HANNA

“Sometimes children are bad people too”

            When I first saw the preview for Hanna I thought that I would just be watching a young girl with dark origins kick some major ass. This premise is the surface but the deeper plot is a standard “coming-of-age” story. From a toddler Hanna is hidden deep in the cold woods by her father, Erik (Eric Bana). For years Hanna is trained by her equally bad-ass father to be a weapon of revenge. As Hanna sticks to Erik’s plan she is submerged into a new world, one that fills the emotional and social needs that have been so lacking in her cold world. Who can blame her? At sixteen her social circle was daddy and the arctic moose.

            Hanna’s only connection to her mother is a photo booth sheet of pictures and her Grimm’s Fairy Tales book. At first I thought this was only chosen because of the family’s German origins but the core of Hanna unfolds like a true Grimm Tale. (The brothers would have been clapping at the end of the movie.) A gruesome revenge story that includes a Southern Witch, Marissa whose flawless appearance masks her true nature.  Like a Grimm tale the plot isn’t realistic but the story is more about the characters and their actions. That’s why director Joe Wright should kiss whoever casted the movie because the acting was top-notch. Saoirse Ronan, who plays Hanna, is very convincing as the sheltered wild-child. Even her fair unearthly looks set her apart. I also really enjoyed Cate Blanchett’s Marissa because the villain wasn’t super evil with no fear or emotions. Marissa is smart, manipulative, and a nasty perfectionist. But when she first witnesses what Hanna is capable of Marissa’s face is full of shock and horror, along with deep awe and pride at what has been created.

            The pace and the action of the film was nice and even, with enough ups to keep the audience always entertained but the needed downs to give us a breath too. The tension could have been thicker but I’m afraid something of value probably would have been traded. The downtime focused on Hanna’s interactions with an English family on vacation. Even though the family is odd in their own right they are a strong contrast to Hanna’s childhood experience. And provide comic relief which gets a thumb’s up from me.

Random bits:

-       Marissa was a great villain but her lead henchman, Mr. “I’m-too-evil-for-pants”, is winning the race for creepiest creep of 2011 so far (for all my Pride and Prejudice fans he played Mr. Collins!)

-       I loved Hanna’s friend Sophie, the English teen. I’m pretty sure some of her lines will be quoted soon.

Verdict: Great acting, good action, but not a complete plot. I believe its worth going to the theaters but if you are not completely sold defiantly catch Hanna at the dollar theater.

I am Number Four

Warning: There will be a few Number puns in this Review.

‘Allo Everyone! Holidays and a lacking at the box office have kept me from writing any reviews. Recap: Gnome and Juliet was cute but there’s definitely better animated movies. The Mechanic was actually a lot better than I thought it would be…no really. And Blue Valentine was pure Gosling Awesomeness.

It’s a trend with Movie releases that January-February tends to be movies that aren’t expected to make the big bucks. In the winter months people are more apt to stay home so studios don’t want to ‘waste’ possible hits on slow months. But then March comes around and the snow starts to melt (well figuratively for Florida) and the theaters have their own March Madness. I am Number Four has jumped the gun a bit and hopes to be the first big hit before anybody can claim that spot. Is it the hot new number for spring?

Nope.

Here’s the problem: this movie was meant to start a franchise, targeting teens with action, two hotties in love and teen angst. The plot was predictabe and I wasn’t surprise to find out that one of the writers of Smallville wrote I am Number Four. I felt like I was watching a glorified version of an episode. But honestly those two elements wouldn’t have been so obvious if the acting was better. Everyone has seen the story about the kid at school that has a secret. This hottie angst-y teen (Alex Pettyfer) is four of nine special aliens who escaped their home planet as babies before it was destroyed (uhhh……that sounds familiar). Apparently the baddies who destroyed their planet really want to make sure the job was done. Thus the first three are killed and now Four’s number is up! (Yes. I know. Awful.) There was just never a point that I felt wowed, I’ve just seen parts of this movie before.

Some things I did like: The two human characters, Sarah (Dianna Agron) and Sam (Callan McAuliffe) held more of my interest than the aliens. I usually don’t like females in teen movies, at least not how they’re portrayed but there was just something about Dianna Argon that makes her so distant but likable at the same time. McAuliffe character seems to be there more for Four to have a laughable sidekick, but the kid is so adorably geeky that I started to root for him.

The lady who saved the day (and my interest) was Teresa Palmer, who comes swinging in as Kick-Ass Six. Where the other eight choose to run and hide Six plans on finding Four and kick some Baddie Alien tushy! At first I wasn’t sure about Six because her first scene had a dumb slo-mo ‘walk through fire’ bit. Palmer’s abrasiveness (much needed throughout the film) is what made the fifth act for me. If the studio ends up making a sequel I hope its I am Number Six and from her point of view which could actually make the “franchise” more exciting.

So granted this movie is geared towards middle/high age so I might be out of touch and too old (apparently I am since all the teens who come into my work call me ma’am and look like I’m about to lecture them about some wrong-doing) but I think more thought and energy could have been put into the movie since this is suppose to be the next “big thang” (which I highly doubt).

Black Swan

The first scene immediately grabbed my attention. I don’t think one has to be verse in ballet to know the opening sequence is intense. And that air of suspense never lets up. Natalie Portman plays Nina, whose whole being and existence is ballet and becoming perfection. She has her eyes on being the lead in the company’s next performance. I’ve always enjoyed the music to Swan Lake but never knew that there was such a bleak ending. A Princess is turned into a white swan by a curse and only true love can break it. Cue the Prince! The story takes a turn when the Black Swan, who looks just like the White, fools the Prince. With no man and the dismal future of being a swan the White Swan kills herself. (Sorry to all the fans of the Swan Princess because I might have just killed childhood memories).

Who owns this movie is Natalie Portman. When a movie doesn’t have strong actors (or confusing plot) lines are usually relied upon to express emotions/thoughts because well….they can’t act. We’ve all seen it! But with Nina (Portman) no one needed to tell me what she thought or felt, everything was written on her face. Within minutes her actions and expressions showed she was vulnerable, obsessed, fragile, and oppressed. Black Swan is centered on the mental breakdown of a ballerina and if Portman’s performance didn’t fly this could have turned out to be a silly wreck. I mean horror and Swan Lake usually don’t go hand-in-hand, but they ended up being a good mash-up. Speaking of horror there is a ton of suspense and scary graphic images (couple that are still hard to shake). I am not a fan of horror, especially the gory, because the plots are usually ridiculous dumb and the acting is even scarier. If that’s the same ‘woes’ you are feeling then come on over to sophisticated horror (whoa….that has got to be an oxymoron).

With that said along with some pretty horrific images there is a lot of sexual content. To the point where people tend to react in nervous giggles because they don’t know what else to do (the row behind me). There are a couple of scenes that are very explicit and leave little to the imagination. The funniest thing to me is that Nina has some serious ‘hot-for-teacher’ going on with the company’s director Thomas, (and he is all about seducing her) but he isn’t in EITHER of the explicit scenes. So I would advise not making this a first date movie or take the parents (they can go see it on their own). I have to state that the sexual content isn’t just there to be there but has a purpose. All of it is woven in to the ‘transformation’ of Nina becoming the Black Swan.

Conclusion: Amazing, plan on seeing it again before out of the theaters, and I’m rooting for Portman to get an Oscar.

P.S. Happy New Year!! I Hope 2011 is an Fabulous Year for Everyone :D

True Grit

Merry Christmas Everyone! In lieu of giving each reader a gift I decided to give a better gift…. my review on True Grit :D. Actually I wish I could have gotten this out sooner but the holidays makes procrastinators out of all of us.

Soooo….apparently I’m the only one who didn’t know that True Grit was a remake of a John Wayne movie. Please don’t judge, I’ve never really been into westerns. I just remember seeing the preview before The Social Network and thinking that “hey this might be worth my time”. Guess my gut-feeling was correct because the in-pour of critical reviews have been full of praises. So here I am while everyone flies over to see Little Fockers (which I will not be reviewing at any point, sorry). I noticed that most of the audience probably has a subscription to AARP but the twelve year old boy who sits right next to me…and decided to give his commentary throughout the movie with Dad. Lovely. Here’s to hoping that my commentary is a little bit more worthwhile (though the little guy’s dad might not think so).

            I have to say that I was very surprised by the tone of this movie, some points the film was even heart-warming. My background with westerns is tough cowboys and a lot of fast guns and talk. The main character, Mattie Ross, makes it hard not to love her even at her most annoying points. The pacing is actually very steady and takes time to fully tell the story of the leading lady. Mattie (played wonderfully by Hailee Steinfeld) is in search of the man, Tom Chaney, who killed her father in cold blood. Since Mattie’s father was killed in another town she knows that finding Chaney wouldn’t be on the tops of anyone’s list. So Mattie does what any other fourteen year old girl would do, hire a Federal Marshal to hunt him down. And Mattie makes sure she finds the most ruthless Marshal, the nasty one-eyed Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges). I don’t know why but over the last couple of years I’ve just fallen more in love with Bridges (note: not a physical attraction). I love the bond that slowly forms between Rooster and Mattie. This becomes more interesting when the third wheel joins the group, Texas Ranger LaBoeuf (Matt Damon), whose been trying to bring Chaney to Justice for months. I know I might break some hearts but I’m not a Damon fan (save the musical bit he did with Sarah Silerman) and I thought he would be the downer. But lo and behold I loved his ridiculous character, maybe it was the facial hair and spurs.

            For those who think this will be a non-stop action ride you might want to reconsider. Not that I don’t think True Grit is well worth the money but there isn’t a lot of action, most of the gun-slinging is in the second half. But as I said before the pacing isn’t slow but the director just chose to concentrate on Mattie’s adventure. This was a wise decision because Mattie makes the audience care about Chaney and the outcome of the manhunt.

At the end of the day I’m glad that I headed with the AARP crowd to True Grit over Little Fockers. Little Fockers might have won at the Box Office but I’m pretty sure that I left True Grit more satisfied.

Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

I have no idea what kind of Narnia fan I am. I only read half the books when I was a kid and out of that I only remember two really well…..so half-fan? Anyways I don’t think I need to be an uber fan to know the last movie, Prince Caspian, was an uber downer. I, along with many, were hoping Dawn Treader would bring back some of the magic from the The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

            I don’t know why but the only part I remember of the book is the beginning and how the kiddies get back to Narnia. After watching the scene I now know how I want to go to Narnia. Forget the Wardrobe I want my whole room to fill with water and then be washed away into a painting. More dramatic. And of course Ben Barn*ahem* I mean Prince Caspian fishing you out is also a bonus.

            Actually Prince Caspian was not my favorite character (surprising I know) or Edmund and Lucy but Eustace. The younger siblings have to stay with relatives while the older two are with the parents overseas. Eustace is the cousin who hates anything illogical and fanciful (especially Lucy and Edmund’s stories about Narnia). He is such a brat and remains so throughout most of film but I loved the kid’s humor. He also seemed like the most realistic out of the characters as well. Caspian, Edmund, Lucy and Eustace all had personal challenges that they had to overcome by the end of the film but Eustace’s didn’t feel forced in anyway. I felt as though with the other three the writers were like “well we have to come up with conflict with each of the main characters so we will have some plot”. The point of adding the subplot of having the four face their fears/negative personality traits was to flesh them out but it kinda fell short. Lucy’s storyline was actually really touching until Aslan popped in to explain to audience what’s going on. Uhhh…..thanks. I know they were just trying to give Aslan more air time but I think we got the point.

            Hmmm….I hope I’m not sounding too negative because the movie was good, it just wasn’t great. Most of the add-ins to the plot actually hinder then helped. Anytime there is just “pure evil” it’s hokey to me even in a kid’s movie. I do think kids will enjoy the movie (and parents), there were just many things that could have been polished up. And it achieved being better than Prince Caspian. A key factor was also timing of the release. Many fell in love with Toy Story over the summer and were just wowed by Harry Potter. The standard has been set high over the past few months for kid-center movies.

Consensus: Dawn Treader is good flick to watch in the theater but not a must-see (unless you’re an uber fan).

127 Hours

**This review was actually posted a couple of weeks ago on Facebook. Decided to post it since it was the beginning.

Shocked. I didn’t know how else to described what I felt as I walked out. Did I love it or hate it? Or more importantly would I see it again. 127 hours is not a movie for the weak to be sure. Going into it most people knew the movie was about “that dude who survived being lost in the desert by having to hack his own arm off”. That dude’s name is Aaron and he was quite the adrenaline junkie. During a trek in the canyons of Utah Aaron falls because of a loose boulder, which ends up pinning his hand. Deep in the canyons where no one will ‘happen’ upon him and worse…..he didn’t return his mother call before he left. Nobody knows where he is.

            The rest of the movie we are with Aaron trapped in the cave for 127 hours (for those of you trying to do the math that’s seven hours over five days). Some might think, ‘Gezz….that’s got to get boring’. Oh no my friends this movie is anything but dull. Humor and heart even in the darkest moments and the cinematography is fast pace and just stunning (does anyone use that word anymore?). The suspense and perfect pacing of the movie also carries the audience. Every second brings you closer to the inevitable conclusion. I try never to spoil movies but I see this as more of a kindness for those with a weak stomach. Usually one wants to run out of a theater because the suck-level of a movie is just too much. But the movie is brilliant but ‘the scene’ was so uncomfortably real I wanted to run away crying. Take the R rating seriously because there is not much left to the imagination when it comes to the “hacking” scene. If even thinking about it makes one nauseous than you have two options. Rent and fast forward the scene or take someone who is kind enough to let you buried your face in the shoulder until given the okay. (On a side note I described to my mom ‘the scene’. I thankfully had no nightmares but sadly mom wasn’t as lucky)

            But this movie is so gut-wrenching because of the leading man, James Franco. He has come a long way from being just the hot guy from Spiderman (sorry Tobey). Franco is actually a really good actor and one can tell that he really cared about portraying Aaron and his story correctly. One of the most tissue-worthy scenes is the premonition Aaron has that kicks his survival need to high gear. I was so happy to find out at the end it really happened to Aaron. (And I’m not telling!).

            As of this moment I don’t really have any kind of rating system in mind but 127 hours is definitely high on the meter. It’s hard to find movies that are worth the big money to dish out but these 90 minutes is worth your time and money. After the first hours of shock I realized I wanted to see 127 hours again…..just this time I know when to uncover my eyes.