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.
Tag Archives: Adaptation
We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)
A long time ago a hateful loathsome woman gave birth to a sociopathic little shit who grew up and turned in to a murderer. There, I just saved you two hours of one of the most irritating movies to arrive in theaters this year. A waste of talent and of time, “We Need to Talk About Kevin” is about nothing more than the searing hatred felt between a mother and a son and what results out of apathy, neglect, and outright torturous mental abuse. This is basically the origin of Michael Myers. An upright well adjusted family bringing up a young boy in a suburban home, all of whom seem normal but are filled with maladjusted individuals who one day awake to discover their boy is a disgusting monster who offers nothing to society.
Submarine (2011)
“Submarine” isn’t just the anti-teen romance, it’s actually a film that doesn’t glamorize the romance even though it’s essentially about falling in love and losing love. Almost like a lost Wes Anderson film, director Richard Ayoade’s dramedy is a bold cinematic venture that dares to defy any preconceived freshman notions about his film making and fully grasps on to pretension (featuring title cards and monotonous narration et al). This is basically because our main protagonist Oliver is anything but a humble heroic young man. In actuality, he’s very much filled with enormous pretension, and enough self-loathing to garner expectations from the girls of his dreams that are rock bottom.
The Thing (2011)
In director John Carpenter’s masterpiece of contemporary horror cinema entitled “The Thing,” we’re told that not only is the beast of the film weak, thus forced to take on the shape and form of humanity, but it also acts as an independent species. So while we think we may be seeing one monster, there’s an off chance this thing is really multiple organisms struggling for survival by hiding in our skin. There’s no one true thing in the Carpenter film, possibly multiple or even dozens of monsters hiding in our skins that we’re killing off one by one who continue regenerating. The wholly unnecessary “The Thing” now in 2011, completely shatters such a thesis by informing us that yes there’s one thing, and yes, this is what it looks like. Within the first fifteen minutes of the film.
Superman: Requiem (2011)
Speaking as a hardcore Superman geek, I’m especially happy to see more indie filmmakers come out of the wood work to put on display their storytelling chops for Superman. What with the newest Superman film arriving in theaters in 2013, it’s especially pleasing to see more of the Man of Steel in the fan film circuit. I mean why the hell should Batman get all of the good fan films, anyway? “Requiem” is an admittedly ambitious and intimidating undertaking. Much like “Superman Returns,” it owes much of its mood and tone to the classic Christopher Reeve pictures, and director Gene Fallaize pretty much acquires the same atmosphere and implements the classic score the original Reeve films once had.
Young Justice: Season One, Volume One (DVD)
After the success that was “Teen Titans,” it was only a matter of time until the Cartoon Network in America decided to re-tap the well that provided them with top ratings and dive in to a famous title from the comic world. This time around, Warner has tackled the “Young Justice” brand, a title about the second tier young cohorts of DC Comics titan elite and their efforts to prove themselves to their elders. This time providing a sterner tone and more defined animation styles, “Young Justice” is a definite contender for breakout series of the DC label.
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Fourth time’s a charm for Marvel who have finally stopped trying to retrofit their banner first tier character Captain America and just outright accepted that for better or for worse their most iconic superhero is meant for his time period, a time during world war II where Cap Am could mostly come to use to bring down the Nazis and the evil Hydra. Who better to bring this retro character to the big screen than Joe Johnston, a man who successfully brought us “The Rocketeer” in the early nineties? Much of that same child-like enthusiasm and movie serial aura is carried over in to this new version of Captain America where Marvel finally gets it right.