Movie Review -- 12 Strong

  Has it really been sixteen and a half years since 9/11? Has it really been four years since Lone Survivor? I think the better question is have modern-war films changed so little in the past four years?

  12 Strong is a film about the very first US special forces mission in Afghanistan following the September 11^th attacks. The team of Green Berets and CIA paramilitary officers try to assist the Northern Alliance forces in pushing the Taliban out of key cities, thus denying safe havens for al-Qaeda. I haven't read the book this film is based on but the plot seems pretty believable, I guess. It also seems very straightforward and lacking in depth. It's more of a “here's our mission; let's get it done” sort of film. A better title for 12 Strong could've been chosen as well. Sure there's 12 US soldiers, but they hardly did this mission all on their own. Besides, the main focus of the story is the relationship between team leader Capt. Mitch Nelson (Chris Hemsworth) and General Abdul Rashid Dastum (David Negahban), one of the Northern Alliance's leaders. The most intriguing part of the story is in watching these two men try to respect and work with eachother.

  As mentioned above, 12 Strong is a film that doesn't go too deep into the historical significance (post-2001) of its events, the ramifications of US involvement in the Middle East, or the ethics of war in general (which is something Lone Survivor tried exploring). This here is a good old patriotic war movie that doesn't try asking tough questions.

  Where 12 Strong does show depth is in its attention to detail. For example in one scene that takes place in a village recently liberated from the Taliban we see children flying kites and playing games, both of which were prohibited under the Islamic fundamentalist regime. The film also does a fine job of illustrating just how fractured and complicated a country Afghanistan is and that peace in this region of the world is a very fragile thing.

  A commendable amount of care was taken in portraying the US soldiers... sort of. Let me explain. Most of the soldier characters aren't all that deep – even the ones played by big name actors – but they do look and behave like real soldiers. Their work ethic and sense of hunour seems believable for special forces operatives. The actors – especially Negahban, Michael Pena, Michael Shannon, and William Fitchner – all do a fine job. Foremost among them is Chris Hemsworth who employs his charisma to satisfying effect as the embattled Captain Nelson struggling to hold fragile alliances together and work with the finite assets at his disposal.

  I should also mention that 12 Strong is a pretty good-looking movie with capable direction. Its action scenes are very thrilling and comfortably fast-paced thanks to the admirable editing on display.

In short, 12 Strong is your standard, easily digestible war movie. It's not dissimilar to Lone Survivor, although it is a bit less gritty and and has a more heroic tone to it. If you're looking for a war movie or action movie that isn't so heavy then 12 Strong might be worth a try.

P.S. – Will Fitchner's bald head looks really weird in this film, doesn't it?

Grade:

Top 20 Good Parts of Bad Movies, Part 1

Sometimes even bad movies aren't all bad. It's very rare to find a bad movie that has absolutely no redeeming qualities to it. A lot of bad movies have at least one good part – be it an actor, a particular scene, or some other element – that make the whole thing... tolerable, the only thing you might look forward to when you watch it. So for the next couple weeks I'm going to count down the Top 20 Good Parts to Bad Movies. For this list I've tried sticking to films that had only one redeeming element to them; so you're not going to see movies like Spider-Man 3 or Attack of the Clones because, while they weren't that great, they did have several individual good things in them. And keep in mind that my ranking of this list is very subjective. I tried ranking it in order of which movies benefited the most from their one good thing. Trust me, it'll make more sense when you read it. And lastly, I'm not counting things that are ironically good or so-bad-they're-good. So you won't see Tommy Wiseau's acting or Birdemic's editing on this list. So here we go.

Honourable mentions: the thumbs up GIF from Batman Forever, the hand-to-hand combat in Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, the baseball scene in Twilight

20. Jack Black as Augie in Airborne (1993)

If you don't know Airborne, don't feel bad. It's not worth knowing. Apart from Seth Green's ludicrous haircut the only thing of note here is a young Jack Black playing some jock/bully who has one angry outburst. Some hippie surfer dweeb is introducing himself to the class at highschool and Jack Black just jumps to the front, interrupts the dude, and shouts him down. It's pretty amusing. Thank you, Jack Black.

19. Colin Farrell in Total Recall (2012)

The Total Recall remake isn't a terrible movie; if you switch your brain off it can be modestly entertaining. But one can't deny that it's a derivative and wholly unnecessary film with nothing new to say for both science fiction and the 1990 original and is just cashing in on the original's name recognition. But at least Colin Farrell was pretty good in it. He makes for a decent action hero and he capably pulls off the whole everyman-being-swept-along-with-crazy-events thing. Still, he's not as memorable as Schwarzenegger.

18. Malcolm McDowell as Dr. Loomis in Halloween I & II (2007, 2009)

The two Rob Zombie Halloween films aren't very good. You might like them if you enjoy films in which everyone is a redneck jerk, there's tons of mean-spiritedness, and there's no tension or suspense... and if you never liked the original Halloween films to begin with. (On second thought, maybe I'll write an article on this one day.) But at least Malcolm McDowell makes a great Dr. Loomis. Sure, he's got an ego, he's not all that great a doctor, and this performance doesn't compare with the intensity and gravitas of Donald Pleasence's but this version of Dr. Loomis is still rather good. Like the original, he's an obsessed doctor who despairs at how he can't help Michael Myers. What makes him different from classic Loomis is that McDowell's Loomis sort of says “screw it”, becomes an arrogant jerk, and tries profiting off the whole mess which sets up his redemption later on. Again, this isn't as interesting as the classic Loomis, but it is by far the best thing about Rob Zombie's Halloween films and this mainly thanks to McDowell's performance.

17. The Three Stooges in The Three Stooges (2012)

As I've said before, I've been a big fan of the 3 Stooges since childhood. Who doesn't get some sort of enjoyment from watching a trio of chowder-heads slap eachother around and get into wacky hi jinks? The 2012 3 Stooges movie wasn't all that great, but the one thing it got right was really the only thing it needed to get right, and that's the Stooges themselves. (I mean, nobody goes into a 3 Stooges movie expecting groundbreaking cinematography or an expertly crafted musical score.) Chris Diamantopoulos (Moe), Sean Hayes (Larry), and Will Sasso (Curly) all play their characters to a T. These wise-guys so closely resemble the classic Stooges that it's almost eerie, they've been brought back to life. These three knickle-heads have done their comedic idols proud and 3 Stooges fans soitenly couldn't have asked for better.

16. The train chase in The Lone Ranger (2013)

Too little, too late? Perhaps, but one can't deny that the final train chase scene of Lone Ranger was some good fun. For once in this two-and-a-half hour movie, the thing doesn't take itself so seriously (or try cramming in some weird ivory fetishes). What follows is several minutes of some over-the-top Pirates of the Carribean-style spectacle with an impressive blend of special effects, stunt work, humour, fast-paced action, and the classic William Tell overture. If you're curious, then just watch this one scene and don't bother with the rest of the film. I guarantee it'll be the most fun you've seen on a train in movies since Spider-Man 2. All aboard!

15. The Battle of Passchendaele in Passchendaele (2008)

Canadian cinema doesn't exactly have the most enviable reputation around, and Passchendaele is no exception to the rule. Don't get me wrong, it isn't a terrible movie but it is a pretty dull one. To call it the Great White North's answer to Pearl Harbor wouldn't be that far from the truth. At times it plays like a history lesson, and not a particularly interesting one. There's only two battle scenes: a very brief one at the film's beginning and the titular 1917 battle toward the film's end. And this is a right proper battle scene as brutal as anything in Saving Private Ryan with perhaps even more grit. Canadian and German soldiers slog it out in the rain and mud, shooting, stabbing, impaling, drowning, blasting, and beating eachother in an orgy of death that is directed serviceably. It has some tense moments and you'll care about what's happening to at least a few of the characters. It is my belief that every country that produces movies deserves at least one really badass historical battle scene. This is Canada's and I'm proud to call it my own.

14. Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in Die Another Day (2002)

Sure he was just on the verge of being too old for the role, but Pierce Brosnan does do an alright job in his last outing as agent 007, which is one of the few positive things I can say about Die Another Day. If you read Arnold's Benediction often then you probably already know my thoughts on Die Another Day and it's a shame that Brosnan's last James Bond performance was in such a lame film (which seems to happen a lot to Bond actors). I consider him to be one of the better James Bond actors; a well-rounded, total package sort of performance. While not all of his 007 flicks were great Pierce Brosnan was often a highlight in them. Mission accomplished.

13. Jennifer Aniston in Just Go With It (2011)

I'm just going to come out and say this – and you're not going to believe me – but Just Go With It is a worse movie than Jack and Jill. It is half an hour longer with a wholly pointless, meandering plot, spotty logic, and wretched characters who don't care about anyone but themselves. The only lifelike, believable, down-to-earth one amongst them is the one played by Jennifer Aniston who has surprisingly good comedic timing and decent chemistry with the main character (the Adam Sandler dude; trust me, it's not worth the time to look up these characters' names). I mean yeah, it is obvious that they're going to get together at the end, but in a movie this bad I'll take what I can get.

12. Seth Green as Scott Evil in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)

Hmm. You know, I was originally going to mention how much I liked Seth Green in the second Austin Powers movie, but then I did some research and realized that most of his scenes that I liked actually took place in Man of Mystery (1997), the first film in the trilogy. But you know that's what happens when you've got three films with dull plots, shallow main characters, and recycled jokes that become progressively dumber and immature. I liked these films when I was 12 (big surprise), but since then my admiration for Austin Powers films has almost vanished. (Having said that I have come to appreciate the attempt at spoofing 1960's Bond films. There was at least a respectable amount of effort in that regard.) Having said that, the character of Scott Evil was a highlight for me, especially in the first two films. This may be perhaps because he is at one and the same time both the bewildered straight man/slacker of the Evil organization and a bright-eyed teenager who wants to be accepted by his evil mastermind father. It's brilliant. Too bad it's surrounded by dick jokes and poop gags.

11. Michael Ironside as General Katana in Highlander II: The Quickening (1991)

I think everyone already knows that this is one of the worst films ever made, so I'm just going to skip ahead to the good stuff. Michael Ironside is an actor I enjoy watching. He plays the tough guy/villain role well and his voice sounds so cool. In Highlander II we get all this and more: he hams it up a bit with goofy one-liners and jokes and over-the-top faces. It's just too bad that his character is dumb as a post and has no real motivation for doing the things he does... 'Dat voice, though.

Movie Review Repost -- Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2014)

Once again I don't have anything new to show you this week. You know what that means: a repost of an earlier review I wrote during my Facebook days. This week let's take a look back at Anchorman 2. This movie was brilliant. I loved it then and I love it now. And yes, I still think it's better than the original.

  Happy belated New Year, and what better way to start it than with Anchorman 2, the long-awaited sequel to one of Will Ferrell's most beloved comedies.

  Anchorman 2 takes place in the 1980's, several years after the events of the first film. Ron Burgundy and his wife Veronica Corningstone are both big name co-anchors in New York City, but when only Veronica is promoted to nightly news Ron becomes jealous and leaves her and their son Walter. It's now up to Ron to reassemble his old news team – Champ, Brian, and Brick – in order to help launch the world's first 24 hour news network.

  Anchorman 2 retains the cast of the previous film and uses them to great effect. The news crew guys are all great improv comedians. There are even a few jokes from the first film that are brought back with a new twist, like Brian's cologne cabinet and the joyously zany news crew brawl. Admittedly there are a few jokes that fall flat but they don't by any means ruin the scene. This movie is actually two hours long, but it never feels like it's dragging on for too long. Even the comparatively slow parts are still entertaining.

  Perhaps the biggest difference between this film and the first is that the plot in Anchorman 2 seems way busier. Both films had plots that were all over the place, but the sequel has more subplots and a longer running time (by about half an hour). This is a good thing because it gives Anchorman 2 the opportunity to tell a wider variety of jokes. This time we get race jokes and a more satirical commentary on modern TV news reporting. As with the first film there's a subplot about Ron having a rivalry with another prominent news anchor, but it's much more developed here than in the last one (basically just tacked on there). Perhaps most notably, Brick gets an expanded role and there also various subplots involving Ron's new boss Linda, censorship by the network's owner, and Ron's relationship with his son.

  In short, it feels as if there's more at stake: that there's more going on. And it's for this reason that I think Anchorman 2 is better than its predecessor. It may not be quite as quotable, but it is funnier and more enjoyable. If you liked the first movie (or any other Will Ferrell movies) then this one is definitely worth a watch.

Rating: three and a half stars out of five.

Movie Review Repost -- Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)

Remember when Sherlock Holmes movies were a thing? I do. They were both pretty good, entertaining films back in the day. In this day and age it's a wonder why they didn't try to franchise it up and make half a dozen of them. Oh well, at least we've got two fun flicks to look back on and remember. Speaking of which, here's the review I wrote for the second film back in 2011. Enjoy.

  The first new movie I've seen since September, Sherlock Holmes 2 is a fast-paced crime thriller well worth the time and money I spent.

  Like the first film this one takes place in 1891, but rather than just London, Holmes' investigations take him all across Europe to exciting new locations. Holmes and Watson are after a professor who is trying to start an international war by bombing high-profile targets posed as terrorist attacks because he owns several arms contractors and will get rich off a major war. Meanwhile Holmes' and Watson's friendship becomes strained, since in order to recruit Watson – just married – for this investigation Holmes had to interrupt his honeymoon. This two-hour plot has lots of action scenes and more subtle humour than the first Sherlock Holmes movie. Unfortunately, the ending is poorly handled and has some loose threads.

  As with the first film, Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law do a top-notch job portraying Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson respectively. The actor playing that French gyspy chick . . . meh. Irene Adler, investigator and love interest to Holmes from the first movie, is back but is killed off early in the film. It's not even a cool death; she dies like a chump.

  I found this film's editing to be astounding, especially during the action scenes where we get that slow-mo “bullet time”. The special effects work well, as do the impressive sound effects/editing. You'll feel as if you are right in the middle of those firefights. One thing that bugged me was the the movie's title. Why give it a subtitle? The first one didn't have one so why not just call it “Sherlock Holmes 2”? Maybe I'm just nitpicking; who knows.

  Despite its comparably minor flaws, Game of Shadows is still a fun and intriguing film. This movie has a little something for everybody. So if you're interested in seeing this one, I'd recommend giving it a try.

Three and a half stars out of five.

Top 10 Movies of 2017

  2017 is at an end, and it's been a great year for movies. Not a great year for the Hollywood establishment, mind you, but the movies last year were still great. My only regret is that in the past twelve months I focused too much on movies that were good and didn't take the time to go out and take risks. (I mean, watching bad movies sucks but at least it's fun to write reviews about them!) On the plus side, since I saw so many good movies this year, I can finally do a list like this: these are the top 10 best movies of 2017. Before I begin, keep in mind that this list only includes films that I saw in theatres in 2017. I did go to the theatres just 17 times since January so if there's a great movie you don't see here then don't get upset; I probably just didn't see it. (Or I didn't think much of it. You make the call.) Let's get started!

10. Ghost in the Shell

It's not racist, shut up. Ghost in the Shell is a fantastic sci-fi action spectacle with an amazing visual presentation. Fans of flashy, neon, 1980's-looking science-fiction will be very pleased at what imaginative concepts director Rupert Sanders and cinematographer Jess Hall have brought to life on the big screen. While the story of GITS isn't the most original, the film is held together by a strong performance from Scarlett Johansson. Despite knowing nothing about the original source material I found GITS thoroughly entertaining and I can't wait to see it again.

9. Split

(Yes, I'm aware that Split was first released at Fantastic Fest in 2016. But it didn't get released in theatres until this January so its inclusion here is fair. You got that?) I'm not exactly a big fan of M. Night Shyamalan and I knew that I was taking a gamble by going to see one of his films at the cinema. But I was impressed because Split was actually pretty good; the man should stick to thrillers. This unpredictable, claustrophobic flick is well directed and equally as well acted thanks to a standout performance by James McAvoy playing a dude with multiple personalities who kidnaps teenaged girls and locks them in his basement. All in all Split is an effective thriller that doesn't rely on convoluted plots or in-your-face special effects, just back-to-basics storytelling with a neat villain to keep your attention. If it sounds interesting to you at all, go check it out.

8. It

At number eight we've got another scary movie: It. It seems that Hollywood wants us to believe that all horror movies are fair game for a remake, but unfortunately the remakes are usually worse than the originals. It, however, is one of the few exceptions. This retelling of the story of Pennywise the murderous clown goes lighter on the story (and thankfully the run time) and heavier on the scares. The children characters are all well written and since the adult stuff is being saved for the sequel that means that we get more time to know them in this film. The 1980's setting was believable, not overly-done, and the scares were calculated just right. Horror fans rejoice.

7. Wonder Woman

Supergirl (1984). Tank Girl (1995). Barb Wire (1996). Catwoman (2004). Elektra (2005). Superhero/comic book movies centred around female characters don't have a very good track record, do they? So who better to buck the trend than the Amazing Amazon, herself one of the earliest superheroines. With its spectacular action scenes, neat setting, capable direction, compelling (some might say inspirational) main character, and superb performances from Gal Gadot and Chris Pine, Wonder Woman has also done wonders to make the DC Extended Universe enjoyable. This is largely thanks to its somewhat more lighthearted tone, something that this year's Justice League has also picked up on. It is true that Wonder Woman borrows a lot from 2011's Captain America. As to which one of those two films is better, it's up in the air... along with the invisible jet.

6. John Wick: Chapter 2

Since this movie came out on blu-ray I've rewatched it several times and it never gets old. The mind-blowingly well-choreographed and energetic action scenes are the most excitement I've seen in a film since the Darth Maul lightsaber duel in The Phantom Menace. Apart from that John Wick: Chapter 2 boasts intriguing world-building, spot-on acting from Keanu Reeves, kickass musical scoring, and distinctive visual styling. Since seeing this film in February I have watched the first film and while I found it to be very enjoyable I believe that the second instalment is the superior action experience. I simply cannot stress how refreshingly fun this film felt during my first viewing. To me it looks as if John Wick is set up to be one of the 2010s' best new action series.

5. The Disaster Artist

Haha, what a story, Greg. The Disaster Artist is a movie I've been waiting years to see and its arrival in December didn't disappoint. The story behind the making of The Room (2003) had a lot of potential, both comedic and poignant. This is something the writers and director (James Franco himself) knew well since the final product achieves weird hilarity and touching bromance/inspiration. Franco gives one of the most truly memorable performances of his career as Tommy Wiseau, a weirdo driven to succeed that you'll end up both loving and despising during this film's 103 minutes run time. I was slightly disappointed that there was some stuff from the book left out, but I do understand that it was sacrificed for the sake of a smooth pace. All in all, The Disaster Artist is a charming and fun feel-good flick. I would recommend seeing The Room first, but those who've not seen will still find this one enjoyable.

4. Logan

I've really liked Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. He's one of those few actors who's played the same character in so many movies that you can't imagine anyone else playing the role. It seems fitting that Jackman's (purportedly) final outing as Logan is his best. Imagine 2013's The Wolverine but with even more gritty badassery, more down-to-earth action set pieces, and a bigger emotional stake and you've got Logan, one of the very few movies I've gone to the theatre to see twice. It's violent, but also very emotional. It is easily the best X-Men movie in my opinion, and perhaps one of the best superhero films ever. If you like gritty R-rated action films or if you're looking for a superhero film that does things differently, then you need to check this one out.

3. Baby Driver

Even though I gave Baby Driver a 5-star review (which I still stand by) I wasn't quite sure where to put it on this list. Yes, it's an excellent film that's a lot of fun to watch thanks to its brisk pace, energetic camerawork, cool soundtrack, pulse-pounding action scenes, and lively characters. But the reason my review of it was so short was because there wasn't much to say about it in depth. Instead Baby Driver is an exercise in pure genre, taking all the best elements of crime-action films and packaging them into a sleek and stylish overall product. If you haven't had the chance to go see this one yet, do yourself a favour and check it out, because out of all the films on this list Baby Driver is easily the most enjoyable.

2. Dunkirk

For number two on this list we have the highest grossing WWII film ever made. Dunkirk tells the story of the allied evacuation from three different perspectives: soldiers on the beach, fighter pilots in the air, and sailors coming across the channel. It's a marvellous setup that provides plenty of moments of tense action as well as director Christopher Nolan's signature time-bending plots. His impeccable eye for spectacular cinematography is evident here, giving the audience a good look of working WWII-vintage props in action; CGI was used very sparingly. And of course Hans Zimmer contributes a soundtrack, this one adding a pulsating anxiety to the mix. This adherence to visceral realism makes the action sequences very gripping, recreating an authentic battlefield experience. And don't take my word for it; I took my grandfather with me on my second viewing. Having been a young boy in England during the war and serving in the RCAF, he confirmed that this film's aerial warfare was true to life (except for that gliding shoot-down near the end). On the whole, Dunkirk is one of Nolan's best films to date and will likely be remembered as one of the best war films of this century.

1. Blade Runner 2049

As good as Dunkirk was, my choice for 2017's best film was an easy one. In an age of slap-dash sequel cash-ins Blade Runner 2049 was made by people who truly cared for and respected the masterpiece that was the original Blade Runner from 1982. The story told in this cerebral sequel – which will turn your expectations upside down – builds upon and adds to the world set up in the original rather than just recycling the same plot and world elements. The visual effects are of the highest quality and they bring to life some of the most mind-boggling concepts and breathtaking environments. Sure, it doesn't look much like the classic 1980's film we remember, but this sequel takes place 30 years later so it makes sense in the context of the world 2049 takes place in. It's a great way of staying consistent within the series while at the same time showing us something new. This also comes from the dazzling visuals of director Denis Villeneuve and cinematographer Roger Deacons; few directors could have done a better job with such a project. Overall, Blade Runner 2049 is a remarkable achievement in sci-fi film and it's a real shame that it didn't do so well at the box office. It isn't most necessary sequel ever, but it is definitely a worthwhile one.