It’s a shame when a movie has such potential to be greater than the whole of its sum and fails to live up to it in the end. That’s the case with “Green Lantern,” a movie with great promise to be one hell of a space epic with fantastical elements and a killer weapon, and yet… when all is said and done, “Green Lantern” is just a rank mess, a blunder of script faults and horrible exposition that jumps from scene to scene and only manages to pick up once our hero Hal becomes the Green Lantern. And then when he becomes the Green Lantern it’s all the movie is about. He becomes the Green Lantern and…? Nothing else. “Green Lantern” has the promise to be so much more than it puts on the screen, but what it makes up for in action set pieces it lacks in severely uninteresting characters.
Category Archives: Movie Reviews
Melancholia (2011)
Lars Von Trier’s examination of the apocalypse is a truly divine and ethereal cinematic experience that not only dares to explore the lasting effects of the end of the world, but also dwells on two states of mind concerning the end of the world. Like “On the Beach,” Von Trier examines the world putting on a show for itself in the wake of the apocalypse. In this version of the end of the world, Earth is destined to clash with an unknown planet from behind the sun. After centuries hidden, the planet tagged Melancholia by Earth’s denizens, has finally reached Earth’s orbit and is destined to smash in to our planet as the days progress.
Tangled (2010)
“Tangled” may not be from Pixar, but I’m of the opinion that it deserves as much love as a Pixar film from Disney does. Because as a film that hasn’t been animated from the famous sub-company, it’s surely a breathtaking absolutely imaginative fairy tale that conquers the Rapunzel and adds its own post-modern twist. Though I was initially horrified that this would be a simple “Shrek” clone, “Tangled” is very much in touch with Disney’s sensibilities. It’s more a fairy tale than a comedy and really plays on fate and destiny like traditional Disney tales than trying to hurl self aware comedy at us every single second the film plays. “Tangled” takes a rather boring story and adds a twist to it by offering up more in depth characters and plays on coincidence teaming together two lovelorn selfish individuals and giving them a reason to care for someone else outside of their own needs. That’s what “Tangled” is essentially about: two people who find something to care for beyond themselves and the tangled mess that occurs when they decide to compromise and help one another.
Final Destination 5 (2011) (DVD/Blu-Ray/Digital)
It pains me that we have to sit through the “Final Destination” films when it can be developed in to something with a rich mythos and an overreaching story arc that ties together various characters. Instead it trots out one death after the other and insultingly introduces a new plot element that is not only ridiculous but until now was never mentioned in a movie. Again “Final Destination” sets up a series of questions and never answers them. So I’m left asking why. And with no successful answers. Because the producers behind “Final Destination” don’t feel the need to turn this series in to a semi-intelligent franchise, they just want this to be the films with the outstanding deaths.
Warrior (2011)
At the end of the day when the dust settles, “Warrior” is going to be called a sports film. But deep down it’s a family film. It’s a man film about the male dynamic and the utterly fragile relationship between brothers that can be easily hampered by bad parenting. Most of all bad parenting by their father. “Warrior” is the big film of the year that will get many comparisons to 2010’s “The Fighter,” but in so many ways, Gavin O’Connor’s film is superior. Because while the previous film explored the all too common dynamic between mothers and sons, “Warrior” explores the father and son dichotomy, the fractured relationship that can blossom from years of alcoholism and disease.
The Muppets (2011)
When last we saw the Muppets, it was 1999, we were following the muppets in to space and we were finally learning the secret behind Gonzo. And, let’s face it, audiences weren’t exactly clamoring to learn about Gonzo and his origin. Especially in the midst of game changing movies like “The Matrix” steamrolling theaters. This 2011 reboot basically acknowledges how antiquated the muppets have become in a society bred on computer animation and 3D and how dusty their parts have been in the face of a new generation. In spite of the nostalgia, the muppets aren’t exactly the most popular property out there and the makers behind this fully acknowledge that and create in the process a revival that’s both a tribute to the muppets and a hopeful restart of the franchise once and for all. I can’t be the only one hoping for new Kermit and Fozzy films.
Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011)
It’s very rare these days that a film can be unsettling without having to resort to cheap tactics to manipulate its audience in to feeling so. Most often horror movies are given the burden of making audiences feel uneasy and queasy while delivering something gory or horrifying. The truth behind “Martha Marcy May Marlene” is that is it the most unsettling and outright disturbing film of the year, and isn’t necessarily what one could call a horror film. It packs in frights in small portions through the persona of the cult our protagonist Martha is hopelessly leashed to, but it isn’t necessarily a horror film. “Martha Marcy May Marlene” is about the subtleties, the quirk in facial expressions, and the flick of the face.