Review: TRON: Legacy (Joseph Kosinski. 2010)

Everything a sequel should be; sexy, stylish and superbly entertaining sci-fi for fans of the original cult classic

After the disappearance of his father Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) when he is still a child, son Sam Flynn (Garret Hedlund) decides to go back to his dad's huge business empire Encom and finally search for him, taking him into the digital world of "The Grid" where he finds that his father has been residing for the past 20 years. However, the world Kevin Flynn once created in 1982 has changed and evolved, and become overrun by tyrannical counterpart, and so, along with the help of fearless warrior Quorra (Olivia Wilde), the trio must do battle against this overlord inside this visually stunning computer universe.

I loved this film! Technically incredible on just about every level, a feast for the eyes and ears, a totally mind-blowing 3D experience. Superbly choreographed action set pieces, a fantastically sexy and stylishly futuristic art and design style, a brilliant fusion of electronic and orchestral music (Daft Punk is an inspired choice and do one hell of a job, easily the stars of the show along with the visuals), and an intriguing, well developed (if slightly confusing at times) story driven by quality actors (Jeff Bridges is excellent in dual roles as are Garett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde and Micheal Sheen who is gold whatever he does), fantastic 3D (love how it kicks into 3 dimensions only when you are transported into The Grid), and all in all an awe-inspiring sequel that continues to revolutionise in the same way the original did. The world of Tron looks stunning with beautiful visuals ranging from awesome bikes and other assorted vehicles to sexy costumes all shining with florescent neon colours, a mix of sleek black and cool blue adorned with a fluorescent hue which looks deliciously unique and beautifully original.

I was never a fan of the original movie but this has got me interested in it again as the story is very interesting, i'd say it's another example of a sequel done right in both respecting the original and expanding on it, and joins the ranks of other great sequels which not only match their originals but in some ways surpasses them, if not all. I would probably say it exceeds the original as i enjoyed this one a lot more, but i don't want to downgrade the original which is a landmark film ahead of it's time.

However, when seen back to back with the original, they make two great sides of the same coin. If the original is underrated or a cult classic, then it's about to become more loved, respected and praised because Legacy really has updated the form and got me interested in the world of The Grid, and i'm sure a lot more people will find themselves falling in love with it as well and admiring the work of the original. The original must be seen to understand the sequel anyway (it pretty much continues directly from the last) so it will be great to have more people coming to it. Newcomers who haven't caught the original will be left perplexed, so Disney better get a move on and re-release the original on DVD/Blu-Ray because at the moment they have stopped making it, obviously planning to release it to tie in with the film, not very good when the original is essential viewing to understand this movie, a lot of people will be looking for it but denied access because it's out of print right now.

First time director Joseph Kosinski paints a stunning virtual world full of adrenaline pumping action sequences

My only complaints were the dodgy looking young Jeff Bridges (done with computer animation, at times he looked okay but the majority you could tell it was off and on the side of a Robert Zemeckis CG movie), an orchestral score that was very similar to Hans Zimmer scoring a Chris Nolan film (sounded like The Dark Knight or Inception at times with it's repetitive use of a few notes and droning noises which seems to be a recent trend with composers these days as i also noticed this in the recent score for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1, but the electronic side of the music fixed this issue so Daft Punk did great overall) and the often confusing plot which will only make sense to me once I see the original again, but otherwise this is quality sci-fi entertainment and well done, polished filmmaking; a superb sequel that brings the world of Tron back for a new generation. It's definitely a movie which takes the core element of what was so great about the first and updates it for modern audiences without losing what the purpose was about. It's a definitive sequel that does what a sequel should do very well; respecting it's source yet expanding on it and it's mythology- as well as respecting it's long term fanbase.

One of the best films of the year and possibly one of the best sequels ever, too. In a year full of strong movies anyway, Tron Legacy comes along as one of the last big movies, and one of the best, too! 2010 in film couldn't have finished on a better note.

9/10.

Review: Evil Dead Trap (Toshiharu Ikeda,1988)

A superb and highly underrated cult slasher horror that every genre fan should watch!

Looking at the title I thought it would be lame Evil Dead rip-off, but this is simply not the case. What it was however is a truly fantastic, creative and sickeningly brutal horror/slasher film with a very cool twist. Quite simply - brilliant!

Nami (Miyuki Ono) hosts a late night TV show specializing in the weird and bizarre. However, ratings for the show are sadly dipping- it's just not getting the viewers it should because the topics aren't interesting enough to gain audience's attention. As her producer tells her that the show will soon be cancelled altogether, twisted luck prevails. Nami finds a package on her desk addressed to her with a video which shows a camcorder recording showing directions to a secret location. Then it cuts to a scene of a woman being tortured. It's hard for her to watch, but curiosity prevails. Is it real? Is it fake? Is it a prank? Brave and determined and with nothing to lose, she decides to investigate further- after all, her job was at stake- and this could be just the story she needs to get ratings for her TV show back and possibly make it an even bigger success than it was before. Together with her film crew, they embark on following the strange video's directions which leads them to an abandoned warehouse where, unbeknown to them, will result in a terrifying night of sickeningly brutal ordeal as they realise the building is actually a glorified torture chamber rigged to the rafters with a variety of demented deadly death traps harboured by menacing monstrous murderers of which there is no escape!

This film was a real surprise for me, I wasn't expecting it to be any good but I was really, really impressed. Reminded me of a mix of the Saw and Phantasm series as well as inspired by classic Dario Argento, Lamberto Bava and other Italian/Giallo horror movies, complete with a very "Goblin"-esque/inspired soundtrack. Excellent direction, atmosphere, music, style (especially the use of some excellent camera angles and black and white photography) and some really wonderfully nasty special effects and gore- some of it was so convincingly well done that even I was reeling back in shock! The film was quite surprisingly unnerving as it features some very disturbing and disgusting imagery; from gratuitous scenes of sex and rape (the film stars Hitomi Kobayashi, a Japanese adult porn star who was very popular at the time, so it doesn't skip on nudity or graphic sex), to sick scenes of torture, violence, amputations and altogether relentlessly harsh death scenes executed in very fierce and creative ways. It really had a bit of everything and done really well providing some very good and unpredictable scares. A horror fan really couldn't ask for anything more.

A surprise at every corner for poor Nami in this hellhouse of horrors!

What I especially loved about it is that it was just refreshing to see a Japanese/Asian horror movie that didn't deal with curses, ghosts and freaky girls with long black hair covering their face like Asian films have been for the last 10 years or so. Before that trend got popular and overdone, here the Japanese were experimenting with some proper straight up sick slasher/snuff/splatter ideas with some insane imaginative flair that was really cool for a change (even though Japanese movies are now ditching the ghost/curse theme and going back to insane crazy gore/splatter stuff now). But this was cool and creative, 80s style, that really stood up well as something unique and special. Director Toshiharu Ikeda really has created something landmark here, it's a shame the film is so unfairly underrated as hardly anyone I know has heard of it and it hardly ever gets mentioned. But those that do will always be gushing about it! It's a must watch movie, highly recommended for all horror fans, especially if you love 80s horror with a good dose of lovely gore! In my view- it's a classic.

9/10

Review: Avatar: Extended Edition Director's Cut

Finally watched the Extended (16 extra minutes) version and I am very, very impressed. Even though I loved the theatrical and knew it needed work as it seemed cut down, i didn't expect the actual SE to be this good. Every scene that was restored was perfect and completely necessary. It really is a perfect vision now. I can't remember all the new scenes I watched but here's a rundown of what I thought:

The opening was superb- what a powerful, mesmerising shot of Jake in the city as they walk in slow-mo to introduce us to our world of the future. Very Blade Runner, the colours and design was fantastic. Though I never really had a problem with the original theatrical opening where it thrusts you into space (it was very much like 2001 Space Odyssey for me and worked great visually) but now the story is fleshed out more for the better- you understand better how the Pandora mission came to be, how wreckless Jake is and how he does things on a whim which is the central part of his character throughout the whole film. The image of Jake's brother's face on fire in the cremation was very strong as well, very cool meaning. All in all, a great opening and a great set-up which was cut out too badly in the theatrical.

The first glimpse of the sturmbeest herd as they graze was cool and very "Jurassic Park".

The school scene was very dark and added more depth and back story to Augustine's past. When she explains about what happened to the school later, it's also a very poignant scene where we understand more about here, as well as Neytiri and the ongoing war between the natives and the humans.

And extended scene where Neytiri and Jake walk a bit more into the night jungle was also very cool as we see more plant life and such.

Neytiri telling Jake her name was fantastic and a very worthy and additional scene. The film needed a formal introduction from her and what better way than here. Awesome acting by Zoe there with great animation and imagery of her eating. The little girl who shows interest in Jake was also very cute.

The crew getting off at the Hallelujah mountains and the shot of Jake looking up at the floating mountains from his wheelchair was awesome. I wish i could have seen this in IMAX 3D.

Jake's first flight test had a cool little scene where, at the foot of the mountains, he sees Neytiri fly past and they smile. Wonderful little moment there.

The Strumbeest stampede/hunt was awesome to watch but i think it's the only scene that felt misplaced. I don't think it flowed too well where it was placed, it just kind of felt shoved in there randomly. The scene itself was awesome and a great way to see Jake settle further into the clan but the scene felt like it stuck out, it just appears from nowhere. I also didn't like the music because it's just the battle theme again (probably because i've seen the battle too many times that hearing that music anywhere else seems out of place), but I can understand that using the battle music for this stampede links directly to when they are fighting in the finale, this time the RDA instead of sturmbeests, so it's a bit of foreshadowing as they fly, manoeuvre and use team work in the same way.

One scene which I was never happy with in the theatrical is when Jake and Neytiri first see that flying spinning lizard thing. In the theatrical it's just there with no emphasis on it- it's a wonderful little creation but it happens so fast in the theatrical that you don't have time to appreciate it and it seems that they just stick it in there for the sake of it. Now, in the Extended- we have a PROPER version where we see more of them and Jake and Neytiri play with them. Fantastic! It's like Cameron read my mind, it's exactly the scene i wanted improving, and it was perfect.

Jake and Neytiri's lovemaking was now perfect too. Showing them both doing the tsahaylu bond together was a nice touch and makes the scene make much more sense (before it looked like they were just dryhumping, now they are actually doing something). Makes the scene that much more intimate and gives more sense to when Neytiri says "we are mated for life".

The backlash towards the bulldozers where we see a shot of the burning machinery and the Na'vi shouting in triumph was a nice touch as well that leads onto the main battle, and gives the RDA a more personal reason to fight now. Having Wainbridge look at the casualties and report to Selfridge added more to this scenario as well.

Tsutey's death was hit and miss. I like how we get to see more of him as he first falls, and it's good to see that he gets a proper death (i remember asking what the hell happened to him when I first saw the movie in 09 and seeing a lot of people ask if he was still alive or not). But his death reeks of Boromir's last stand in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring "I will follow you my captain.." etc (and I really didn't need another scene like this after the uber-cliche "take... my...bow....protect the people...*dies*" scene with Etuykan and Neytiri earlier on). Still, a good and worthy send off for a good, under-apprecciated character. However, I was disappointed that we didn't see anything about Tsutey being shamed because his hair had been cut off (or something) like in the script. it would have been a nice detail to show the audience how important the hair is.

Other small scenes such as additional dialogue were well placed too. Augustine saying something like initiating the bulldozers as an excuse to go to war was again another stab at the Iraq oil/Afghanistan war scenario (along with Quaritch's "Fight Terror with Terror" line and the imagery of the tree being demolished being very similar to the Twin Towers crumbling), was nice added little touch there to further state this movie as being relevant to our times and a political statement/message that we all can relate to now (the main major point why this updating of this classic story works so well). Augustine talking to Jake about how he is losing weight and how she should stop smoking and such is also very good.

The only other thing which I was really looking forward to but didn't see is the shot of Neytiri pregnant at the end (i would have thought Cameron would have put this in here as it's in the script), but I guess he wants to do more with her before they have a child. But it would have been a nice little touch at the end.

Anyway, this movie is better now than it was before and the definitive version of it that improves on just about everything. I won't be watching the theatrical version any more. This Director's Cut is as significant, crucial and important as Cameron's Aliens Special Edition, T2 Extended Cut and The Abyss Directors Cut, hell it's as important as LOTR Extended Editions to me- deepening the story, characters, relationships for the better and making a better movie and experience. Top marks! THIS is the definitive version. I rated the theatrical a 10/10. Now, it's an 11/10 film.

Review: The New World (Terrence Malick, 2005)

Quite possibly the most beautiful film I have ever seen. Words cannot describe...this movie is pure art.

First time I have ever seen a Terrence Malick film and I don't know what to say, it was an experience I have never felt before. I was overwhelmed with a feeling of euphoria, I felt like I was in a dream. Every frame, every scene, every piece of dialogue was a line of a beautiful poem. I was overcome with sheer wonder, beauty, sadness, loss and tragedy. This film had it all, but most of all, it felt honest and "pure". Natural sights and sounds of the world without a single glossy shot of artificial CGI to ruin the pure, real beauty of the Earth and it's inhabitants. It's like I was there with them, the editing and camerawork fleeting around so naturally that it all felt real. The fight with the natives was probably one of the most realistic fights i've ever seen because it looked authentic- this is exactly how a fight would be. This film was completely free of all the conventional trademark trappings of a typical Hollywood film, it was done so differently, no cliches or anything. The movie rule book was thrown away. Everything unfolded as it would in real life and shot that way. This was a visual, sensual and sensory wonder, incredibly immerse and unique. The expression and emotion of love and sadness was so real and authentic, it was pure life, heart and soul captured on film- never have I seen such simple purity shown in a film before. The ending is probably the most powerful piece of imagery I've ever seen, and that in itself is simply a 5 minute sequence that is incredibly simple on it's surface, but in context, unbelievably moving.

It's simply an incredible piece of work and I was stunned with beauty as I was watching it. As it ended, I was still speechless. Afterwards I slept and dreamt but none of my dream could even come close to what was presented in this film. Here I am the day after and i'm still speechless, trying to recollect my thoughts of what happened. It's an experience I have never felt before and one I will never forget. Masterpiece isn't even the word. It goes beyond that.

The worst thing is, I will probably never experience anything like it ever again.

Castlevania:Lords of Shadow demo thoughts

So, I just downloaded the new Castlevania: Lords of Shadow demo, and here's my thoughts so far: Overall, it's decent so far.

Gutted I couldn't move the camera since I like to be in control of it all the time (and Gabriel looked really small on screen for me), but otherwise the demo was decent. The presentation in particular is excellent- the book which opens up to show you the moves, the little hand drawn animations of the character as it does a move that you want to learn, the art drawings in sketchbook style which show as part of the cinematics were beautiful. Voice acting is great so far of course (how can it not be, with the likes of Robert Carlyle and Patrik Stewart involved, to name a few) and the graphics are sublime. Combat was decent as well. Cinematics are excellent and the atmosphere, art and design in the game are of a very high standard.

Now, the cons...

I know the art style isn't Castlevania (it being a reboot and all) but i didn't think they would remove the music as well. It doesn't seem very "Castlevania" at all. It actually sounds like the soundtrack to The Lord of the Rings movies (in particular, The Two Tower), and looks like it too. Castlevania's music is very central to the series but there are no motifs here or any homages or references. Seems like a proper fresh start, which is a shame for a long term fan like me who at least wanted some connections to the roots, more than a whip and sub weapons.

Also, everything seemed too scripted and they use cinematics too much as part of the fighting system. The part where you have to impale that Warg (more LOTR similarities there) is a bit lame because it's just an animation that plays to kill him, and if you miss to trigger it the first time, it'll just repeat again until you get it right. Same with the horse riding; you just press the button when it prompts you to trigger the long cinematic to kill things. Unlike God of War where at least you control every part of the killing animations (to a degree), here all you do is press one button to start the animation, and then you just sit back and watch pre-scripted cinematic....whilst it looks nice and is very movie-like, it doesn't require any effort at all, and thus defies the purpose of me actually playing it.

Still, it all looks great, but I'm not doing much in it. That's my major gripe at the moment- I'm watching too much rather than playing....Kojima's influence there, no doubt :)

Other than that, it's shaping up pretty damn well, and i'm interested to delve into this world further. Roll on October 8th.