Rango rules my weekend!

Here is the Rango breakdown for you . . . my many many readers!

This flick is snagging an 8.5/10 on the newly crafted Josh enjoyment scale. I found myself getting lost in the dazzling and encapsulating film obsessed nature of this homage riddled masterpiece. 

There was something about Rango which took me back to the films of my youth. The story behind this ordinary pet chameleon is that of a simple quest for water in the desert. The digital prowess of Industrial Light & Magic's "paintbrush", under the amazing Art Direction of John Bell, truly delivers an astounding western backdrop filled to the brim with an infinite variety of critters culminating in a feast for the eyes.

The actual character, Rango, is voiced by the ever rocking Johnny Depp whom does a superb job at giving life to this lost lizard. Audiences are introduced to this creature whilst sitting in on his one man show involving the few inanimate items inside his tank. It's a very sad scene, but a depiction of the ridiculous nature of one's imagination that I am sure all will relate to. It has a hint of the opening scene to Toy Story 3, here I parallel Rango to Andy. Rango is a chameleon well versed in acting theory and bursting with ambition to develop into a full and dynamic actor. 

From this pitiful existence as a pet lizard Rango is then thrust into the desert and left to his own devices. We meet Roadkill, quite literally, he is but one of hundreds of spectacularly rendered desert animals whom directs Rango to wander the desert to the town of Dirt. The story moves along into Rango acting as though he were some style of Man With No Name. There is a quest to restore the town's water supply and none other than the newly cast Sheriff, our hero Rango, leads the charge. Action is a plenty and splashes across the screen within this fully realized western landscape that will send you back to the movies purely to pay extra notice of all the accents and stylized bits which construct the atmosphere of this film.

Gore Verbinski can certainly add Rango to his ever widening spectrum of directorial home-runs. Writing credits go to John Logan and Rango's quintessential western score was lead by none other than Hanz Zimmer. Rango is easily of the best cinematic culminations produced thus far this year. See a good movie, see Rango!

Sucker Punch . . . really Sucks

Here is the perfect example of a currently in demand director/writer being given far to much money and every employee attached to said project looking more towards their payday than the actual story audiences are expecting to be shown. I can't imagine that people working on this project, even in it's earliest stages, read this storyline and didn't find themselves confounded as to what was actually going on on screen. I can only imagine this pitch going over similar to a kid I knew in college rambling about some acid trip he'd taken and the jumble of images he awoke with and commendably remembered . . . loosely.

Sucker Punch was written by Steve Shibuya and Zack Snyder as well as directed by the slow-motion obsessed Zack Snyder. Let's start off with what the trailer proposed to audiences all throughout this fall's advertising campaign. We saw hot and scantily clad girls, with kick-ace all era weapons, traversing a highly stylized backdrop including and not limited to WWI trenches, dragon infested castles and a futuristic high speeding train. On top of this we heard the slamming Lords of Acid tune titled The Crablouse.

And now the film's breakdown. The full extent of this film added nothing to what I just told you.

Very simply the trailer is more entertaining than the actual storyline. The act of stringing together scenes from the trailer in one's mind attempting to connect this explosion of images and hot girls is wildly more entertaining than what Zack Snyder came out of production with. So in theory, doing what the thesis of this movie proposes, just making shit up in your head, is the way to experience the most from this TRAILER.

There is a loose storyline revolving around a girl on lobotomy row, due to her Step-Father's ill will. She meets a group of girls that are being whored out within their insane asylum, but have this wild ability to seek solace in their imaginative scenarios. So, there you, the audience will retreat at every possible moment into these girls' dreams. The 30 foot samurai, not real. The massive dragon, not real. And that is all fine and good. But, there needs to be some bit of actuality in the pay off. 

There was another alternate reality film that came out this year that accomplished my proposed style of imaginative reality. You might have heard of it, . . . Inception. 

In Sucker Punch there is a video game aesthetic to it. This mindless tromping through a made up reality with nothing actually posing a threat, due to the fact that the main character "Baby Doll" is quite literally stripping during all of these action scenes. Yes, you read this right. Where as our Inception characters have consequences and elements to their alternate realities which tie their actions all together, these girls have nothing aside from their end goal, to get some object (map, knife, key & a lighter). The aforementioned 30 foot samurai, WWI pressurized zombie soldiers and fire breathing dragon all go without some actual real world counterpart. One could claim that this Dragon parallels as some Mayor in the crowd puffing on a cigar. Here is my point. As Baby Doll strips, another girl is pilfering a lighter off of this Dragon Mayor. The epic on screen air battle involving every character in all reality required two girls, one stripper and one pickpocket.

That is my biggest problem with this movie. Never mind the fact that the end game is escape from the asylum, but not of the character the writers spent 10 seconds in the opening music video to introduce audiences to. I stress here that viewers don't get to actually connect with any of the characters in this film, so the twist at the end isn't significant at all.

Why couldn't Snyder have left this one in story-boarded form and have released it as a comic book. That at least would have saved me the $12 spot I wasted on this movie. Fingers remain crossed Snyder doesn't spoil another Superman reboot, but this mishmash of music video and storyless slow-motion further confirmed that 300 was just about as good as Snyder might get.

Portland Timbers Win! 2-0 v. Chivas USA

Instead of reading Larsson, I found myself glued last night to the Portland Timbers's website for the streaming of their game against Chivas USA in a play-in opportunity within the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at the University of Portland's Merlo Field. 

The first 15 minutes of play were most nerve-racking, and thankfully  passed scoreless. Which wasn't how the two previous MLS season games had gone over for the Timbers. Whom had allowed goals early in both games against Toronto FC & the Colorado Rapids. Needless to say there was a great energy on the pitch within the Timber ranks and shots on goal were a plenty throughout the first half, 5 to be exact. There were two fantastic one-on-one saves by the third-string goalie, Kiwi Jake Gleeson ensuring Chivas USA could never get a leg up. Jack Jewsbury had an unassisted goal in the 84th minute. It was glorious, and quickly followed up by a corner kick into the net by Eric Brunner, with an assist by the aforementioned Jewsbury. The first two fresh rounds of log were quickly lopped off in front of a cacophonous Timbers Army whilst they celebrated their first win!

The Timbers will follow up this win with a game squared off against the San Jose Earthquakes at a to be determined location and time. Portland will play the New England Revolution this Saturday in their third away game of this the 2011 MLS season.

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is the most inclusive soccer competition available in the States. These bouts of sport provide a complete mixing of amateur clubs and professional teams in a single-elimination cup that spans all levels of competitive play.

Stunted within The Hornet's Nest

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest
by Stieg Larsson

Here I am quite literally stuck on the 300th page of this book. The first book of this series, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, is fantastic. Nothing, not even the 2+ hour commute I was committed to could deter me from plowing through those pages. Yes, that is correct, I had 4 or more hours each work day that I was comutting via a pair of Subway trains & multiple MTA Buses from Greenpoint to Manhasset, Long Island. Point being that the time flew by whilst I was reading the first book of the Millenium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson.

This latest, and last, installment has had me crawling from page to page. I've heard this from a few other fellow readers as well, and I want to know what it is that has me so . . . uninterested? That doesn't even feel like the right explative for my bluh mood towards this novel. I love Lisbeth Salander, she is an amazing character with a depth and attitude unlike any female lead I've come across in literature, in the 24 years of experience I've mustered through thus far. 

There is such a lull right now that I have to simply walk away from this post even . . . and grudgingly attempt to get past a few more pages. More on this novel soon, I simply felt compelled to express this frustration. Thanks for giving me a read! Check in soon for more.

Michel Gondry's stingless Green Hornet

This past weekend I caught Michel Gondry & Seth Rogen's The Green Hornet. I am going to initially start off with an overall rating of this movie, which will encompass all of it's pieces as a whole. And seeing as I am not sure which direction I want to go in with this blog, in as much as my own rating system is structured, I will place a 6.5 out of 10 upon this film. Overall this is a fun, exciting, popcorn mashing flash bang of a movie.

Yet, and now the fun part, I go into the reasons why The Green Hornet didn't quite do it for me. Firstly I had exponentially higher hopes for this movie considering the director, Michel Gondry, is a visionary and mesmerizing artist. Take a peek at The Science of Sleep, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Be Kind Rewind for a taste of the feats of cinematography and smart storytelling Gondry is capable of. Aside from a few fun and stylized fight scenes, there was little in this movie that could be at all any different from a campy 90's Bruckheimer hero flick.

Seth Rogen did a great job playing, himself. In every scene he was jolly, laughing, dim witted and childish. That must have been the character they were aiming for because there are absolutely no other attempts to play a deep conflicted hero. Now, perhaps that wasn't the direction for the Green Hornet, I will consider it. But, why then be so fulfilled with such a bland and borderline annoying hero? The entire time I was watching Rogen I wanted him merely to act mildly different then every other film I've ever seen him in. I don't want to start a new paragraph for this next individual, for it would warrant far to much effort and her presence was even more annoying than that previously mentioned. I am referring now to Cameron Diaz. She was so entirely forgettable and replaceable that it must have been that she didn't cost much, and she might have had a friend previously signed onto this project. If I ever hear that she won this role over anyone else I would be truly amazed. She was as vapid and again, bland, as our hero Mr. Rogen.

Now for the thrilling emergence of Jay Chou, or Kato the sidekick. I've heard comparisons of Mr. Chou's presence abroad as that of the "Justin Timberlake" of China. He is absolutely the best part of this movie. His comedic timing and all around entertaining value highlights the joke of a role Seth Rogen wrote for himself. Kato is supposed to be awesome, but the ridiculousness of everyone around him frustrated me to no end. He plays the cool and mysterious Kato fantastically. Christoph Waltz, also known as the breakout star of Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards, way to not work too hard! Waltz plays the, not too scary, villain. And in there is a very annoying joke that plagues the entire film as well. The ease with which this script makes caricatures of it's personalities is just about stifling by the time the credits roll. I really wanted to have at least a couple better words about this movie.

It is easy to follow, exciting when it should be and an all around successful action comedy. I had wanted more and was sure the forces that wound up controlling this would produce a better film. Alas, I walked from my seat with a "Meh, can't make amazing cinema out of it all."

Not a good week for watching . . .

I have little to describe at the end of this workweek. I found myself cheering on UNR in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, my sister and a best friend currently attend that fine institution. They indeed won against Boston College, I truly wish I could say the game was fun to watch, but after halftime both teams were celebrating amateur hour and I found them to be without. The UNR I’d seen all year should have easily ran away with this game. Alas, that was Sunday.

Monday Night brought on the BCS Championship and quickly became the HIGHEST RATED CABLE SHOW EVER! According to The Hollywood Reporter, more than twenty-seven million people watched that broadcast live. For all of the hype that encompassed the likes of ESPN for the past two weeks, every bit of it paid off. Viewers showed up, 2010 Heisman trophy winner Cam Newton and the Auburn University Tigers stormed out of Phoenix with their heads held high and a massive W.

I have a hard time admitting this, but I found myself held hostage by a movie this week. Dinner for Schmucks held me ransom. Talk about an all out mockery of storytelling. Our only comments after the confirmation of a soulless Hollywood, were that of disbelief that a movie could yet again, be pushed on to the set with a clearly horrid script and allowed to run rampant with it’s own idiocracy. I blame you America. You showed up and gave this movie nearly 73 million dollars! Why? This was easily the most atrocious phlegm of an excuse for a storyline I’d ever heard of. I am livid at the thought of the millions of writers and directors and actors that could have had a chance to produce actual art, or even possibly actual comedy with the money that was thrown away with regards to this film. All while utter and complete trash is thrown upon American audiences, which are more than happy to gobble it up. I then caught an episode of Hawaii Five-O, needless to say . . . 'lil Caan is entertaining, while he plays himself. At least those writers were smart enough to get themselves jobs playing in Hawaii for the time being. That's about all I have to say about that.

Have a fantastic weekend!

David O. Russell's "The Fighter"

Boxing movies certainly seem to be of the more formulaic and repetitive storylines produced for audiences. Yet, upon watching David O. Russell's "The Fighter" I find myself entirely transfixed by an engaging family centered drama that happens to feature a bit of boxing. Christian Bale redeems himself for a few less than amazing performances this past year with his no less than extraordinary take on town-hero, crack-addict, trainer and ex-boxer Dickie Ecklund. Mark Wahlberg plays "Irish" Mickey Wade, whom has had a less than stellar career helmed by his overbearing managing mother and over shadowing brother. Melissa Leo, as the boys’ mother Alice Wade, plays her heart out and constructs a character that commandeers the tone of every scene she is in. The combination of Christian Bale and Melissa Leo’s performances on screen gives light to an honest and hard knock family dynamic, rarely captured in a film oozing with this much authenticity. The gorgeous Amy Adams continues to expand her palette of characters with a very strong-willed and unassailable presence as Mickie's new found love interest. One last shout out has to go to my own personal favorite the ill-fated Chief Jerry Reilly, from the stellar Rescue Me series. Jack McGee stands just as strong as the rest of this cast as a sidelined patriarch George Ward.

This movie is about the glue and the love within a family driving them to stay together and conquer the world’s, as well as their own self imposed, hurdles. It is after the last ounces of willpower and intuition are spent up and any normal individual might abandon their blatantly crack addicted brethren to their fate, that this family continues to pull together and offer those last chances which populate so many sports films. There in the family storylines do we see the real redemptive aspects of this boxing film. Wahlberg’s Mickey Ward fights his own obvious battles within the ring, but those confrontations are most poignant when paralleled to the scalding nature of this down to earth and gritty Ward family.

Favorite moment: As Mickey has yet to turn the final fight to his favor, and he is really looking to lose, Dickie focuses his battered little brother and reminds him to take everything from outside the ring, all the heartache, the feelings of betrayal, all the hurt and manifest it all into this last round. It is one of the only moments Dickie is clear enough to notice that this is his brother’s chance. This scene is the culmination of some not very impressive fight scenes, though charismatically shot with a “real-life” HBO themed video style that does lend the fights a bit of help, but they are not “WOW” material.


This is a fantastic guy’s night out, date movie, and all around pre-Oscar contender to certainly go out of your way to see!