The Last Airbender

This is an exciting adventure film for all ages. It combines amazing visuals with a story about the quest of the Avatar. Though some may find the cartoon imitation more suited to teens and under, it has something for everyone: swashbuckling martial arts, a hero, creatures, a villain, and fireballs aplenty.

last_airbender_poster

The Last Airbender (2013)
Cast

Noah Ringer, Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone

Directed by

M.Night Shyamalan

Written by

M.Night Shyamalan

Other Info

Action, Adventure, Family
Rated PG
1h 43min

As I did for my last review, I watched a movie tonight in preparation for the podcast I’m doing with a new movie reviewing friend Darren Lucas. We’re set to discuss the movies of M. Night Shyalaman, this was another one I hadn’t seen yet.

It’s a story about a teen who has incredible “airbending” powers enabling him to defeat opponents almost effortlessly. I knew the basis of the character because my son watched this anime style cartoon when he was in elementary school.

It started out exciting. In some ways, I think M. Night tried too hard to make it look like the cartoon, it is live action. Nonetheless, it has a hateable villain that we are meant to somewhat have empathy for since he was burned by his father. It also has a pretty supporting actress. Her presence and acting reminded me of Hilary Swank in her old school Power Ranger character of the 1990’s.

There are some other great characters that do a good job supporting the Last Airbender in his struggle. Of course, there is almost credits-to-credits martial arts in a pseudo form. Throwing of fireballs is common.

I enjoyed the film, it was definitely an adventure. Another effect that some will find noteworthy is the cgi animal the Avatar rides. There are several creatures and they are done far more well than the creature in my last review of “After Earth.” M. Night definitely pulled together the right resources to make these effects work

My word to the wise: This is an amazing Action, Adventure, Family film. I usually don’t watch movies like this: anime, Naruto, the Avatar, etc. but I did love Speed Racer back in my younger breakfast-cereal-in-front-of-the-tv days. Still, I was glued to this one. What does it say about the work of M. Night Shyalaman? He can apply himself to multiple genres and create an entertaining film. After all, he has written screenplays for movies from the family film “Stuart Little” to the horror/suspense film “Devil.” For many other genres he has both written and directed the films. We see the child in him in “The Last Airbender.” It certainly brought out that childlike wonder in me. I recommend this one. It did lose a star with me because I would have liked to have seen it adapted more to the dramatic screen, relying less on trying to make it look like the carton.

After Earth

I don’t understand why the critics tend to rate this movie down. To me it was exciting and suspenseful. It had only one flaw: in a time of amazing technology (the film was made by Sony) the creature looked awfully fake.

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After Earth (2013)
Cast

Jaden Smith as Kitai Raige
Will Smith as Cypher Raige
Sophie Okonedo as Faia Raige

Directed by

M.Night Shyamalan

Written by

Will Smith (story) M.Night Shyamalan (screenplay)

Other Info

Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Rated PG-13
1h 45min

I watched a movie tonight in preparation for the podcast I’m doing with a new movie reviewing friend Darren Lucas. We’re set to discuss the movies of M. Night Shyalaman, this was one I hadn’t seen yet. There is one scene that reminded me of “Signs,” truly a masterpiece of his. When the boy is recovering from being poisoned by a pink giant roach, he summons the strength to face a large beast. It is like slow motion and reminded me of the scene when the father in “Signs” tells Merrill to “swing away. I found the vibe very similar. There is another scene like that I can think of in his psychological fun “The Village.” All three of those movies are definitely worth seeing and I recommend them.

The bare bones version of the story is that a son, trying to please his hero father, tries to do the impossible. Against all odds he is trying to save the mission. In the quest to be victorious, a best is faced. It’s a great premise for a story. Everything takes place after the earth has become uninhabited by humans.

My word to the wise: When I do a search on Google of this film, a lot of titles indicate that it is a production of “Sony Films.” I don’t know why but this liked peculiar to me. It’s as if they spent millions on the film but never got past the promotional sites it debuted with. It’s lees of M. Night “art” and more of a “wannabe” sci fi blockbuster that never made it the distance. Having said that, it was highly enjoyable as an action, suspense, sci-fi Obie. It didn’t have the signature of M. Night for me, which is a “twist” at the end. I got the feeling he was trying something new.

The Survivalist

A well-acted thriller set in post-apocalyptic foliage.

Most post-apocalyptic films focus on the water shortage (“Tank Girl”) or even gasoline (“The Road Warrior”. This film has famine as its hazard. It starts in a survivalist’s cabin that has food among starving people who don’t. As a result, conflict happens.

The Survivalist (2015)
Cast
Mia Goth

as Milja

Martin McCann

as Survivalist

Barry Ward

as Forager

Directed by
Stephen Fingleton
Written by
Stephen Fingleton
Other Info

Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Rated PG-13
1h 44min

An excellent film that captures attention with no emotion. The people we see here are shells of their former selves. Like “Mad Max” the world as we know it has been destroyed. People are scavengers making their way to survival. The “Survivalist” played by Martin McCann has fond a way to farm his own food. When I say food, I’m talking about things like leeks and radishes. It’s humble to be sure. Still, in a world that is starving, he is like a king. Furthermore, thieves would love to have their way with his produce and they are constantly trying to do so.

While the film starts out showing us nifty survival stuff, that passes. After that it is a subdued dialog between few drifters and most notably, an old woman and her daughter played by Mia Goth. Incidentally, in real life she is the fiance of Shia Lebouef. Once the girl shows up we see a lot of attempts at communication, mostly by the old woman, but we find that sex barter is the only thing that really allows them close to him.

I kept thinking about how it could get to this after an apocalypse. I mean, if we know no one can really do anything for us, do we continue being charitable? Is the Survivalist charitable? He comes close but I can’t say he ever is truly. Is this what we must become in order to survive? Is survival worth losing trust for anyone? These are the sorts of questions that came up for me.

The film has an eerie feeling to it and a surprising twist at the end. The events that precede that twist are important to recall. I’m not si sure U know what the twist really means. I have a hunch it’s more than I am relaying to you now. I will most definitely see it a second time but if you have any ideas, do tell! This kept my wife and I’s attention the whole time and for that reason I recommend it. Because it had no emotion, I felt it was somewhat lacking. Furthermore, there could have been more foreshadowing about the twist at the end. That’s why I took a star from the score.

Legend

Title: Legend
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama
MPAA Rating: R
Year: 2015
Director: Brian Helgeland, known for “L.A. Confidential”
Top Billed Cast: Tom Hardy, known for “The Revenant,” Emily Browning, “A Series of Misfortunate Events”
Brief Synopsis: The rise and fall of two real life mobsters who happen to be identical twins.
My Word to the Wise: Has all the stuff that makes classic Gangster movies. The fact that it’s real makes it all that more captivating. Tom Hardy is again at an acting high. This excellent entertainment. Highly violent though, maybe needlessly so at times. For that reason, I have to say leave the kids out of this one. The twins played by the same person failed a few times technology wise, it looked fake. Overall though, the movie works on many levels. I think fans of the genre and/or Tom Hardy will really like this film.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Title: The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
MPAA Rating: R
Year: 2015
Director: Guy Ritchie, “Snatch,” “Rock N Rolla”
Top Billed Cast: Henry Cavill, “Man of Steel,” Armie Hammer, “The Social Network,” Alicia Vikander, “Ex Machina”
Brief Synopsis: A film adaptation of a late 1960’s television crime drama. Themes, soundtrack, and visuals are very similar to 007 and “Mission Impossible” films. The story that involves time/date appropriate and overused cold war tensions.
My Word to the Wise: Guy Ritchie does a good job with visuals. He must have some cool apps for editing. Much of the film is spliced up like my “PhotoGrid” app on my iPhone 6 plus. Story, not amazing. I do like Henry Cavill’s voice. When he speaks, you can’t help but wake up. There are some cool stunts as well.

The rest of this review may contain spoilers.

Guy Ricthie can boast of being married to and divorced from Madonna. He can’t say he went to film school. In fact, he’s known for saying film school graduates make boring films that are “unwatchable.” I think Guy Ritchie should have gone to film school. He has a big mouth that his movies so far, for me, can’t back up. This film is shallow and not much more than an undergraduate’s best effort, given access to all the big boy director toys. Somehow this guy knows how to get in with the big dogs, unfortunately he can’t run with them. I’ll send him an application to Cal Arts. God knows he can afford the tuition. Having said that, it’s a nice presentation visually. It would be a good one to put on the HiFi surround sound on low at a cocktail party. Not much stayed with me.

Anomalisa

Title: Anomalisa
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Drama
MPAA Rating: R
Year: 2015
Director: Duke Johnson, not many credits to his name, Charlie Kaufman, known for “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”
Top Billed Cast: David Thewlis, known as Remus lupin in the Harry Potter films, Jennifer Jason Leigh, “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” “The Hateful Eight,” Tom Noonan, “12 Monkeys”
Brief Synopsis: What kind of story about our humanity can better be told through animation?
My Word to the Wise: Some will quickly turn off to this quirky, sometimes slow animated film. Others who have the patience to see what’s in here will be delighted by the characters, the sets, and the messages that are open to interpretation. It is a life we are watching, maybe it’s a microcosm of our own?

Source: Listen to Charlie Kaufman’s One-Hour, Career-Spanning Talk with Marc Maron

The rest of this review may contain spoilers.

Michael Stone is the main character here, voiced by David Thewlis of Harry Potter Fame, and he is working his way to a conference in Cincinnati where he is be the keynote speaker supporting his book. The book is on customer service. In a taxicab and soon after that in a hotel room, he begins having visions of his boring life. All the women he meets have a man’s voice as well, I should tell you that in case it becomes important. Through a sequence of events, Michael has a one night stand with Anomalisa.

He regards her for many reasons but mostly, probably, because she is the only woman in his world who has a woman’s voice. One more significant thing, at one point, Michael’s face falls off and he has robotic lights underneath. Such is the oddity of this film.

I liked it because of the beautiful sets and amazingly real looking stop action animation. If those two items don’t get you motivated to see it, you might save it for a rental. If you’re looking for something different, this dreamlike film definitely qualifies.

I found it oddly entertaining. Because it is too quirky at times and some of the messages, not all, are obvious and take a lot of screen time, it lost a point with me.