Heroes, Gods, and Mad Geniuses!

Latest and greatest film reviews! With so many superhero-themed movies, both old and new, I have half a mind to create my own hero!

“The Green Hornet”

With a masked hero in a long coat and fedora driving a classy-looking car in the middle of the night, “The Green Hornet” has a classic appeal that somewhat resembles “The Shadow.” Unlike “The Shadow,” which was almost overdramatic, “The Green Hornet” never really takes itself seriously.  With a goofy slacker of a hero, this film bombards the audience with gracious amounts of wild comedy and wild action.  When the heroes aren’t blasting the hell out of everything and wreaking havoc, the main character comes out with some of the funniest lines, before duking it out with his under-appreciated sidekick.  There is hardly a dull moment in this film; it induces both adrenaline and laughter.

The story’s pretty well, showcasing a cast of relatively interesting characters bonding and forming the heroic duo.  It takes some stretch of the imagination to buy into this film, but since it never really takes itself seriously, it works.  I find it a little disconcerting watching the Hornet and Kato bickering so much; their chemistry works in many scenes and then explodes in others.  The added drama can provide an interesting and intense obstacle for the story, but it’s also a little annoying.  Otherwise, I felt the story overall was well-made.

The film has very slick and stylish photography.  Some editing effects are weird; you can expect to see lots of slow-motion fights, with markers highlighting enemies and guns like a video game.  A few other scenes show some very trippy and gimmicky effects.  But otherwise, the cameramanship is solid.  Acting is swell; Seth Rogan is perfect as the main character, Jay Chou is cool as Kato, Cameron Diaz is lovely as ever, and Christoph Waltz did okay (although I don’t think he had much to work with here).  Writing is not bad, and is often funny.  Production value is strong, showing plenty of cool sets, props, and costumes.  Music is okay.

Unless you have an aversion to movies that are fun and brainless, I see no reason why I wouldn’t recommend this to anybody.

4/5 (entertainment:  4.5/5, story:  4/5, film:  4/5)

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 “Thor”

Remember the post-credit scenes in “Iron Man 2,” where the Shield agents discover a mysterious hammer-like object in the desert? Well, they finally made a movie all around that concept.  “Thor” throws us into a world where Norse myth collides with the science-fiction Marvel universe in a surprisingly sublime fashion.  With this clever setup, we are introduced to the title character, who battles giants and mortal men alike with thunderous force.  There is plenty of action throughout this flick, and lots of beautiful special effects.  Even when Thor isn’t bashing the hell out of things, there’s enough character-driven drama to keep it strong.  And of course, nothing’s more amusing than watching an archaic deity walking among modern man; there are a few funny moments throughout.  It’s maybe not as action-packed as some of the other Marvel films, but “Thor” met my expectations perfectly.

The story’s a little predictable, especially if you’re already familiar with the comics or Norse myth.  But it is well-presented, and presents enough decent characterization to keep it fresh.  I do believe that something is missing; Thor never seems to learn much when he’s on Earth.  But he does learn something, and when the climax comes it makes good enough sense.

The film has good photography for the most part.  The frost-giant battle shows some rather jittery cameramanship and editing, but afterwards it’s all solid.  Some shots have some really funky crooked angles, but I think it’s cool.  Acting is great; I loved Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman in their roles, and Anthony Hopkins is a naturally good choice for Odin.  Writing is not terribly sophisticated, but it gets the job done.  Production value is phenomenal, with loads of excellent sets, props, costumes, and some very imaginative settings.  It’s especially impressive how the designers have adopted Norse myth into the story and designs to fit into a sci-fi niche, and still make sense.  The music score is not bad.

Recommended!

4/5 (entertainment:  4/5, story:  4/5, film:  4/5)


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“Megamind”

Superheroes typically win the fight and get the girl in the end, but what happens when a supervillain succeeds? We see maybe a little bit of that scenario with “Despicable Me,” but “Megamind” throws superpowers and heroism in the mix to more effectively lampoon off of the “Superman” mythos. As a result, we get a rather intriguing premise, gracious amounts of action and eye-candy, and quite a few amusing laughs. The comedy’s nice and slappy, with plenty of funny lines. Will Ferrell’s style of humor works well for the movie. It’s quite fun overall, and I’d put it on the same level as “Monsters vs Aliens.”

The story’s pretty unique; it borrows a little from other sources, but once it gets going it develops a brilliant tale of deception and dramatic irony. The middle of the movie drags maybe a little, and the film overall feels a little hectic as it jumps from one mad situation to another, and then tossing one or two bizarre twists. But it all works out sublimely in the end. It also helps that the characters receive decent treatment with some solid emotional depth.

The film shows strong animation quality. Movements are smooth, textures rendering and lighting are great, and the overall designs are stylish. It’s similar in style and quality to “Monsters vs Aliens.” Voice-acting seems good; Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill, Brad Pitt, Ben Stiller, are all decent. Music features a lot of rock songs, which seem a little arbitrary, but usually do fit their given scenes.

Casually recommended!

4/5 (entertainment: 4.5/5, story: 4/5, film: 4/5)

On Blu-Ray, I can detect a slight amount of jagged lines, aliasing, pixilation, and banding. But it’s very slight and small, and almost unnoticeable unless you got your face glued to the screen. It’s just a slight problem for me; the image still looks insanely sharp and clean, with good-looking colors and contrast (once again, I don’t see a problem with coloring). I seem to remember “Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children” having worse issues than this. Sound quality did not disappoint.

PQ: 4/5, AQ: 5/5