Paul -- REVIEW

Hollywood had three alien invasions hit theaters this month, each dramatically different films. Disney's Mars Needs Moms is a family friendly animation, Battle:LA is an action heavy flick with an Independence Day meets Cloverfield feel, but it is Paul that clearly brings the house down with an amazing balance of story, comedy and geek-tastic references.  Although the box office might rank Battle: LA higher than Paul, I would not judge the films in that order.  I think Paul is a film that brings all elements of film-making together into a perfect package for sci-fi lovers.  I mean lets be serious here... sci-fi geek-dom is something known world wide and if you cannot laugh at yourself for being a fan of some of the craziest films to be made and probably even being one of those "obsessed" fans who dress up to go to 20-minute previews, or stand in line for HOURS, or rush the lines at (enter name here) Comic Con than what else do we have to offer this world?  I myself am a proud fan and willing to admit that I camped out to attend a 20-minute preview of Serenity as well as bought passes to both the NY and San Diego Comic Cons last year... not to mention drove cross country just to attend the events in San Diego... so for that fact alone I fit right in with writer Clive Owen (Nick Frost) and his illustrator Graeme Willy (Simon Pegg).  If you have seen the film you know what I mean.

Paul is one of those films that gives you a taste of everything that is great about sci-fi with amazingly funny characters that drive the story home.  The visual effects are well done that it doesn't even miss a beat.  It almost comes off like a live-action version of American Dad only with better human characters.  Graeme and Clive are some of the quirkiest characters I've seen since Fanboys but I love every bit of them.  Then there is Paul.  Oh Paul, you will win over the hearts of the human race and all it will take is the twirl of a finger and some inappropriate nudity.  Although I normally cannot stand Seth Rogen, I found him to be the perfect voice to give life to the extraterrestrial. Although Paul does steal the show (and rightfully so) the combination of Kristen Wiig (SNL, Whip It and Extract), Jason Bateman (Juno and Arrested Development), Jane Lynch (Glee), John Carroll Lynch (Fargo), and Blythe Danner (Meet the Parents) there is nothing but comedic gold from start to finish.

From amazing comedic timing, a great ensemble cast and a wide range of jokes, references and puns off of previous sci-fi films there is very little that goes wrong - well plenty goes wrong but the quality of the film has few flaws.  The two elements that I most enjoyed were the jokes made at "shock value", some moments even made me drop my popcorn they were so outrageous.  On top of that I felt a personal connection as the route I took while driving to the San Diego Comic Con took me to the infamous site used for the final scene in the film.  It was nice to recognize exactly where they were going and WHY.  Granted I am an 80s baby, but I was born in the late 80s so some of the references come from films and other references before my time.  However having a brother that is 12 years older helped me catch a lot of things that others my age missed.  I will confess I felt like quite the geek during my screening being over of the "older" people in the audience and actually picking up and laughing at some of the scenes and was shocked when it took the group of college kids sitting next to me the ENTIRE film to recognize who the voice of The Big Guy was.

Paul is a great flick to kick back and have a good time.  I'm actually considering going again to see if there are any additional references I missed the first time through.  I give Paul a 4 out of 5.  If you are a fan of sci-fi and have either attended a comic con or just love to laugh than this is your film.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus -- REVIEW

If given the opportunity to walk into your own wildest dreams, would you take it? Would you walk through a mirror, into the unknown, unaware of the actions or consequences of what that journey might be, and just hoping to come out the other side as close to the same as you went in? What if there was an incredibly attractive person sweet talking you into the idea? Terry Gilliam's film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is an interesting twist to the story of deals made with the devil. It is a little hard to watch at times, and at others the visual content over powers the story itself leaving you feeling almost dizzy. The film feels like a bit of a mash-up of the visual styles of Tim Burton and Guillermo del Toro, with a clear sense of madness present within each of his characters.

Heath Ledger plays Tony, who it seems all on his own embodies a collective of characters previously played by Johnny Depp. It was odd to watch him speaking like Jack Sparrow, and yet having Willy Wonka and even the Mad Hatter coming through. It was almost as though he modeled his character primarily off the works of the other actor, or rather that director Terry Gilliam had modeled this particular character after friend and actor Johnny Depp. I feel puzzled as to where the choice came from or if it was just something that might become apparent to only some, and yet I also question if it may have been caused by the extreme measures that had to be taken to complete the film after the unfortunate passing of Heath Ledger during production.

Ever since news was released regarding how Mr. Gilliam planned to complete the film I was a little hesitant as to how he would be able to pull off having one character played by 4 different actors. In a weird way Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell all have similarities that could make it a little easier for them to play the same character, but I questioned whether or not it would be effective or if it would hurt the film. If you have read any news on Mr. Gilliam's choice to use these particular actors you will know that it was done because these men were friends of the late actor, and the choice to keep it "in the family" was made out of respect for Ledger with the film being dedicated to him upon its release. It is touching to know that so many people offered to step up to the plate and help the production when the tragic news haulted the film, and even more so to know that Ledger had touched so many people's hearts and particularly that a director would turn down so many people and only choose someone that knew and could honor the memory of such an amazingly talented actor in the way that he should be remembered. Depp, Law and Farrell channeled Ledger in every sense, with hair and make-up added into the mix to help with the visual aspect. I just wonder what it meant to these actors to have such a weight placed on their shoulders to pull off this particular type of role. It was not just the role of a character, but also the role of upholding the memory of a fallen actor in his final role.

The world of the imaginarium, or rather what we see from inside Doctor Parnassus' head, is truly a fantasy world fit for any child's wildest imagination. This is the world in which we find Depp, Law and Farrell. Each time Tony walks through the mirror and enters the imaginarium, we are given a different glimpse of who he is and his face is never the same. The first Imaginarium Tony is played by Johnny Depp and in this world it is an upper east side class of woman that he entertains with his charm and good looks. The second imaginarium Tony is played by Jude Law, and in this we see the scheming, sly character in which we begin to see the true colors of who Tony really is. The third imaginarium Tony is played by Colin Farrell and it is at this point when Doctor Parnassus' daughter has fallen for the sweet talker and it is only through the help of another member of the traveling circus, Anton, do we finally see just who Tony is.

The sometimes overwhelming visuals highlight the traveling show and the magic of the imagination. I found that I sometimes needed to dig through the images to find the cast, even though I knew that on their own they would stand strong. The traveling show's crew was graciously made of up such talent as Christopher Plummer as Doctor Parnassus, supermodel Lily Cole as his young daughter Valentina, Andrew Garfield as Anton, and Verne Troyer as Percy. They are later joined by the collective cast of Tony's, and even Tom Waits who plays Mr. Nick whom Doctor Parnassus places bets with the devil for life, love and even his daughter's freedom. It is the ever betting man and his wagers with the devil that lead the story through Terry Gilliam's wild imaginarium.

As a whole the film is worth watching just to see what wild things Terry Gilliam can come up with. The actor's performances are great when you can see them, but the ever changing visuals sometimes become too much and you have to look away if only for a second. I would give this film a 3 out of 5 for story, but a 4 out of 5 for originality and imagery. As dedicated to Heath Ledger, the actors help up their part of the bargain and gave you a deep character that makes you think about life. Thank you Heath for such a great performance. You are surely missed as a shinning star and great talent.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon -- REVIEW

First off I should preface this by confessing that I am a big transformers fan: 1) I blame my brother for introducing me to the cartoon series at a young age and 2) I blame Michael Bay for making it look so badass to be a transforming robot.  I mean, let’s be honest here, Bay has created three films for a franchise that can now continue to grow by showing younger generations that “old” cartoons make for some pretty cool stories (and toys).


Granted, I should give myself a disclaimer, adding that Bay is not a great story teller, by any stretch of the imagination, and his films aren’t meant to be Oscar winning or anything close to that, but it is obvious that he knows how to entertain an audience.  But let’s digress, as I need to just throw this out there to who hate Michael Bay, perhaps you need to look beyond the story, sure there the story is faulty, but you do have to admit the skill Bay shows creating explosions and CGI transforming robots is the coolest thing and for the audience he is creating for, it is beyond cool.

So to all you Bay haters – Get over it! Stop beating yourself up trying to make Bay anything more than he is: a genius for bigger, badder things that go boom, with an eye for detail with CGI that make fans nerd-gasm in their pants.  Mhmm I said it, and all you out there reading this know exactly what I’m talking about.  Well now that that’s out of the way, let’s get down to the nuts and bolts of why we are here.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon is a visually stunning summer blockbuster.  Although, it clearly suffers a bit of a rocky start, leading with some awkward transitions in storytelling and poorly casted extras wearing highly recognizable full face prosthetics that make the actors look like the Barbie factory had a mishap in their Ken department, but by the film’s mid-point, you have all but forgotten the pathetic, torture of the opening scenes, and have moved on to enjoying Bay’s in-your-face entertainment.  But before too long you are reminded of the storyline when wait a minute… is that Buzz Aldrin making a cameo appearance (a la Stan Lee style)?  Hehe oh yes, it is. Michael Bay all but bitch-slaps the audience with the insanity of humans casted in various roles throughout Dark of the Moon.

So we have covered the astronaut appearance, and we know that Shia LaBeouf returns as Sam Witwichy, Josh Duhamel as Lennox, the whacky John Turturro as “Former” Agent Simmons, Tyrese Gibson as Epps, and thankfully Megan Fox has been kicked to the curb and replaced by British Victoria Secret model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley who is just a hot bod in heels.  Yet, it is the new faces that make cast dynamics so interesting; John Malkovich plays Sam’s insane boss Bruce Brazos and Frances McDormand plays the US Secretary of Defense Charlotte Mearing, each of their appearances almost brings about a Burn After Reading hilarity to an already outrageous film.  Without giving away too much I just want to add this, it is nice to see McDreamy get his ass handed to him by a kid.  But let’s not forget, the Transformers series is not about the humans… it is about the robots!

It was great to see the traditional characters back in action.  Bumblebee is adorable as ever (I’ve missed the teary eyed Autobot since Revenge of the Fallen), Ironhide is still a badass, and of course Optimus Prime who has a few upgrades of his own like a trailer full of new toys that he can combine to create even bigger explosions and Decepticon destruction. But it is the quirky Autobots like Wheelie and the addition of Brains and an Albert Einstein look alike Bot named Wheeljack that make it clear that Dark of the Moon is all about having fun.  Even the fact that the addition of Leonard Nimoy, who voices Galvatron, brings a smile to ones face and may even bring out some of the Trekkies.

My only real complaint with the Dark of the Moon is that after seeing it in IMAX 3D, I wish that Bay had stepped back and provided a few more slow-motion transformation sequences like those in Revenge of the Fallen was so full of.  There is so much taking place in Dark of the Moon, and with characters like Driller (Shockwave’s pet), the screen was so busy I had a hard to focus on all the action.  I, personally would have loved to have seen more CGI that the Transformers franchise has become so well known for, and yet maybe even another “big robot balls” joke or two.  But all in all the film is highly entertaining, well worth the money and 155 minutes spent in the theater.

Dearest Michael Bay I ask, will you ever again give us a film shy of the 120 minute marker? Although I will happily confess that I am an avid admirer of your “make it bigger” philosophy with regards to explosions, fight sequences and CGI effects, I feel you will leave me no choice but to do the potty dance as I race from the theater after your films.  Word to the wise: if you plan to see Transformers be sure to use the restroom before entering the theater and opt out of the Michael Bay size sodas that the concession stands are now selling.  This is just a warning for adults, come in pairs, one to watch the kids in the theater and one to make the multiply potty runs.