vincent-bullock Reviews

Real Steel (2011)

Great movie. Fun for all ages.

[8/10 · 1 March 2012]

It is easy for films like Real Steel to give in to sloth and rely on CGI robot fights and Hugh Jackman's presence for an easy buck. To my delight, Real Steel doesn't opt for the lazy approach to blockbuster films and pulls off the whole production with a great script, brilliant acting, amazing directing and the best CGI robots I can recall seeing.

Considering the premise for the film sounds more like an feature-length ad for a line of action figures and video games and that it is taking a big risk by selling itself to both an adult male market and a children's market, it really is impressive that the result is such a passionate and endearing story about a father and son.

Hugh Jackman and Dakota Goyo feel perfect side by side and the latter is living proof that child actors aren't always obnoxious distractions from an otherwise good action flick.

I also have to commend the film for going for a slightly different and original dynamic regarding boxing films. Hugh Jackman plays a washed up, past his prime, jaded boxer who has lost all his aspirations due to the shift in fandom from humans to robots. Dakota Goyo plays Hugh's estranged son who has good reasons for hating his father. Naturally, Goyo shows a spark of talent in the field of robo-boxing and the two join forces for a shot at the title of world champions. The twist is that everything revolves around Jackman and his journey of rediscovery, coming to terms with his misfortunes and mistakes while mending his relationship with Goyo; it is a much braver and refreshing storyline than the typical Rocky formula: old guy teaches new guy his old tricks.

If you are looking for a film to watch with the family, this is probably it. The subject matter is approached with all the respect and seriousness you could ask for while the larger narrative is fast-paced and simplistic assuring it can captivate the majority of audiences.

Equilibrium (2002)

Good fight scenes, terrible everything else.

[3/10 · 3 February 2012]

This film has great fight scenes. They are tremendously original and very carefully executed. There are quite a few shots and scenes that are quite breath taking. I was genuinely impressed when Christian Bale ripped the plastic coat off his window to reveal a gorgeous sunset. It really managed to convey the otherwise indescribable welling of emotion he was going through.

The plot is silly. There isn't much to say about it. It's the kind of idea you just suddenly get and then try and run with it until you realize it's not much to really work on, yet somehow somebody thought they could make a whole film out of it.

The script is definitely lackluster. There isn't a single memorable line in the thing and it would have worked just as well with no script at all.

Finally, the acting is frankly some of the worst acting I've ever seen. This stuff is only slightly above The Room level of acting. Christian Bale is supposed to be the only character capable of feeling in this city, yet his face looks like a blank slate throughout. He just seems to have been playing the wrong character from beginning to end. Conversely, Taye Diggs can't stop grinning like an idiot and generally looking quite content with himself when the whole film is supposed to be about how much of a emotionless, stone-cold killer he is. A part of me would like to believe that he was actually not taking the drug in order to enjoy murdering innocent people, in which case his character would have served as a clever social commentary on the nature of totalitarian governments. However, at no point does anybody even acknowledge the possibility of this so I can only conclude that it was just terrible acting, accompanied by god awful directing.

There is, admittedly, some good stuff in this film, but it is totally buried in sub-par garbage that you wouldn't expect from an expensive film, made by actual professionals.

Super (I) (2010)

If you went in expecting Kickass 2 you should change your expectations to Taxi Driver 2

[9/10 · 18 January 2012]

This is hands down the most unapologetically violent film I have ever seen or probably will see in the next decade and be warned, this is the brand of violence that is designed to make you remember war is hell. I loved it, make no mistake. It's a film I might recommend you to watch once, but you would probably never want to watch it again.

To cut the story short, this film took the premise of Kickass were Kickass didn't dare to go. What if a single, sociopathic loner tried to take on a drug dealing gang dressed as a defender of justice? Super answers the question with relentless detail.

Overall, I think this film is a masterpiece. It has a unique pacing and style, bringing ideas and feelings almost alien to cinema thus far. The characters are brutally real and their stories painfully honest. The film is funny, it's laugh out loud hilarious, but only with the darkest most messed up humor I have ever seen. It's weird to admit, but I, at 22 years of age, felt the guilty rush of watching something that I wasn't old enough for. I doubt that at 50 I would feel ready to deal with something this adult.

Super reflects the most cynical side of human nature. The personal search for meaning in the depths of despair is prevalent throughout this harrowing tale and the end of the journey doesn't pull it's punches. Religion plays a very important role in this story. Paradoxically, it is handled with the most tasteless blasphemy and most serene respect.

This is probably one of the weirdest films you will ever watch guaranteed, but it works. This movie will tear you to shreds as a person.

Sucker Punch (2011)

A very complex and demanding film

[10/10 · 13 September 2011]

When I saw the trailer for Sucker Punch I just knew Zack Snyder had something hidden up his sleeve. The film seemed to be an action-fest with hot, young girls in short skirts. It seemed degrading to say the least and that's why it left me so intrigued. Zack Snyder didn't fail to amaze me as usual and presented me with one of the best films I've seen this year.

Sucker Punch has many layers in both a real and a metaphorical sense. It starts as a film about a young girl sent to an insane asylum to be disposed of, suddenly that was all a strange dream sequence and we have the same girl being sold to a brothel and yet again we're sent into another alternate fantasy land where she is fighting dragons and steam-punk Nazis. The exact meaning of all this is hard to grasp but it certainly kept me thinking about it hours after watching it. That's when the genius behind it began to surface. Fantasy. It's all a huge, incongruous fantasy.

The ending should have caught anybody paying attention by surprise. It's quite a twist and there seems to be no point to it, however the futility of the ending is the whole point.

If you watched the trailer you should have imagined a story about young women struggling against an oppressive society with their weapons being their fists and their attractive physiques. You don't have to be a woman to understand how offensive this can be as a representation of the feminist movement. That's part of the point.

So you have the hot girls, the guns, the cruel sexist oppressors and the skimpy outfits. What's left? Obviously a lot of violence and fan-service along the way to victory. But do they succeed? *SPOILER* Of course not, they all die which is perfectly logical given that they are a bunch of teenage girls trying to fight their way out of a jail guarded by brutish, burly men.

This film served as a great wake up call to writers everywhere. A large percentage of the audience is tired of this pseudo-feminist, sexploitation garbage. If you want to write films where women succeed it's better if you start by writing about realistic women who achieve their goals with believable means. We don't want films about ninjas who happen to have nice legs. How are you supposed to look up and admire that? Those girls aren't even human. They're just idealized puppets of a writer's imagination. You want an example of a action woman you can look up to? How about Sarah Connor? How about Ellen Ripley? What's that? Oh, they haven't got the cute outfits or the pantyshots, I forgot about that.

The Ages of Love (2011)

Mediocre and embarrassing to watch

[3 September 2011]

Spoilers I live close to Italy and I have often found it unfair how they are usually portrayed as lustful beasts with no principles, Italians apparently have no problems with these allegations judging from this film.

It features three stories at different times in the lives of three stereotypical alpha male leads. Each has some sort of adventure with a woman which for one reason or another raises eyebrows. The women in these stories are incredibly one-dimensional and unoriginal, reminiscent of 1950s B-rate movies.

The packaging at least promises three love stories and for some reason one of them isn't even about love. De Niro's appearance makes the movie slightly more passable but it does not redeem the predictable storyline which is almost an insult to the audience.

I was watching this with my girlfriend and I have to admit that the film does fall in the category of "so bad it's good". We laughed and commented this film heartily. That at least saved it from being a complete waste of time.

Rambo III (1988)

A let down when coming from Sylvester Stallone and the Rambo franchise

[3/10 · 3 May 2011]

Both First Blood and Rambo II are memorable films for their intense story a masterfully woven action. In both respects Rambo III falls short. Where as in the first two there is an underlying theme off a brave, good man repeatedly being let down by his country and the men he tries to protect, in the third movie the theme is dropped and replaced with a plot not only dull and typical but also completely senseless. Meanwhile in the action department the film starts off at a terrible pace and we only get to see the Rambo we know and love busting his moves 40 minutes into the film.

The whole film is terribly forced. It takes quite a bit of effort to imagine John Rambo throwing away the life of peace he worked so hard for at the drop of a hat. In my opinion, the Coronel acts completely out of character considering the events of Rambo II. There is no way I could believe that the character would really approach Rambo once again like a total asshole. On a similar note, while Rambo surprised us over and over again with his special ops traps and camouflage tricks, when he's suddenly taken out of a dark jungle and placed in a well lit Russian camp in the middle of a desert it's hard to believe he could pull off the same stunts.

The action is generally poorly executed and the climatic final battle is ludicrous. Firstly I can't get over how a Russian army composed of helicopters and tanks lost to some dudes on horses with petrol bombs. Secondly, the surreal showdown between Rambo and Zayzen where Mr. baddie decides to charge against a tank with a helicopter 5 feet off the ground directly in line with the cannon, as opposed to flying up and launching the laser guided anti tank missiles it has from a safe distance. It's obvious at this point they weren't even trying. Suffice it to say that these last 20 minutes are cringe worthy.

The ending scene was pointless and showed no signs of effort to give some sort of closure to the film. Also, we were continuously introduced to a bunch of lackluster, useless characters who do nothing but slow down the action. I also had an issue with the bullet wounds in several instances. At one point Rambo is shot by a helicopter round in the leg. 99% of the time that happens your leg is blown off into little bits. I understand Rambo is the main character so at first I thought it would just break his leg and so he would continue his carnage like a bad ass while limping. To my disbelief a few seconds later he's OK again running like a bloodhound and the giant hole going through the middle of his leg is never mentioned again.

In conclusion, unlike the other 3 Rambo films (yes, even John Rambo is better than this film) this one left behind nothing of value that you could take home. The story is really forced and unoriginal, the script is inferior, the action is scarce and usually makes no sense and the majority of the cast is boring and bring nothing to the table.

I'm not going to say this film is of the worst action movies of all time, but if they do make a list of them, Rambo III deserves an honorable mention for ruining a franchise in the laziest way possible.

There Be Dragons (2011)

An exploration of man's inner demons

[8/10 · 27 April 2011]

Roland Joffé did not disappoint me with this film. I am a first generation spaniard and I find Joffé's portrayal of the Civil War honest and fair. The story is not engulfed by facts of history, it takes great care in exploring the mysteries of the characters' backgrounds.

On one side we have the historical figure of Jose Maria Escribar, tormented in his search for God and holding firmly to his ideals while submerged in a world of hatred and chaos. On the other Manolo, haunted by vengeance and confusion; fighting without a cause and desperately searching for something he can believe him, an answer to his inner chaos. Finally, Roberto, son of Manolo, must slowly unveil the terrible secrets his father has hidden within him and come to terms with finding out who the man that brought him up was.

The film explores the senseless nature of war and its consequences, the spiral of hatred that slowly engulfs men, the repentance for terrible mistakes and the struggle to forgive them. Each character follows a path filled with dilemmas and suffering at the end of which they must fight themselves and their dragons.

Technicalwise, the film is faultless. There is great care in every scene and as I can testify Joffé has done his homework. The detail to which the history and scenery of 1937 Spain has been recreated is astounding. Even so, the story talks about people, about soldiers; never about leaders or politicians. The film captures the essence of human conflict in its most raw form.

Do not expect an action packed war film. For those who have interest in the roots of Opus Dei, this film will not help you there. It deals with the repercussions of war and strife in people, it does not deal with the grander scale of things.

If nothing else this film will reassure you that war is and always will be a futile tragedy, all victories are Pyrrhic and the aftermath leaves bitter resentment and pain. An interesting perspective in this film is that of the many bystanders who are forced to choose the side they support and so they must be separated from loved ones forever. When a few want war, the rest have no say. As long as the hatred of so few is not buried, war will rise once more.

There Be Dragons is a deeply personal and spiritual film. It is very intense and reflects unapologetically the worst side of humanity. It is true to the title, where this film takes you, there be dragons.