Gravity- Admission time. I enjoy Gravity. It’s practically 90 minutes straight of intense spacey action. The cinematography is stunning, and so is the soundtrack. However, many praised its character development but I’m inclined to disagree. Religion is a major underlying theme. Much of the imagery and semi-subtle symbolism- is of a religious foundation. I’m not exactly a man of faith, but I’m also not opposed to it influencing my entertainment. Journey is one of my favorite games after all. But with Gravity, it takes more of a Book of Eli approach. When “God” plays a role in the direction of the plot, the ending is a forgone conclusion.
Barring the religious tones, Gravity is such a blast because of unconventionalism. The cast is tiny and lead by George Clooney and Sandra Bullock. Despite her sometimes hammy acting, the character of Ryan Stone, an inexperienced medical engineer in space, makes the frantic action even more enjoyable. Flying around with shrapnel whizzing by while attempting to chaotically fling from one station to another is sure to throw a few pacemakers out of whack.
As I previously mentioned, director Alfonso Cuaron’s trademark cinematography is hard at work with some great special effects culminating in one of the best looking films of 2013. Much of symbolism, such as Bullock swinging around, struggling to get unattached from an umbilical cord-like structure, works because of how each scene is shot.
Gravity is a film which attempts to succeed on both a shallow and cerebral level. If not for some cheesiness hampering the more poignant scenes, it would have been on my top 5 films of 2013 list.
Prisoners- Crime dramas often live and die on their twists. Prisoners nears life support because of its. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad movie. There’s a solid chunk of quality to speak of but its almost completely undermined by a predictable narrative.
While not a stooge, err...I mean parent, I can imagine a missing child is a situation words can appropriately describe. Prisoners poses the question of “how far far is too far?” Hugh Jackman’s character is the centerpiece of that very such thing as he brutally tortures a suspect the police had to let go. Within these moments Prisoners is at its best. Jackman executes the frustration, anger, and fear of Keller Dover better than you’d expect. While I wasn’t made uncomfortable per se, the weight of each scene is tangible. If not for the moody cinematography and solid performances, this likely would have fallen flat though.
And that’s about all the praise I can muster. Within the first 20 minutes I had two of the three key portions of the twist figured out. Stringing clues along is a fine tool, but when there are only clues which make more and more sense as the film progresses, the payoff is nonexistent. The kicker is the final scene which works to undermine the overarching message with an unnecessary last-second self-indulgent reference.
I enjoy crime-dramas, despite how inundated western entertainment is with them. Prisoners forgets the key to any good work of the genre though and implodes before much satisfaction can be gained.
Monsters- Don’t let the bland name fool you, Monsters is a kaiju film of considerable caliber. It’s not so much about unstoppable creatures eradicating humanity, as it is about humanity learning to adapt. The best way to describe it, is imagining and artsy Jaws. The creatures are limited. They’ve been confined to the the area pictured above, and they aren’t fully revealed until the very end. They become a mixture of a backdrop and the conflict. It’s odd thing to conceive, but it works out wonderfully.
Conversely, there is an unhealthy focus on the love story between the two leads. All too often takes up valuable time which could be spent on the rather unique setting. It’s not film ruining, but it’s not entirely worthwhile either.
The big takeaway from Monsters is that director Gareth Edwards is probably one of the better choices as director for the upcoming Godzilla, which looks incredible.
The Iceman- Anti-heroes, especially of the murderous variety, can be a tough sell. They often become either too humanized, Dexter, or incredibly uninteresting. In Iceman’s case, it’s the latter of the two. Based on the real killer, Richard Kuklinski, who claimed to have murdered over 100 people for both pleasure and mob related work, you know where this one is going from the get-go. So it’s one of those journey rather than destination stories.
Thanks to the mundane level of suspense, the intentions of a compelling character analysis never come to fruition. Michael Shannon plays his familiar stoic creeper role and does a fine job of it. The cast in general is rather surprising. There’s James Franco for a couple seconds, which I’m sure costed more than it was worth. Then there’s Chris Evans who’s out of depth as killer Robert Proge. Yes, Captain America plays a serial killer and isn’t terrible at it, but everytime he’s on screen there’s an overwhelming dissonance.
The Iceman is the type of movie you watch and then an hour later it escapes the jail of your long term memory. If you’re interested in the learning about Kuklinski, you’d likely get more of a thrill reading the Wikipedia article.
Steins;Gate: Fuka Ryoiki no Deja vu- As a devout fan of the anime, it should come as no surprise I enjoy Fuka Ryoiki no Deja vu. The truth is, Fuka Ryo...fuck that name is long, isn’t necessary. It’s an excuse to make more Steins;Gate. Call me crazy, but I’m 100% okay with that. While the series finishes strong, I missed hearing Tu tu ru, Okabe and Kurisu’s bickering, and all other manner of goofiness which makes the characters so lovable. Fuka Ryojdsaf djfsdj scratches that itch.
Taking place after the events of the anime, Kurisu and Okabe experience some role reversal. This twist creates for a satisfying dynamic between the two, if entirely predictable in its execution. Chances are you can predict the ending, which is sort of bummer, but Fuckaj Ryo Something or Other’s focus is strictly on the journey. While not as impactful as the anime, there’s still plenty of moments which will kick you straight in the feels.
Funnel Cakes’ biggest issue is the length. The central concept would be more fitting of the pacing adorned to several episodes rather than an 90 minute film. There’s a lot of interesting ideas, such as Okabe’s memories between worlds blending, but not a one is examined to its fullest potential.
The key to enjoyment is expectation management. This isn’t nearly as profound as the anime, but for fans looking to satisfy their Steins;Gate fix until the western release of the visual novel, Fuka Ryoiki no Deja vu is worth a look.
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