JACK THE GIANT SLAYER (2012)

March 2, 2013

jack Greetings again from the darkness. As a kid, I always enjoyed “Jack and Beanstalk” as a bedtime story. However, I never quite understood why Jack was a hero for stealing from the giant. Was I the only kid who felt a bit sorry for the giant? Along comes director Bryan Singer and frequent collaborator Christopher McQuarrie and the backstory clarifies things for me. The humans and giants had a long ago battle that ended when King Eric banished the giants to a land between heaven and earth. King Eric is either referred to as “The Great” or “The Evil” depending on whether you are a human or a giant.

The prologue offers up simultaneous bedtime beanstalk stories for young Jack, living with his widowed dad, and the young Princess Isabelle, who lives in the castle. Flash forward 10 years and Jack (Nicholas Hoult) is living with his grumpy uncle (his dad died), and Princess Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson) is a young lady being forced to marry the King’s (Ian McShane) trusted adviser Roderick, played as a scoundrel by Stanley Tucci. Isabelle is a bit too adventurous for the King and jack3the next thing we know, she has escaped from the castle and stumbled into Jack’s humble abode. Of course, this happens on the same day that Jack traded the horse for the magic beans. The beanstalk appears and the real fun begins.

Ewen McGregor leads the King’s army and is in charge of the rescue party that must climb the beanstalk. Of course, Jack gets to go because of his inside information, and Roderick goes because he is in the midst of an ill-fated power play … a requirement in Fairy Tales! The best CGI in the film occurs in the land of the giants. Their first appearance is very impressive and we get to sit back and enjoy the special effects wizardry. This is action-adventure at a very satisfactory level and the creepy giants add a new level to what we have seen on screen. The battle scenes are a great deal of fun and provide some visuals that are quite intense.

jack2 Which leads to the main point here … who is the movie made for? It’s entirely too frightening for young kids who might enjoy the bedtime story, but I’m sure most teens are way too cool to see a movie about a kids’ book. This is terrific entertainment that many ages would enjoy, but my guess is very few will venture to the theatre for it. Support work is also provided by Ewen Bremner, Eddie Marsan, and Bill Nighy (who voices the two-headed giant). There will be comparisons to The Princess Bride, but that’s a bit unfair. While they both have princesses and farm boys, Rob Reiner’s film is a classic.

This is a wonderful story with terrific visuals, interesting characters, unique humor (pig in a blanket), and wild battle scenes … there is even a quite clever ending that made me laugh. Director Bryan Singer has received a lifetime pass from me thanks to his classic The Usual Suspects, but he definitely injected some spice into a traditional tale, and it deserves a look.

What’s that smell?  Ahhh … it’s the blood of an Englishman

SEE THIS MOVIE IF: you enjoyed the bedtime story as a kid OR you want to see the best movie giants yet

SKIP THIS MOVIE IF: you are scared of giants OR you have a magic bean phobia

watch the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng9rjC8MOgU

 

Leave a Comment » | Action, Fantasy, Thriller | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by David Ferguson

WARM BODIES (2013)

February 3, 2013

warm2 Greetings again from the darkness. It’s been 45 years since George Romero introduced us to Night of the Living Dead, which he followed 10 years later with Dawn of the Dead. In 2004, humor was injected into the zombie genre by Shaun of the Dead, and then in 2009 Zombieland kept it alive, so to speak. Now, thanks to the success of “The Walking Dead”, zombies are the new vampires in Hollywood. Writer/director Jonathan Levine (50/50, The Wackness) turns Isaac Marion’s young adult novel into the first true Zombie Rom-Com … or Zom-Com, if you will.

Many of us were introduced to Nicholas Hoult a decade ago when he was the youngster alongside Hugh Grant in About a Boy. In his latest, Mr. Hoult plays “R”, a self-admitted conflicted zombie in a post-apocalyptic society. In this new world order, there are three distinct groups: Humans, Corpses, and Bonies. Humans are the paranoid types who build a wall and aggressively hunt down the two non-human groups. Corpses are the traditional zombie types who sniff and slog their way through warm3while trying to avoid deadly shots to the head. Bonies are those corpses who have given up all hope and now are indiscriminate in their search for meals.

So all of that sounds quite typical and expected, but what gives this movie its charm is the manner in which we as the viewer connect with R the zombie. His narration provides insight into his ever-present optimism, despite his need to feed on humans. In the film’s turning point, he actually rescues Julie (Teresa Palmer) during a corpse-human battle. Taking her back to his jet liner-condo, they communicate through simple gestures and R’s vintage vinyl collection.

A romantic comedy through the POV of a zombie is a bit unusual, and so is the wit and humor displayed by R. There is minimal warm4actual gore in the film, though you should be prepared for R’s keeping a brain-snack in his pocket in a manner not unlike Napoleon Dynamite’s tot stash. The tip of the cap to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is obvious in the character names, and the similarities to Twilight are inescapable. Still, there is quite a bit new here and most of it is quite enjoyable.

Hoult and Palmer’s on screen dynamics are key to the story, and there is excellent support work from Rob Corddry, John Malkovich and Analeigh Tipton. It would be easy to give away too much here, but instead let’s say that it is surprisingly clever, funny, witty, sweet and entertaining … especially for a Zom-Com that features tunes from Springsteen and Dylan.

**NOTE: despite my surprisingly favorable reaction to this movie, I was a bit shocked by the poor CGI on the Bonies. It’s probably due to budget constraints, but special effects that look outmoded by two decades are tough to overlook.

SEE THIS MOVIE IF: you don’t mind a surprisingly entertaining romantic comedy half populated by zombies.

SKIP THIS MOVIE IF: suspension of disbelief is not your strong suit.

watch the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07s-cNFffDM

 

Leave a Comment » | Fantasy, Rom-Com | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by David Ferguson

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