VIDEO GAME REVIEW: Bastion

One thing that was immediately apparent during my first experience with Bastion was what devoted attention had been put into all aspects of its development. Beautiful hand-painted visuals contrast the somber attitude of the game's setting, while the music and voice work engross the player into the world just as much as the frenetic, wonderfully balanced combat. Bastion feels like a labor of love, and this attention to detail makes for a refreshing and beautiful single player experience.

What's left to fight for in the wake of Calamity? Bastion asks this and much more with its simple but evocative narrative. Assuming the role of The Kid, a rare survivor of a catastrophic event, it is up to you to build a safe haven and find what you need to survive in the game's shattered world. The Bastion, a floating island presided over by the game's husky-voiced narrator Rucks, is in a sorry state when The Kid first finds it. Scattered about the world are shards of crystal that can restore the Bastion to its full power, and it is up to you to find them. Whenever a shard is returned to the Bastion, you are able to build one out of a selection of structures. These buildings include everything from an armory, which allows you to equip different weapons and abilities, to a memorial, which unlocks a set of criteria-based challenges that may be completed in exchange for currency.

The game's combat is fluid, fair, and most importantly, fun. Enemies you encounter are challenging and varied, each with their own weaknesses and attack patterns. The fighting system is easy to get the hang of, but a variety of factors keep it from growing stale. The Kid discovers quite the arsenal to choose from during his travels, and very few of the weapons feel underpowered or gimmicky. They all have their uses, whether it's striking at foes from behind cover with the Brusher's Pike or clearing out large clusters of enemies with the Scrap Musket. If the combat isn't challenging enough for your tastes, you can visit the Bastion's shrine to invoke the powers of a variety of gods-- each one adds a different difficulty modifier such as increased enemy health or striking power. The game even boasts a New Game + feature for those that can't get enough after their first playthrough is said and done.

That big guy's more mobile than he looks.

While The Kid is busy battling through waves of foes, Rucks provides a persistent stream of narration, describing the environment around The Kid as well as crucial snippets of back story. These lines of dialogue often comment directly upon whatever The Kid is doing, which keeps the narration feeling spontaneous and fresh. Throughout the course of the game you can take three trips to Who Knows Where, an arena-style zone that pits you against waves of enemies. Between each wave, Rucks fills in intriguing bits of background story for three main characters in the game. This narration technique is something that could easily have proved disastrous and gimmicky; here however it works perfectly, adding a startling amount of emotional depth to the world of Bastion.

Bastion's sound design is another of the game's triumphs. Most instrumental tracks suit the environments they highlight perfectly, sprinkling on momentum and suspense at just the right moments.  You'll find yourself humming along to the two vocal tracks in the game for days afterward.  Here's a sample of one of them (though to be fair, context aids the impact of this song immensely):

 A brilliant premiere title for Supergiant Games, Bastion is a must-play game for fans of action-RPG's or creative storytelling alike. Priced at $15, this game is a steal for the amount of variety and play-lengthboasts. Show support for passionate independent developers: buy this game!

VIDEO REVIEW: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

This week we have another studio's attempt to kick-start a tired franchise... and it actually turned out pretty well.

VIDEO REVIEW: Captain America: The First Avenger

Rounding out the Marvel lineup this summer, we have Captain America: The First Avenger.  Even with the lackluster villain, I must say they saved the best for last- I haven't seen a Marvel movie this good since the original Iron Man.



The way this movie avoided relying on blatant and ham-fisted patriotism was refreshing.  It would have been all too easy to make Captain America a symbol supporting America, the country/governmental body.  Instead, he's a representation of the ideals America often claims to have been founded upon: Courage, heart, determination, comradery.  Ironically, it's his own country's ignorance of these traits and reliance upon judging him by his outward appearance that often leave him feeling misunderstood or underestimated.  Go check out this movie for yourself: it's certainly worth your time.

VIDEO REVIEW: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Here's our review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. i flew solo for the review this week, and this was filmed all in one take, so it's a bit less refined than usual. I didn't get to say all I wanted to in my review because we were hurting for time while we shot it. I thought it Isaac also makes a guest appearance to review the new Winnie the Pooh movie, which he went to with his nephew.







As an added takeaway from this review, I'm going to jot down a few additional thoughts on this film.

• It was an adequate finale to the series, but didn't live up to the hype I had built up in my head for four years.
• The main action sequence was disappointing to me because it lacked tension and a sense of fear for the main and supporting characters.  Rowling offed a bunch of characters in this battle in her book, but only bothered to tell the reader this after the battle was over.  Similarly, we never see any characters we recognize in danger in the movie's battle.  This was an opportunity for Yates to communicate the stakes of this conflict and ratchet up the battle's tension by giving proper onscreen deaths to some of the more beloved characters of the series.  he fails to do this, however, leaving their deaths seeming empty and meaningless.
• The first death in the movie is played for laughs, and we see bloodied corpses by the dozens, but the main villain just *SPOILER ALERT* just floats away in a cloud of ash?  Talk about anti-climactic.
• Warwick Davis gets some well-deserved moments in the limelight for his two Harry Potter roles, Griphook and Professor Flitwick.  It was nice seeing some of the ancillary characters given a few moments to shine.
• When Harry, Ron, Hermione make their triumphant return to Hogwarts about halfway through the film, I got a little chocked up thinking back on all the films and how much this imaginary school of wizardry meant to me while growing up.  There are some great moments of emotion in this film, despite my nitpicks and complaints.  The scene in the ghostly King's Cross Station, Neville's impassioned speech to his classmates, and Snape's backstory (though a shadow of it's literary self) are all excellent reminders of why Potter fans have grown to love this series so much. 

We'll miss you, Harry.  You've had a long and occasionally uneven run, but you've meant the world to a generation of readers and moviegoers alike.

VIDEO REVIEW: X-Men: First Class

Well, it's been quite a while since my last post.  Over the past month I've been busy getting married, enjoying my honeymoon, and getting settled into temporary accommodations, so forgive me if my posts have fallen by the wayside.  Here are a few links to reviews my new brother-in-law Isaac and I have filmed in the meantime.

This first one focuses on X-Men: First Class, an excellent return to quality for the series (in at least my humble opinion).



Second comes Isaac's solo review of the disappointing Green Lantern, filmed while I was honeymooning in New Orleans.



Coming soon, the Snob and the Slob will have reviews finished for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 and Captain America: The First Avenger.  I also hope to have a discussion of the critically acclaimed animated film Persepolis posted shortly.

VIDEO REVIEW: Kung Fu Panda 2

This week, we have an overview of Dreamworks Animation's latest entry, Kung Fu Panda 2!

VIDEO REVIEW: Pirates of the Caribbean 4

Here's our weekly Snob and Slob review, this time for On Stranger Tides.  We had some technical difficulties this week, so we didn't get it out as early as expected.  Better late than never, though!

VIDEO REVIEW: Thor

Here's a new series I'm rolling out with my soon-to-be brother-in-law Isaac Junk.  We're calling it "The Snob and the Slob".  This was more of a test video than anything, but there will certainly be more in the future.  These are our initial reactions to Marvel's latest comic book film adaptation, Thor:



Check back next week for a video review of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides!

Kurosawa and Miyazaki: Good Reasons to Start Watching Foreign Films

This week is a little slow on the new release front, and I'm bogged down with final classwork before I graduate; this being the case, I'm going to skip attending a movie this week and make a quick plug for foreign cinema.  Ignoring a few exceptions that have gained mainstream recognition (Pan's Labyrinth, Amelie), the average American moviegoer doesn't often bother watching foreign films.  While making an effort to expand my repertoire of cinematic knowledge, I've become more and more interested foreign films.  The differences in style, substance, and composition are fascinating.  Mostly though, I just love getting glimpses into other cultures and their artistic values.

Though I've watched films from many different countries in the past few years (Sweden, Italy, France, Germany, etc.) I've found myself drawn in particular to Japanese cinema.  So far, I've sampled a large selection of works from two influential Japanese directors: Akira Kurosawa and Hayao Miyazaki.  The films made by these two directors have had a great effect on American cinema, and  are very accessible due to their relatable themes and engrossing cinematic style.

Kurosawa (1910-1998) was a pioneer for Japanese cinema, and he was held in very high regard by many  American filmmakers who often drew upon his work.  A Fistful of Dollars was adapted from Yojimbo, Seven Samurai became The Magnificent Seven, and The Hidden Fortress was a major source of inspiration for the original Star Wars. 

So far I have viewed two of his films. Throne of Blood, is a retelling of Shakespeare's Macbeth.  Set in feudal Japan, a commander named Washizu rises to power after having a prophecy told to him by an evil forest spirit.  Washizu, played by the renowned Toshirô Mifune, is a compelling lead for the familiar tale.  The film has a very slow and deliberate pace, focusing on Washizu's inner conflict and the inevitable ways in which his schemes unravel.  This pace may be off-putting to certain fast-paced modern sensibilities, but the familiar story makes this movie an accessable option for American viewers.

Seven Samurai is a fantastic film about a group of out-of-work samurai who are hired to defend an isolated village from raiders.  What made this film work for me was the varied and strong cast, the camaraderie the group of samurai builds as they struggle to do their duty.  The comic relief character, Kikuchiyo, stole the show for me, though this is probably due to the fact that he reminded me of an old elementary school friend.  The battle scenes are elaborate in scope and well-executed; they have a sense of reality and consequence that current films often fail to capture.  This film is a true epic and is not to be missed.  It's run time clocks in at a hefty 2 hrs 40 mins, but I was sucked in for the ride and hardly noticed the time going by at all.  This is a must-see in my books.

Master of an entirely different genre, Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator whose films resonate with Japanese and American viewers alike.  His movies have been nominated for several academy awards, including his 2003 winner for Best Animated Feature, Spirited Away.   Whether illustrating children's movies or mature action epics, Miyazaki's unique visual style is well worth looking in to.  At this point I've seen a good chunk of his filmography, only missing one or two of his notable films.  I've yet to see a film of his that I didn't enjoy on some level --even lesser entries like Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind are so visually fantastic that a stilted storyline is easily overlooked.  Far and beyond, my two favorite Miyazaki movies are Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke.

Spirited Away is the story of a young girl named Chihiro who, on her way to move to her new home in the suburbs, becomes lost in a world of spirits and monsters.  Her parents are turned into pigs by an old which, and Chihiro is forced to work in a bathhouse to earn their freedom.  As strange and unfamiliar as the visuals of this movie may seem, this movie has genuine heart and beauty as Chihiro comes in to her own and works toward her goals.  Spirited Away is a wonderful tale appropriate for a family viewing (so long as the kids aren't too young- there is some disturbing imagery throughout).

Every hand-animated frame of the movie is alive with incredible detail and action, and there is always something new to see on repeated viewings.  I first saw this film on television at 3 a.m. one lonely summer night.  Groggy but unable to sleep at the start of the film, I was immediately entranced and struck by this films emotional power and message.  It's a difficult feeling to describe.  Suffice it to say this film holds a special place in my heart.

Princess Mononoke one of Miyazaki's more adult films.  A young man named Ashitaka searches for a cure to the curse placed upon him by a corrupted boar god.  Along the way, he becomes entrenched in a struggle between an industrious mining town and San, a mysterious girl who leads the creatures of the forest to attack the people destroying their habitats.  The film has a decidedly environmentalist message, and its depictions of war and violence earns it a PG-13 rating.  Whether you're in the mood for a child's coming-of-age tale or for feudal battles and fantastic creatures, Miyazaki has a film to sate your appetite.

The vast majority of Miyazaki's films have been released on DVD in America through Studio Ghibli, a branch of Pixar.  Though I'm not usually one for dubbed films, the English voice tracks for Miyazaki's films are of fine quality and star A-list actors such as Liam Neeson, Patrick Stewart, and Uma Thurman.  If you can't stand subtitles, you can't go wrong with Studio Ghibli's English renditions of Miyazaki's works.

Well, there you have it.  If you're itching for something outside of the Hollywood norm the next to you want to watch a movie, I strongly recommend the four movies I've detailed here.  Be adventurous and explore these movies: I promise you they're unlike anything you've seen before.  Who knows? Maybe they'll spark a passion to explore other foreign films as well.
 

REVIEW: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter book series is widely credited for its broad appeal, imaginative characters, and thrilling narrative.  Though the film adaptations of the series (the first of which was released in 2001) have sported a spot-on cast and brilliant visuals throughout, the majority of the movies have failed to fully grasp the depth and intricacy of the series’ storyline and emotional appeal.  When it was announced that the final Potter book would be split into two films in order to do the story justice, fans of the series rejoiced.  Harry Potter andthe Deathly Hallows: Part I (out on DVD this week) is by far the best Harry Potter movie to date, and is a testament to the benefits of giving a film adaptation time to fully explore its source material. 

 

This far into the film series, it would be futile to sum up previous events.  Suffice it to say Deathly Hallows: Part I continues to follow young wizards Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) in their fight against the evil Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes).  On the run from malicious forces, they leave their friends, family, and beloved school behind as they search for six objects that may hold the key to Voldemort’s destruction.  

  

The film plays catch-up in its first few scenes, rapidly introducing characters crucial to the plot that the filmmakers had neglected to introduce in previous movies.  However, this is done much more delicately than I had expected, the introductions scattered among reunions with beloved and familiar characters from throughout the series.  The plot flows seamlessly from that point on, striking an excellent balance between action and suspense.

It has been an incredible thing these past ten years to watch the three young stars of the series grow older and mature in their skills as actors.  Harry, Ron and Hermione spend much of the movie in hiding, cut off from the rest of the world as they plan their next course of action.  While a good deal of the character development in the previous films was driven solely by plot and action, Deathly Hallows: Part I focuses much more upon atmosphere and emotion, allowing Radcliffe, Grint, and Watson to build upon the relationships of their characters like never before.  For instance, the scene where Ron must confront a manifestation of his insecurities and nightmares is stunning in both its power and by how far the filmmakers were willing to go to visualize Ron’s worst fears.

The movie surpasses its predecessors in art direction and special effects, as well.  Having left the fantastical halls of Hogwarts behind, Harry’s magical battles for survival are all the more potent in their contrast with the realistic confines of London diners and alleyways in which he finds himself confronted.  CG characters Dobby and Kreacher are top-knotch, and an unexpected animated folktale narrated by Hermione toward the end of the film is spectacular in its visual simplicity.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I is the Potter film fans have been waiting for.  With it’s dark atmosphere, tight script, and talented cast, it is the first Potter movie that may actually surpass the quality of its source material.  If Part II can live up to this precedent, only time will tell.  I grew up alongside these characters with every new book release, and it’s going to be hard for me to say goodbye once the last movie has its run.  But for now, I’m content that one a much beloved series seems to be ending on a high note.

REVIEW: Hanna

A stag trundles through a barren wooded landscape.  Flitting from tree to tree, a small blond figure with a bow stalks behind it for a few moments before firing and killing it with one shot.  So begins Hanna, a movie about a young girl (Saoirse Ronan) who has been trained for years in isolation by her father (Erik Bana) to be a skilled and efficient assassin-- all so that she can kill Marissa (Cate Blanchett), the leader of a defunct secret government agency.  For those of you who saw last year's superhero spoof Kick-Ass, Hanna is for all intents and purposes Hit Girl: The Movie.  There are plenty of ways this film could have made its premise unique and interesting.  However, thanks to a threadbare driving narrative, inconsistent characters, and occasionally lazy camerawork,  Hanna is an unremarkable action adventure that chokes on genre cliches.

So what do I mean by non-existent plot? Well, around ten minutes into the movie Hanna's father produces a transceiver that, when turned on, will alert their enemies as to their location-- supposedly in the hopes that Hanna will be taken into custody and given an opportunity to kill their unsuspecting target.  This is precisely what happens, except that Hanna kills a decoy, and thus spends most of the movie on the run, thinking her mission has been completed.  The problem is, the audience isn't given any reason why Marissa needs to die, or what the point of Hanna's whole mission was to begin with.  A few details are filled in toward the end of the movie, but these only raise more questions; the film's abrupt ending lacks closure and significance because of this lack of emotional investment.

While Hanna is on the run in Europe, she tags along with a vacationing family, befriending the teenage daughter Sophie (Jessica Barden).  This family is meant to show what sort of relationships Hanna has missed out on living isolated in the wilderness, but they come off as either dense or (in Sophie's case) shallow and vapid.  Other than that, the actors do a fairly decent job of working with the script they were given.  Ronan has a good deal of screen presence for her age.  Tom Hollander's portrayal of the preened and sweatsuit-wearing hitman Isaacs is genuinely creepy and makes for the only interesting villain the film has to offer.

But at least the movie will have some good action, right? Well, sort of.  What fight scenes there are are well choreographed, but they're few and far between.  The movie relies much more on other action movie mainstays than anything else: the sterile "boardroom of evil" exposition scene, characters that are introduced and killed in the same scene, the government agent calling in a favor to an old friend, the ridiculously-conspicuous-henchman-follows-the-hero scene, and the hero's uncanny ability to ignore the negative consequences of having a bullet lodged in her gut... to name a few.

Hanna struggles to find its driving theme or identity.  There's not enough action to make it a popcorn-flick, and the complete lack of character growth ensures that it can't be considered a character piece either.  Save your money for now: there are plenty of promising summer blockbusters on the horizon.

The Hunger Games films: Next big teen sensation?

The critically-acclaimed young-adult trilogy The Hunger Games, written by Suzanne Collins, has for the past few years been a best-selling hit among teens and adults alike.  As of this moment, Lionsgate is gearing up for a film adaptation of the series in the hopes that it will become the next Harry Potter or Twilight sensation.  Now that the principle cast has been announced, I'll be taking this opportunity to provide a crash-course on the first book in the series, an analysis of who has been cast in the lead roles, and some predictions about the series' future.

It just so happens that earlier this year I worked my way through the series myself- they're fantastic, whatever age you are.  So: The Hunger Games is a science fiction tale set in North America in a war-ravaged future.  The United States have been decimated; out of its ashes several small districts rose into existence.  Over time they were subjugated by the oppressive Capitol and were formed into the collective nation of Panem.  As a means of keeping these districts demoralized and in-line, the Capitol holds an annual lottery among the teenagers of each district, eventually selecting one male and one female per district.  The "winners" of this lottery are forced to compete in the Hunger Games: a survival competition where the contestants are placed into an arena (filled with harsh environments and deadly traps) and must fight each other to the death until there is only one victor remaining.

Meet Katniss Everdeen: a 16-year-old from Panem's poorest district, District Twelve.  When her younger sister Prim is selected to compete in the Hunger Games, Katniss volunteers to take her place.  Along with District Twelve's other competitor, a baker's son named Peeta, Katniss must travel to the Capitol and prepare herself for a fight against contestants from the richer districts that have trained for the Hunger Games their entire lives.  Though Peeta aids Katniss in her training, once she's thrown in the arena, Katniss must survive by relying only on herself; there can only one contestant out of twenty four can walk out alive, after all.

Now, given the popularity of these books, it's easy to imagine the giant dollar signs that are sparkling in the eyes of the Lionsgate executives right now.  There's everything they need in this series to make a Twilight-esque success story out of this series, most obviously through the fact that there is a series-long  love-triangle between Katniss, Peeta, and Katniss's best friend from back home, Gale).

Let me stop all of you right here and clear something up: no matter what these execs seem to think, these books are nothing like Twilight.  Katniss is a strong, powerful protagonist that actually a definable personality, unlike a certain Mrs. Edward Cullen.  Though there is the love-triangle subplot, the focus of the series is on Katniss's continued struggles and defiance against the totalitarian Panem government.  Make no mistake, these books are brutal in their depiction of wartime violence and the atrocities that humanity is capable of.  And it is 100% completely devoid of sparkly vampires.

Now that that's off my chest, let's move on.  Even though these books are infinitely more mature, intelligent and powerful than Twilight, that doesn't stop the fact that Twilight wins big at the box office.  I have no doubts at all that in a few years time, The Hunger Games is going to be topping box office charts.  However, it is all too easy to see a Hunger Games movie trilogy that has been completely re-tooled to capitalize on teenage angsty love.   I really hope that I'm wrong in predicting this; I truly hope that these books get the adaptation they deserve.  It's hard to be sure though, with the announcement of who will be playing the male leads, Peeta and Gale.

A while back it was announced that Jennifer Lawrence will be playing the role of Katniss.  She looks nothing like Katniss is described in the book and is too old, but hey: she's been nominated for an Oscar.  A role like Katniss needs someone who has the chops to handle the emotion behind the character, and not just be a vapid stand-in.  The men, on the other hand... well, them I'm not so sure about. According to official sources, the pair were cast for their chemistry with Lawrence; this is necessary, to be sure, but it worries me that this immediate emphasis on attraction legitimizes some of my concerns.  Josh Hutcherson (The Kids are All Right) will be playing Peeta, while Liam Hemsworth (of Knowing... "fame") will be playing Gale.

I'll let you draw your own conclusions... on one hand, it's good that they cast relative-unknowns: these roles will, in all honesty, likely be their defining roles for years to come.  However, with such little cumulative acting experience this big-budget production could be starting down a rocky road.  Without quality actors to give these characters some heart and depth, this story could easily devolve into a brain-dead action-romance.  I, for one, am hoping that they don't mess this up.

REVIEW: Sucker Punch

Dawn of the Dead.  300.  Watchmen.  The Owls of Ga'Hoole.   These are the four major films Zach Snyder has previously directed, and they all have something in common: they're adaptations.  300 and Watchmen were originally graphic novels, Ga'Hoole was inspired by a popular young adult book series, and Dawn of the Dead was, of course, based off of the 1978 original.  Snyder's unique visual style helped bring these adaptations to life onscreen in a way no one else could have.  His talent lies in presentation and adaptation, not original storytelling.  So what, you might ask, is Zach Snyder doing with a screenwriting credit in his latest film, Sucker Punch?  I'd like to know that myself right about now.

I can only assume this movie was named for what you want to do to the ticket vendor when you walk out of the theater.

On paper, Sucker Punch sounds like an ideal template for Snyder to work his slo-mo action magic: a young girl nicknamed Baby Doll (Emily Browning) is wrongly committed to an all-female insane asylum by her evil step-father, where she retreats into worlds of her own imagining in order to devise an escape plan.  The problem is, what could have been an intense exploration of the power of imagination turns out to be four incredible action set pieces that are each bookend-ed by coma-inducing exposition scenes that reach new levels of cinematic ineptitude.

What the movie trailers don't tell you about this film is that Baby Doll's imagination doesn't take her straight from the asylum into the action sequences that represent her escape.  Instead of imagining a world that makes her feel powerful and in control, Baby Doll mentally retreats from the asylum by imagining it to be a burlesque house where she and the other women are routinely whored out to patrons by the business's abusive owner (Oscar Isaac).  How exactly is being an unwillingly prostitute a better situation than being trapped in an insane asylum?  Sure doesn't seem like a comfortable daydream to me.  Snyder himself said that this film is an examination of female exploitation in a completely non-exploitative way.  I'm not even going to try and illustrate how many ways that isn't true.

Anyway, in this fantasy burlesque house, all the women are trained to perform sultry dances; when Baby Doll is forced to dance, we get treated to an Inception-esque shift into a second level of fantasy- Baby Doll's dance is represented by a snowy scene where she battles ten-foot-tall samurai warriors that wield gatling guns.  I kid you not.

Before the battle, Baby Doll is told by a mysterious old man her brain made up that she needs to collect four items to escape the asylum.  The rest of the movie follows this formula: Baby Doll "dances" (insert random action sequence here) to distract oafish asylum workers while the other girls steal the items she needs.  But wait... if the action scenes represent her dancing in the burlesque house, what does her dancing represent in the real-life asylum?

We hardly see anything about her actual life in the asylum- the entire "plot" unfolds in the burlesque house.  However, since that scenario isn't real, I didn't care about what happened to any of the characters.  Why couldn't the action scenes just be a symbol for what she did in the asylum itself?  Why did the burlesque house have to be in the movie at all?  Everything is overly complicated, especially considering that the dialogue is written with the subtlety of a... well, of a ten-foot-tall-gatling-gun-toting samurai. 

Yes, the action scenes are impressive and imaginative, and they wowed me in a way that cg effects hardly ever do anymore.  But with a director-written script as lazy, convoluted, and downright awful as Sucker Punch's, there's no reason to care about anything that's happening.  Thankfully, Zach Snyder's next film, Superman: Man of Steel, is a return to what he does best: riding to success on the shoulders of pre-existing intellectual properties.

REVIEW: Paul

Comedy writers Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have made a name for themselves spoofing popular movie genres with their zombie-comedy Shaun of the Dead and buddy-cop parody Hot Fuzz.  In Paul, the duo take on the science fiction/alien genre... or begin to, at least.  Within the first ten minutes of the film, British sci-fi nerd Graeme (Pegg) marvels at being in America and asks his friend Clive (Frost) "Can you believe we're really here?"  While Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead were decidedly British in their comedic choices, Pegg and Frost claim they tried to give Paul a much more 'American' sensibility.  While there are a few good characters and plenty of great moments in the film, Paul is ultimately dragged down by its attempt to pander to a wider audience.

Paul focuses on Graeme and Clive's American road trip, which starts with Comic Con and is followed by visits to a series of UFO and conspiracy-theory hot spots.  Along the way, they witness a car crash and meet up with its driver, Paul (Seth Rogan): a down-to-earth extra-terrestrial on the run from government agents.  Rogan's delivery goes a long way in making his hitchhiking alien likable, and the computer animation that brings him to life isn't intrusive or noticeable.  Pegg and Frost have great chemistry onscreen as always, and Rogan's Paul makes an excellent third-party to their banter.

The movie is at its best when it's doing what it was conceived to do: spoof sci-fi and nerd culture.  Paul delights in mocking or playing along with plenty of alien stereotypes, and there's a great subplot about the ways he's secretly influenced pop-culture since his arrival several decades back.  It's the parts of Paul that try to capture 'American humor' that make it a less-than-impressive successor to Pegg and Frost's previous films.

Apparently, what it takes to be funny in America boils down to a few key comedic devices: penis jokes, homophobia, hillbilly Christians, and bucketfuls of pointless, nonsensical cursing.  A great deal of the humor is heavy-handed and obvious.  At one point, Paul gives Graeme's love-interest, Ruth (Kristen Wiig), advice on her haphazard swearing.  "You've got to pick your moments," he says.  The movie should have taken its own advice.  To make matters worse, Pegg and Frost's writing isn't nearly as tight and structured as usual.  In the final third of the movie at least three supporting characters make behavior shifts that don't make any sense at all.

Paul starts out strong with excellent acting, surprising cameos and supporting roles, as well as by cleverly spoofing a played-out genre.  I'm sure plenty of you will love this movie; just don't go in expecting the subtlety of Pegg and Frost's previous works.  It doesn't take long for the film to devolve into a stereotypical example of the crude status quo of American humor.

REVIEW: Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day

This past Thursday I got in touch with my non-existent Irish side, celebrating St. Patrick's Day the old fashioned way: with plenty of Guinness.  My fiancee, a couple of friends, and myself settled  in for the night with a viewing of Boondocks Saints II: All Saints Day.  This sequel to the 1999 cult original was at first predicted to get stuck with a straight-to-DVD release.  However, it managed to make its way into theaters in 2009 and was immediately panned by both viewers and critics alike.  As a fan of the original, I avoided paying to see this in theaters.  I didn't want a shoddy and poorly-written sequel to ruin my perceptions of the first film (which, to be fair, is schlocky and gratuitous... but it's well-executed gratuitous schlock).  In the end, curiosity got the best of us, and we prepared ourselves for the worst as the opening credits rolled.

Erin go blugh.

Boondock Saints II finds the vigilante MacManus brothers (Sean Patrick Flannery and Norman Reedus) hiding out in Ireland with their father.  Almost immediately they discover that they've been framed for the murder of a Boston priest, and they return to the states to clear their name with a vengeance.   Flannery and Reedus are still a delight in their roles, and their banter throughout the film will please fans of the first film.  The movie makes many nods and winks at the original film, small rewards for fans willing to sit through this train wreck. 

 The thing that is most noticeable about Boondock Saints II is how hard it tries to be over-the-top through its dialogue and action scenes.  The first movie was edgy... this one is offensive and immersion-breaking.  The movie relies heavily on tired stereotypes, and many returning supporting characters appear seem like caricatures of their original iterations. To keep things interesting through the painful dialogue, we played a drinking game along with the film: take a drink every time an overtly sexist or racist comment/stereotype appeared onscreen.  I gave up on trying to keep pace halfway through the film. 

In the first film, the stylized, slow-mo action sequences were relatively believable: the MacManus brothers have to plan ahead, improvise, and are seriously injured in most of their fights.  In Boondock Saints II, the brothers seem simply immune bullets, standing out in the open and firing wildly around while the bullet-sponge thugs they battle die almost as soon as they appear onscreen.  There's no sense of danger or concern for the brothers watching the scenes.  Most of the bad guys don't even raise their guns before they crumple to the floor bleeding.

One of the best characters in the original was Paul Smecker (Willem Defoe).  In the sequel, the writers shoehorn in a "prodigy" student of Smecker's as his substitute in the film.  Eunice is played by Julie Benz, and her performance (particularly in her early scenes) hurts the film considerably.  Her southern drawl and attitude seem forced and unnecessary; she comes off as a weak attempt to add some sex appeal to the testosterone-heavy script.  One would assume that from a writing perspective the only reason to add in this character, instead of having Defoe simply reprise his role from the first film, would be because they couldn't get Defoe to sign on for the sequel.  However, Defoe inexplicably appears in the last scene of the movie, revealing that his death was a ruse and raising serious questions as to why writer/director Troy Duffy would leave him out of the rest of the film.


Boondock Saints II is a severe disappointment that tries too hard (and in all the wrong ways) to capture the spirit of its predecessor.  While there are some good moments between the MacManus brothers, the horribly inconsequential plot, focus on ancillary characters, and cringe-worthy writing make this movie not worth seeing.  For fans of the first film who have been wondering whether they should check out the sequel: don't.

Waiting for Superman

Well, spring break for my college was last week.  I spent the past seven days in St. Louis working on a service project, fixing up community gardens in disadvantaged neighborhoods and learning about a variety of social justice issues, including but not limited to human trafficking and the sorry, sorry state of America's educational system.  To kick off discussion of the latter issue, the City Lights project director hosted a screening of 2010's Waiting for Superman.  It's a challenging, polarizing, and convicting interpretation of what has gone wrong in America's schools, and what can be done to fix them.

 The film follows the lives of several young students in their families, detailing the issues they clash with trying to ensure their intellectual future.  The stories of these students are inter-cut with commentary on flawed mainstays in America's schools, such as the teacher tenure system and the 'tracking' system utilized by many school districts to assign high school courses via skill level.

The film advocates the philosophy of Charter Schools, which boast longer class times and focused curriculum, as an alternative to poor public schools or exclusive private schools.  As with any documentary, any attempt at impartiality is fruitless, and the film glazes over some important points held  onto by those of opposing opinions, and relies heavily on statics that may be affected by other factors.  However, Waiting for Superman brings to light many key issues about a problem that will only grow worse as time goes on: poverty and poor upbringing are less important factors in the declining education levels in America than commonly assumed.  In the end, those fighting over education aren't doing their best to benefit the people most affected by their squabbling: the students.

Regardless of your position on the issue of America's educational system, this is a well-made documentary with a lot of heart, and it accomplishes what any good documentary should: it instills a fervor in the viewer to want to learn more about the issue discussed and come up with their own conclusions.

The Longest Journey: Visual Dependence

I was a major bookworm during my K-12 schooling.  Now when I try and read something solely for pleasure, I find myself impatient, usually unable to hold my attention on the book for more than twenty minutes or so.  At first I thought this had to do with what sort of work I was doing in college.  Being an English and writing major, I tend to look more toward visual media such as movies, video games, and graphic novels for entertainment purposes.  The last thing I feel like doing after I finish my reading assignments is to pick up another book.

The more I think about it though, this impatience with written text seems to have something to do with the nature of the medium itself.  In many basic ways, books struggle to compete with the sensation of more visual media.  When you read a book, there are no visual depictions of what is playing out, you have to create them in your mind's eye.  You have to hear the voices of the characters in your head.  Movies, television, video games... they all eliminate the need for this sort of effort and imagination.  Your eyes and ears are bombarded with stimulation, easily achieving the instant gratification of being pulled into a story or world.  Experience an entire tale in two hours, not twenty.

Don't get me wrong: I love books, and I bemoan the onset of E-readers and other such devices that shift away from the classic paper-and-ink combo that has stimulated the minds of humanity for centuries.  The sad thing is, as technology improves we're conditioning ourselves to find literature less and less appealing.

What got me thinking about this actually doesn't have much to do with books at all.  However, I feel that this onset of technology hasn't just affected the way we experience books, but how we've been trained to experience storytelling itself. 

When I have free time, I'm always on the lookout for a good story, be it a book, movie, or game.  In high school, I stumbled across a TV show on the G4 network called CinemAddicts, which aired user-edited play-throughs of story-heavy video games.  Essentially, they would mash all of the game's cutscenes together into one big movie, with small bits of game-play left in to fill in the gaps.  One of these episodes focused on a game called Dreamfall: The Longest Journey.

  Once I found out the game was a sequel about ten minutes into the show I chose not to pay too much attention, even though I was interested.  I didn't want to ruin the original's story by watching part two.  Nevertheless, I filed Dreamfall away on my mental to-play list, thinking I'd look into it at a later date.

As it turns out, that "later date" was just two weeks ago, nearly four years later.  My memory of the game was jarred when I read a list of the top 10 female protagonists in video games.  April Ryan, star of the original game (The Longest Journey) was on the list.  I looked the game up on Steam, and got to playing.

Now, this game was originally released twelve years ago, during the holiday season of 1999.  The late 90's were a point of transition for many game developers.  In an attempt to do away with wall-of-text storytelling, the concept of having fully-voiced characters and cinematics was being experimented with more and more, pushing the boundaries of the technology and storage available at the time.

The Longest Journey is a point-and-click adventure game.  The game consists mostly of exploring the environment presented onscreen with your mouse, clicking on things in order to pick up objects, solve puzzles, or interact with characters.  The game is fully-voiced, but due to graphical limitations the character models do little more than gesture slightly with their arms or move their heads up and down when they speak. 

What this amounts to is that a vast majority of the game is spent listening to the story unfold while looking at mostly-static scenes:

Like so.

 I got really antsy playing this game.  I was pulled in by the story, but the presentation threw me off.  It wasn't visually-stimulating enough to hold my attention just with what was going on onscreen, and I almost always finished reading the subtitles far before the character finished delivering the line of dialogue.  I wasn't content sitting back and letting the voice actor finish reciting the line- I often went for the instant gratification, skipping past a character's line immediately after I finished reading it, forcing the narrative to move at a faster pace. 

I felt caught in a strange limbo of story experience: the scenes weren't compelling enough to sit there and watch, but were too short to warrant listening to while multitasking with some other activity.  I felt like I was cheating the voice actors by just reading the text and not listening to them deliver it... and so the only thing I could find to hold my attention on their delivery during longer scenes was to stand up and do some stretches while listening.

The story itself was rather fun and interesting, and April was a compelling character... but as with my inability to read contently for long periods of time nowadays, I found my attention drifting because the game wasn't fast-paced enough to compete with modern entertainment I've been trained to emotionally respond to.

I'm interested in getting around to playing Dreamfall and comparing the experience.  Dreamfall came out in 2006, boasting far fewer graphical limitations and a much more cinematic story presentation.  Something tells me I'll be a lot more engrossed.  And I'm a little ashamed.

(REVIEW) Exit Through the Gift Shop

Though Inside Job took home the prize for Best Documentary at last night's Academy Awards, a cloud of controversy surrounded the prospects of another documentary nominee, Exit Through the Gift Shop.

 This film was directed by the enigmatic British artist Banksy, whose anonymity is one of his greatest claims to fame.  A few days before the awards took place, it was announced that the Oscar ceremony planners would not allow Banksy to accept his award anonymously.

This being the case, I was eagerly rooting for Exit Through the Gift Shop's victory last night, if only to see what sort of shenanigans the snubbed artist would get up to.  Justin Timberlake's presentation quips centered around claiming that he was Banksy, though most members of the audience didn't seem to understand the joke.  The Onion even got in on the fun, tweeting "Don’t recognize the person 9 rows up, 15 seats in. Must be Banksy" midway through the ceremony.

So, for the vast majority of you that haven't seen this film (available now on dvd and Netflix instant streaming): What is this movie about, for it to cause such a stir?

Exit Through the Gift Shop begins by detailing the life of one Thierry Guetta, a French immigrant and family man with an obsession with capturing life on film.  He records the world around him at every opportunity, using up handfuls of tapes a day.  He hardly ever goes back and watches these tapes; his only care is that life is recorded, and doesn't feel the need to relive it.  Through a family relation that calls himself Space Invader, Guetta is introduced to the underground world of street art.  By following his cousin around the city late into the night as he creates his graffiti work, Guetta finds a focus for his filming obsession.

Over a period of months Guetta accompanies handfuls of street artists, filming their exploits under the pretense of gathering material to make a documentary about street art.  In reality, making something out of his recordings was the last thing on Guetta's mind.  Eventually, he encounters the gold standard of street artists, Banksy, who takes Guetta under his wing.

After documenting many Banksy's exploits, Guetta is encouraged to go off and try to create art on his own.  After discovering that Guetta had no intention of making his documentary, Banksy took it upon himself to craft the film, in the end making Thierry Guetta the film's true focus.  The film's final act, which documents Guetta's gradual metamorphosis into the hyped-up artistic phenomenon Mr. Brainwash, ultimately raises these fundamental questions: what is art, and can anyone create it?

The film portrays attendees of art conventions as individuals who can't recognize true art, and who are incredibly susceptible to hype and media suggestion.  Even Exit Through the Gift Shop's title is indicative of one of the film's major themes: the commercialization and over-saturation of what was once a legitimate and personal underground art movement.

To protect the provocative impact of the film itself, I will leave my commentary at that.  Since the film's release, it has stirred up wild rumors and controversy over whether parts of the film were staged, or even whether the entire documentary is an elaborate hoax masterminded by Banksy.  Judge for yourself: hoax or no, Exit Through the Gift Shop is a poignant and multi-facetted look at the world of artistic expression and commercialization that kept me thinking for weeks after I viewed it.

(OT) 7 Deadly Sins- Full Metal Alchemist- Part 2

(As with the previous article, beware of spoilers.)

Greed
The first example of Greed's avaricious nature is that he defected from working alongside the other Homunculi, unwilling to share even a common goal with his brethren.  He's not very subtle about his desires, either.  When asked what his motives are during a confrontation with the Elric Brothers, he responds with a straightforward "everything".  Every action he makes is strictly for his own benefit.  Even his last act before dying, letting Edward Elric know how to defeat the other Homunculi, is a self-serving act.  If he has to die, why should any of his brethren get what they desire?

Sloth 

About midway through the series, it is revealed what became of the malformed not-quite-alive creature created by Ed and Al's failed attempt to resurrect their mother.  Shortly after the brothers left their home behind, the pitiful creature was discovered by Dante, nursed and imbued with power over time until it became Sloth.  Sloth retains the likeness of Trisha Elric, but retains no compassion for Ed and Al, claiming her apparent lack of soul gives her no desire to care about them.

Like Lust, her resemblence to the sin she is named for is not immediately apparent.  However, her apathy toward the sons of  the body she was formed from is evocative of the jaded and unconcerned manner attributed to the Slothful. 

Her supernatural power is the ability to convert her entire body into water and travel quickly from place to place.  Where were the Slothful held in Dante's Inferno?  That's right: Entombed underwater below the river Styx.

Wrath 

Alfonse and Edward discover Wrath when they return to a small island where their alchemy teacher instructed them when they were little.  He is the product of their teacher, Izumi, trying to bring her infant son back to life.  Wrath is created after Ed and Al fail to bring their mother back from the dead: Wrath's right arm and left leg are Ed's limbs that were lost during their ritual.  Wrath is the Homunculus that is quickest to mood swings and bouts of violence, and almost always speaks in a tone of subdued rage.  He is the only Homunculus capable of using alchemy, thanks to Ed's limbs.

Wrath develops a dependence on Sloth, idolizing her and making her a substitute for his mother Izumi.  Given his possession of Ed's limbs, his use of alchemy, and the fact that Sloth uses the appearance of Ed and Al's mother, Wrath can be seen as a dark reflection of Ed.  His actions reflect what would have become of Ed if Ed let his considerable temper overtake his judgment.

He is the only other Homunculus besides Lust that in some way redeems himself.  In Conquerors of Shamballa, Wrath sacrifices himself as bait to the monstrous Gluttony, giving Alfonse time to accomplish his goals.

Pride

 Fuhrer Bradley, leader of the militaristic state of Amestris that Ed and Al call home, is in reality the seventh Homunculus, Pride.

Pride can be defined as overconfidence, an inflated sense of self-worth, a belief that your own actions and solutions are ultimately justified and infallible.  Who better than a militaristic head of state to represent these qualities?

In the film sequel Conquerors of Shamballa, which partly takes place in pre-World War II Germany, the term "Fuhrer" is used blatantly to compare King Bradley (Pride) from the original series with Adolf Hitler in the film.  This comparison strengthens the already easy to spot comparisons to the prideful-to-a-sin qualities of many real-world dictators and fascists.

Closing Statement
 So there you have it: one of the most evident and contemporary examples of how powerful thematic devices can span centuries and continually be utilized in new and interesting ways. 

I hardly do the series justice in this small write-up: if anything you've read here has piqued your interest, I recommend you check out the series (it's available on Netflix instant streaming).  Unlike most anime shows I've sampled over the years, Full Metal Alchemist has a driving narrative and a decidedly Western feel to many of its episodes- if Japanese media tends to weird you out, I'd give this series a shot regardless.  Aside from several Hayao Miyazaki films (such as the superb Princess Monoke or Spirited Away), few examples of Japanese animation have gotten me as emotionally invested in the characters onscreen as Full Metal Alchemist did my first time through.

Coming up on Overanalyze That? Most likely a consideration of Se7en at some point, though I should get off this "7 Deadly Sins" series sometime soon here... it tends to get rather morbid after a while.  Thanks for reading!

(OT) 7 Deadly Sins- Full Metal Alchemist

Background: Full Metal Alchemist

The 2003 anime series Full Metal Alchemist is perhaps the best example of the 7 Deadly Sins as a story-driving theme in a television show.  Full Metal Alchemist began as a manga series in Japan in 2001, which just recently ended its publication run last June.  In 2003 the manga was adapted into an anime that aired first in Japan before it was dubbed by Funimation and aired on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.

This anime series eventually caught up to the manga in terms of storyline, and thus had to branch off with different writers and create their own ending to the series.  In 2009 the series rebooted as Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood, which recently concluded its own run and follows the story arc of the original manga, unlike the 2003 Full Metal Alchemist series.  I'm most familiar with the 2003 series, so that is what I'll focus on in my discussion.

Synopsis (Beware: from here on, there be plenty of spoilers)


Full Metal Alchemist follows two brothers, Edward and Alfonse Elric, as they seek redemption for the mistakes of their past.  Their world is a parallel of our own, with one key difference: sometime far in the past, instead of the world embracing technological advances, great strides were made in the study of alchemy: the ability to deconstruct something and reassemble it as something else.  Their world then developed with alchemy as their primary tool for societal advancement, not science.

The society of this world has developed its own "deadly sin": the taboo practice of human alchemy, or the attempt to use alchemy to bring someone back from the dead.  Early in their lives, Edward and Alfonse lost their mother.  They attempt the forbidden by using alchemy to try and bring her back, with dire consequences:

Alfonse's body is destroyed, and Edward sacrifices his own arm and leg to rescue his brother's soul and bind it into a surrogate body, a hulking suit of armor.  Edward replaces his lost limbs with mechanical prostheses.  The result of their sacrifice? A heap of bones and writhing organs instead of a mother.

Following me so far? ...Probably not.

The rest of the series focuses on their search for the Philosopher's Stone, a fabled artifact said to have enough power to correct the mistake they made.  Along the way, they encounter seven malevolent characters that aren't quite human.  

Around the midpoint of the series, it is revealed that these creatures are called Homunculi, and are the results of human alchemy gone wrong.  They are perfect replicas of human bodies and possess superhuman powers, but lack any soul whatsoever.  They go by the names Lust, Gluttony, Envy, Sloth, Greed, Wrath, and Pride, direct embodiments of the sins they are named for.  And guess what?  They all work for a character named Dante.  Save for one exception, they're also introduced in the order in which Dante Alighieri presents the 7 Deadly Sins in Inferno.

So.  How do are these representations of the 7 Deadly Sins similar to and different from their Dantescan predecessors?  Let's find out.

Lust

Beyond her femme fatale appearance and husky voice, Lust is perhaps the Homunculus that is the least representative of the sin she is named for.  We never see her actively seduce anyone in the series, or anything remotely close.  There are, however, key character traits that make her name a fitting one, if you dig deep enough.

1.  The woman whose form Lust assumed when she was "born" was a loving wife in life.  Her husband, driven mad by grief at the loss of his love, attempted to resurrect her.  He was banned as a heretic, and Lust was born into his wife's body without the soul, which is what any man in love truly adores.  Being a merely physical embodiment of his former love, Lust seems an appropriate name.

2.  Near the end of the series, Lust begins to question her existence, and betrays the other Homunculi in a tenuous alliance with the Elric brothers.  Though she is quickly murdered by her kinsman Wrath for this change of heart, it seems fitting that Lust, the sin least damning in Dante Alighieri's mind, is the only Homunculus that comes close to redemption.

3.  Her superhuman power?  Her fingers stretch into razor-sharp spears that "penetrate" her victims mercilessly.  Yup.

Gluttony 

Gluttony is the least-developed character among the Homunculi, little more than a walking appetite.  We learn nothing about his past throughout the course of the show.  He thinks only of fulfilling his voracious need to feed, and has a tendency toward cannibalism.  He has an almost childlike affinity toward Lust, the other "overindulgence" Deadly Sin/Homunculus.  When Lust dies, he loses interest in his gluttonous urges and can only dwell on her absence. 

In the show's finale, the Homunculus leader Dante removes the alchemical mark on Gluttony's tongue, removing any semblance of personality and making him a complete embodiment of his namesake sin.  As Dante is trying to make her escape, Gluttony devours her. By the time the film followup to the series, Conquerors of Shamballa, takes place, gluttony has transformed into a monstrous beast with many slavering mouths.  During the film he gets the opportunity to avenge Lust's death in the only way he is capable: by consuming Wrath.


Envy

Envy's power is to shift his appearance at will, become anyone.  His preferred form is that of an androgynous teenager with a feminine voice.  This ability is the first indicator of Envy's nature in regard to his name.  What does someone who is envious of another wish for most?  To become them.

The deeper meaning to Envy's name doesn't reveal itself until the penultimate episode of the series.  In a final confrontation with the Elric brothers, Envy reveals his original form: the body of Alfonse and Edward's half-brother, born to their absent and immortal father Hohenheim and Dante many decades ago.  Envy's relentless pursuit of the Brothers Elric was spurred on by a personal vendetta of envy for the one thing he never had a chance to have: a loving family.  Hohenheim abandoned Dante and his son for the one woman he ever truly loved: Ed and Al's mother.

Next up: The remaining four Homunculi: Sloth, Greed, Wrath and Pride.

(REVIEW) Unknown: Uninspired

I must admit, I have a bit of a soft spot for Liam Neeson.  I was first became aware of him in fourth grade.  He was introduced to me in the manner most likely to grab my idolizing attention as an elementary schooler: I saw him play a jedi onscreen.  Though my taste in prequels as a wee lad of 10 was somewhat questionable, I retain a certain fondness for Liam Neeson's work.  You've got to harbor a little respect for a man with the versatility to portray Jean Valjean, Oskar Schindler, Alfred Kinsey, Zeus, Aslan, and Ra's al Ghul.  Recently, he's become more and more the action hero, starring in 2008's warmly recieved Taken and the critically-panned The A-Team reboot.  In Unknown he continues this trend, starring in what turns out to be a derivate amnesia tale with just barely enough interesting twists to make it watchable.

The movie opens with Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) arriving in Berlin to attend a conference with his wife, Elizabeth (January Jones).  On his way back to the airport to retrieve some forgotten luggage, Harris' taxi is forced off a bridge and suffers a head injury, erasing any recollection of the days events from his mind and putting him in a coma for four days.  When he returns the hotel to find his wife, he finds that she does not recognize him, and that she is accompanied by a man claiming to be the real Dr. Martin Harris.  Harris's memories of his past life are thrown into question, and he sets out to discover who he really is.

This first half-hour is the film's highpoint, in which Harris questions his identity and becomes increasingly paranoid about prying eyes, both real and imaged.  Once Harris discovers that people are indeed out to get him, the plot becomes formulaic and plays out similarly to The Bourne Identity.  Just as in The Bourne Identity, Harris quickly picks up a young female sidekick, and among car chases and small apartment stand-offs the conspiracy-riddled plot is eventually uncovered.

Neeson sells the role right off the bat, but seems like he's trying too hard at intensity in several scenes.  His emotional scale for all intents and purposes has two settings in this movie-- he's either calm and determined or barking out lines in a gravel-gargling rage.  Diane Kruger and Bruno Ganz play excellent supporting roles as illegal citizen Gina and Ernst Jurgen, respectively.  January Jones' portrayal of Mrs. Harris, however, is wooden and unconvincing.  When she attests that she's never seen her husband before, you don't believe her for a second, causing twists later on in the film to lose their dramatic impact.

The film works in several red herrings and acts of misdirection that  will most likely keep viewers on their toes, and it manages to do this while not letting these twists muddle up the story.  Sadly, many of the action sequences are sprinkled with unintentionally humorous moments that break the dramatic tension, such as cars that unnecessarily burst into flames or lines of dialogue where Neeson is trying way too hard to maintain an American accent.  

Despite its occasional moments of surprise, Unknown feels a little to derivative of other popular films in its bloated genre.  Neeson's star power helps keep the movie afloat, but don't expect to be walk out of the theater wowed by either its plot or presentation.  I'd recommend skipping the film in theaters.  Save it for a rainy-day Netflix viewing.

(OT) 7 Deadly Sins- Dantescan Origins

Background: Dante's Inferno

Written records of the concept of the Seven Deadly Sins have been floating around as early as the 4th century.  Though the list has gone the some revisions over the years; however, the commonly accepted list nowadays goes: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, Pride.

The Deadly Sins as a pop culture icons  have their roots in the breakout religious-fiction text of 14th century Italy, Dante Aligheiri's Divine Comedy.  Throughout the Comedy's three books Dante takes a journey through the three spiritual realms, Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso (that's Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven/Paradise for you non-Italian readers).   

Inferno was then, and is now, the standout text of the three.  After all, it's got all the good, juicy bits, right?  Rumor has it that after Dante had finished and distributed Inferno, he overheard a woman whispering to her companion as he passed through town one day.  "There goes the man who has toured the Abyss and yet still walks this earth," she said (or so the story goes).  Inferno had such a huge impact on Italian society that some thought its text be an entirely factual manifesto.

Modern Popularity Comparison: Forks, Washington residents don't actually believe in vampires.

Inferno's depiction of Hell consists of a series of nine circles.  Within each circle reside souls that were condemned for a particular sin; as Dante descends into the deeper circles of Hell, the sins being punished become more and more severe, while the circles become smaller and smaller.  For all intents and purposes, Hell is pretty much an infernal bathroom drain.  All the worst clogs congeal at the bottom.

Someone get us some Divine Drano.

As you may have guessed, within these nine circles all seven of the Deadly Sins are represented, each with a unique punishment befitting their crime.  Here they are, in order of Dante's descent into Hell.

In Purgatorio, the souls of the Saved who go through the process of Purgation work their way up seven terraces in their journey toward Heaven, each representing one of the Deadly Sins (in reverse order of how they are listed here).

Lust  

Francesca and Paulo, tragic adulterers condemned to the Second Circle.

The Lustful are the first of the Deadlys that Dante encounters.  Thus, this sin is seen by Dante to be the least severe of the seven.  The carnal souls are punished by being eternally blown around by a tempestuous storm, a metaphor for the raging passions that controlled their earthly lives.

In Purgatorio, those purging earthly lusts run through scalding flames while shouting out their sins.

Gluttony 

Immediately after escaping the stormy Second Circle, Dante happens upon the Gluttons.  These souls of wanton excess are forced to wallow in stinking mud and a ceaseless rainstorm, struck sightless and unaware of those around them for their selfish former lives.

In Purgatorio, those ridding themselves of gluttonous tendencies are emaciated and starving, tempted by trees with fruit that is always just out of reach.

Greed

In the Fourth Circle, Dante finds the Greedy to be split into two groups: The hoarders, who kept all that they could with no regard for others, and the prodigals, who squandered recklessly what wealth they had.  The two groups perpetually roll great stones with chests toward the stones of the other group, clashing together violently, unable to comprehend the other group's mentality in the least.

In Purgatorio, being cleansed of greed involves lying face-down, completely paralyzed, while reciting prayers against their covetousness.

 Sloth & Wrath

The Fifth Circle contains the river Styx. Below the river Styx's surface, constant streams of bubbles rising to the surface are the only indicator of the presence of the Slothful, submerged for all eternity into the riverbed.  Their laziness in life gives them no pleasure in Hell, trapped as they are below the churning depths

Upon the river's surface the Wrathful perpetually battle each other, never given respite from the anger and rage that consume their minds.

In Purgatorio, the slothful are cured by running ceaselessly, unable to pause for a short period.  The wrathful are trapped in endless clouds of smoke during their Purgation; the smoke symbolizes the blinding power of rage.

Envy & Pride 

The Giants of the Ninth Circle, symbols of pride.

The Envious and the Prideful are not designated to specific circles in Hell: these are more cerebral sins, and can manifest themselves in many different evil ways- thus, Envy and Pride can be attributed to many denizens of the lower Circles of Hell (The Violent, The Fraudulent, and the Treacherous).

In Purgatorio, erasing envy requires having the eyes sewn shut until there comes a point where the soul does not covet the possessions or achievements of others.  The prideful bear enormous stones on their backs continuously, exercising humility.

Wrap-up

Well, that's that: a solid foundational understanding of the first substantial use of the Seven Deadly Sins as a literary device.  In my next few entries I will be discussing how different mediums have evolved or implemented this thematic device to suit their purposes.

Coming up? It's the story of two brothers on a quest for redemption, and the seven malicious figures they encounter on the way.

*Pictures Compliments of: 
(Hell Map) http://whinecoloredsea.blogspot.com/2005_01_01_archive.html 
(All Others) www.wikipedia.com