A fond greeting to you all once again. :) Today, I am begining a new titled blog entry, and this will from now on, accommodate reviews for films that I rent or see on tv that are best summarised. So even though the reviews will be short, there will be more films to talk about. Thos first entry is a poor one at first sight, but hang on... the third film is well worth hearing about. ;) So, ket us begin:

Sucker Punch

*deep sigh...* What else is there to say here, that hasn't been said already? Zack Snyder's big vanity project just falls and fails at every level of comprehension.  The story of a young girl accused of being mentaly insane for murdering her sister jumps so fast from art to fantasy, that there is absolutely no solid ground on which it can stand. The girls are portrayed in the most vulgar and de-powering style you can imagine, and their development is forced and weak at the same time.

And then there's the "story" here, of the main character delving into her dreams to play out tasks to aid their escape from the facility. Jesus.... it is like a sex-crazed adulescent just threw every fantasy he could imagine into a blender, with a PG-13 rating, and splurged it all on the screen. Dragons, robots, gatling guns, warriors, guns, swords, mini-skirts, and the non-existance of any violence or sense of danger, it's all here. There is no consequence to their travels in the dreams, and it is all so over the top, so completely vacant of emotion, that it's as interesting as a Powerpoint presentastion.

If films like Underworld, 300,and videogame sequences are your thing, this is right up your street. But as the entity of a movie, it's an immediete Fuck You. Not only is is lacking any basic elements of plot or character, but it is immensly degrading to the females that take part in it. Not recommended.

The Last Airbender

I know guys, this is a 2010 film, so why is it here? Because it is undoubtably one of the shittiest films of last year, and I had to see it with my own eyes. Being a huge fan of the animated tv series of which this is (barely) based upon, I felt it my duty to review it, and then banish it to the dusty pages of nothingness.

And was I right? Hell yes, this is one of the WORST adaptations I have ever seen. M. Night Shyamalan took one of the best animated shows of the past decade, and seems to have deliberately made it as bad as he could try. Casting, plot, pace, cinematography, effects, scrips, score, lighting, editing, and production, are all of a mediocrity that baffles me. The number of moments in here that are even remotely interesting can be counted in frames, not seconds.And the film assumes that the audience has seen the entire animated series, so it bypasses and dodges plotpoints almost every second.

One of my favourite shows has been so shamefully treated here, and it has ubdoubtably put back and other adaptation by ten years. This is a Fuck You to anyone who took part in this film. I don't care how much or little you provided, this is an absolute tragedy, and a shameful reminder of the lack of caring hollywood has for a franchise. Avoid at all costs, even if you never saw the show.

Super

Oh thank Christ, it feels good to be back to good films once more. And this one is a particular gem. It had no theatrical release here, so it was only today that I found it on DVD at the local video store. But it was worth the wait and the search.

The story os of a man (Rainn Wilson) who's newely wed wife has walked out, and s now with a very shadey character played by Kevin Bacon. Being a revovering alcoholic herself, she allows herself to fall into despair. But her husband, after a vision with God during his misery, takes matters into his own hands, and takes on a superhero alter-ego to fight injustice, and save his wife. That supero? The Crimson Bolt!

Sound like Kick Ass? Well, in ways it is very similur, but is not a rip-off by any means. It feels far more rooted in it's reality, even though that reality is very loose here too. The lead character shows much more vulnerability, including scenes of just breaking down in misery that just left me in awe of where the movie was taking the story.  Ellen Page and Kevin Bacon give fantastic performances here, especially considering the budget of the film.

The humour is very dark and unforgiving, the violence is untethered, and the mood is very low. And yet..... there is so much more to be found here. I think everyone could take a different understanding, especially from the ending, which still has me in deep thought and consideration.  I did not expect Super to go the way it did, nor take the turns and twists it did. But wow... I was happy to have been on the journey. It's a Full Price, no question about it. And is a film I would be happy to see again someday, that is, if I could track down the Blu Ray. Have a look for it in your video store, you might feel different about it, but you won't deny that it was a story well worth seeing.

Whew! And that's it for now everyone. Two God-aweful films, but amung the carnage was  something well worth seeing. Thanks for reading, see you again next time! :)

---nkWhiteStar---