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Reviews
Tape 407 (2012)
This movie grew on me
And no, not like the Three Stooges joke - Girl: "You'll like me after we get acquainted. I grow on people." Curly: "So do warts!" The announcement at the beginning that this was a found footage video made me consider turning it off, but I'm glad I watched the whole thing. Unlike some of the others who liked it, I thought that the flight portion was the slowest part. It was after the crash that the actors really started to shine.
The first clue that this wasn't the standard disaster movie was the missing Annoying Hysterical Girl Who Keeps Asking Everyone To Explain What's Happening. She's usually the first to die, and with good reason. There was no Evil Angry Guy Who Steals And Hoards Resources, and no Annoying Blonde Bombshell Afraid To Break A Fingernail.
Melanie Lyons did a great job as Laura the Air Marshal (and she is Australian, so there was no discrepancy with her accent). But really, all the actors worked hard in their roles, and the overall effect was impressive. Even if the camera wobbled a lot (and so did the plot), in the end it seemed more realistic than a movie that was too heavily scripted. In the end it was reminiscent of one of the original Twilight Zone episodes in black and white, where there were no special effects and maybe not even that much set dressing, just good solid acting and a wicked twist at the end.
Was it my imagination, or did I see Green Beanie Guy pull kind of a pervert move while the passengers were boarding the plane?
Green Lantern (2011)
A worthy origin story and a fine beginning to the series
As a longtime fan of the Green Lantern stories, I hoped that the promise of the writers to respect the story line was not just something said to placate the fans. They weren't lying, and they didn't screw it up. The movie is a retelling of the standard Hal Jordan origin story which has been told so many times before. First we establish Hal as a skilled pilot, always in trouble for not following established procedures. He is summoned against his will to a crash site where he is given a technological (NOT "mystical") power ring by a dying alien. Soon after that, he is summoned to planet Oa, where he meets fantastic aliens and is trained to be a Green Lantern. At first, the other Lanterns doubt his skill and commitment, but his tendency to "think outside the box" allows him to defeat a powerful enemy and win the admiration of the entire Corps. This same story has been told in slightly different ways in the comics, on TV, in animated films, and now in a live action movie. And the movie did not disappoint.
Ryan Reynolds was excellent as Hal Jordan. In interviews prior to the movie, he said that he understood the importance of respecting a character that has been loved for more than fifty years by millions of fans worldwide. That respect came through loud and clear in his portrayal of Hal. Mark Strong as Sinestro was a joy to behold. He did a masterful job of acting, making the character totally believable. Peter Sarsgaard as Hector Hammond was wonderfully wacky, bone-chillingly evil when combined with Parallax, and I wish he could return somehow for another engagement. When a killer laughs while doing evil deeds, he takes the audience completely out of their comfort zone. Very nicely done, sir. Blake Lively was good as Carol Ferris, although she didn't seem to have much to do. And that's not a bad thing, since the movie was mostly about Hal and the Corps. I'm sure we will be seeing more of the lady code-named "Sapphire" in future movies. She was given a great line at a point where Hal expressed doubts about his ability to be a Lantern due to his fear. She said that it's not about being without fear, it's about overcoming fear, and Hal was good at that. It's what a power ring always says to a Green Lantern candidate, "Hal Jordan of Earth, you have the ability to overcome great fear. Welcome to the Green Lantern Corps."
Speaking of the ring, that is one of the few minor criticisms of the movie. The power ring, although not alive, can speak to the ringbearer. It can report the percent of its power remaining, warn the ringbearer of approaching danger, or provide the results of a scan. Maybe Hal didn't have enough training to bond with his ring telepathically, because all it seemed to do was produce a vibration sound like a pager. The ring has a voice. We want to hear it speak. Another quibble about the portrayal of the ring is that normally a ringbearer in space will be surrounded by a force field. In the comics and cartoons this is usually shown as being right next to the ringbearer's skin. In the movie it was shown as a dispersed electrical field around the ringbearer, but in the final scene in space, four Lanterns are shown hovering with no shield at all. Maybe this was just a continuity error, but they would not have been able to breathe without the ring's help. The final small nit-pick is about the theme song. There wasn't one. I wanted to hear a stirring and heroic Green Lantern Theme that would stick in my mind enough that I would be humming it on the way out of the theater. But instead of that, there was generic orchestra music. Think Superman and Superman Returns, or Star Wars, or even Ghostbusters. The Green Lantern Corps needs a theme song.
Now for the kudos. There were early complaints that the fans wanted to see the trademark Green Lantern uniform, with black sleeves and pants legs, green boots and body suit, and white gloves, and that an all green uniform didn't look right. But since the uniform is created by the power ring, it makes sense that it would not be static like a uniform made of dead cloth, but instead would be pulsating with power. The chest symbol was lighted (and Abin Sur's light went out when he died), and when Hal used his ring, the power was shown to be flowing from the chest symbol down his arm to the ring. The uniform works. The special effects and CGI were excellent. Some of the flight scenes reminded me of flying around Second Life as a Lantern. This could have been a great disappointment, but instead it was a joy to behold. And by all means, watch the movie in 3D. Unlike Avatar, where only a few of the scenes were in 3D, every scene in this movie has a 3D aspect to it. The opening scene all by itself has a jaw-dropping effect, and is enough to rivet the audience's attention. At times, there was almost too much action going on, like the scene at the party where people are running and screaming and Hal is using his power ring to protect everyone. It appeared to me that some partygoers were squashed, but they weren't. That scene will need to be watched again when the DVD comes out.
The few minor quibbles only slightly detract from an excellent Hal Jordan origin story. I hope the Green Lantern franchise makes a billion dollars and a hundred sequels. It's the finest comic book character around, and a great role model for kids.
Attack of the Gryphon (2007)
I enjoyed this movie
The SciFi Channel has produced some stinkers in the past. This movie isn't one of them.
A good movie must start with a good story. The story behind this movie has everything that makes a story worthwhile. It has great evil. It has a brave hero. It has a love interest. It has another hero conflicted between losing what he loves and saving it by using tactics that may be unethical. And it has a ticking clock, showing that all will be lost unless the desired goal is reached within a certain time period.
It has epic battles and humorous interludes and majestic scenery and stirring music. Oh, wait, that's the movie part. The best thing about this movie is Jonathan LaPaglia. I don't know why he's not in more movies. He's a great actor, and he makes his roles believable. He did a great job in this movie. Sarah Douglas portrayed his mother, the Queen. She had some great magic powers, but I recognized her from somewhere and couldn't recall where. Only after I looked her up on IMDb did I find that she played the Tok'ra Garshaw of Belote on Stargate SG-1. She was excellent. Amber Benson was great as the princess, keeping LaPaglia's character in line as a potential enemy but also warming to him as a love interest. In fact, I didn't see any actors who I could say did a poor job in this movie.
As I said, the scenery was great. The cinematography was pretty good too. There wasn't any camera shaking or zooming in and out or any of the other cheap tricks that make cheap movies. Yes, some of the scenes were dark. That's because they were shot in tunnels, where it's...surprise...DARK. The scenes shot outdoors in the daytime were...another surprise...NOT dark. I didn't understand the complaint there, but maybe I shouldn't read other people's reviews before writing my own. I don't recall seeing anything that made me think "Wait a minute, what was that thing that they just showed? I didn't see what it was/didn't understand why they showed that." So, good job there.
I enjoy some humor in my movies too. It was funny how Amber Benson's character didn't trust Jonathan LaPaglia's character at first. At one point, where things are getting dangerous, he asks "Can I have my sword back?" and she won't give it to him. And at the very beginning, when he asks how much time is left, his mother says "Until the next eclipse." He looks distressed and says "Seven Days." Now unlike some of the professional critics, I enjoy seeing a nod to an actor's other works. I was a fan of the TV series Seven Days, and I thought it should not have been cancelled, so I appreciated seeing the reference placed in this movie. I GET IT and thanks very much for including those two words in the movie.
Every reviewer probably has parts of the movie that weren't enjoyable to him. This part for me was the monster itself. The computer graphics didn't seem to be as sophisticated as they were in some other movies I've seen. When it flew over the armies on the ground, the troops ducked down as it went over but didn't seem to be affected. Yet in the very next shot, a significant percentage of them were lying dead. And the thing should have been killable. Early on, it was shown that it was affected by an arrow shot into it. Yet later, when it flew at low level over the troops, they didn't fill it full of arrows and kill it. I suppose if it had died right away there would have been no movie, but it seems to me that if you have archers in your army and an enemy is attacking, that enemy should be sprouting some arrows right away. Because of that, I couldn't score it a full 10 and only gave it a rating of 9 out of 10.