows almost every other hotly anticipated movie so far this year out of the water. After the jump I will tell you why.

Every film relies on five aspects in order to get its point across. Writing, Directing, Acting, Cinematography, and Score/Music. In my mind, a film must nail every aspect in order to truly be considered great. A well-written film can’t be poorly acted and still be considered great.

Very few films perfectly nail every aspect. Case in point, this summer’s best film, Inglourious Basterds.

Quentin Tarantino is a master of his craft, and usually he nails the casting aspect, except in this film. Really, only for one character. The popular Bear Jew, played by Eli Roth. Really, even, it isn’t bad casting until he invokes the name of Ted Williams after a brutal beatdown of a Nazi soldier and reveals how grating he really is.

Eli Roth CAN NOT ACT, and drags down almost every scene he’s in with his incessant mugging for the camera.

Now let me take you back to Where The Wild Things Are.

It would be just as easy to cast a gratingly “sweet” veteran child actor in the role as Max, but Spike Jonze went in a totally different direction. Max Records deserves an Oscar for this role, because I don’t think I’ve ever seen a child actor portray childhood so honestly as he did in this movie.

There wasn’t a single casting decision that wasn’t well made. Even the voice actors did amazing.

I could go on and on about how amazing this film is, but I’ll just touch on one last thing before I close: I’ve never seen a film about childhood do as good a job at making the viewer feel like a child and feel all the emotions a child would in this situation.

And with that, you owe it to yourself to see this movie as soon as possible.