September 2012 – Alternative Lens

LOOPER review

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception), Bruce Willis (Die Hard), Emily Blunt (The Adjustment Bureau)

Director/Writer: Rian Johnson (Brick)

Runtime: 1 hour 58 minutes

Release Date: 28 September (US, UK)

Looper is the brainchild of Rian Johnson, who made the terrific film-noir/high school movie Brick (he also made The Brothers Bloom, which I haven’t seen yet but really need to). The talent behind it, combined with the intriguing premise, has had me excited about this one for a while. Now that it’s finally released, I can happily say Looper lives up to all expectations and comes out as one of the best films of 2012 so far.

The plot of Looper is more complicated than the trailer suggests. Joe (Gordon-Levitt)’s hunt for his future self (Willis) is merely the starting point of a story that goes much deeper into themes of loss, revenge, and of course time travel. Some of the major plot elements of the film have been completely omitted from the publicity, and wisely so, and some of them are more interesting that the initial premise. The way the time travel works in this world is explained in detail, but no so much that it becomes over-bearing and requires the use of a diagram. It does some unique things with the concept of the past affecting the future, while also taking some obvious queues from other sci-fi films (the film screams The Terminator at several points). The film keeps up a good clip, though it does slow down a fair bit in the latter half of the second act.

Many have found Gordon-Levitt’s make-up to make him look more like Bruce Willis to be a bit unnerving. But to be honest, you get used to it eventually. More importantly, Gordon-Levitt nails Willis’ mannerisms and tone of voice. But he also is sure to make his performance not an exact copy of Willis, considering that while they are both Joe, they are very different Joes that have experienced different things. Willis himself is on usual form, so if you know what to expect from him these days you’ll get exactly that. Emily Blunt, while introduced late in the film, does very well and has finally managed to shed her English accent for a role. Paul Dano and Jeff Daniels serve their small roles effectively, and Brick’s Noah Segan is back playing a similar role to the one he did in Johnson’s first film.

Action isn’t the main focus of Looper, but when it does it, it does it good. 95% of the action involves gunplay, and it works by limiting its arsenal to just a few different guns. The visual effects aren’t amazing either, but they do the job and never seem fake. The production design is where the film shines outside of story. The world is well designed and feels like a future that could actually happen: a well-blended mix of dystopic and apocalyptic. I also don’t think I’ve ever seen a sci-fi film take place mostly in corn fields, so points for originality there too. The cinematography is well done (especially during a scene where Joe goes on a drug trip) and the music is subtle but effective.

Overall, Looper is one of the best sci-fi movies in a while and easily stands up there with other modern classics like District 9, Inception and Source Code. Some may try to nitpick the film to death and point to some of its more unoriginal ideas, but look past the little details and you’ll find a film that, as a whole, is both fun and thought provoking.

FINAL VERDICT: 9/10

PARANORMAN review

Starring: Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road), Tucker Albrizzi (Bridesmaids), Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air), Casey Affleck (Gone Baby Gone), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad)

Directors: Sam Fell (Flushed Away) & Chris Butler

Writer: Chris Butler

Runtime: 1 hour 32 minutes

Release Date: August 17^th (US), September 14^th (UK)

I had no real expectations going into ParaNorman. I hadn’t been religiously following it up until release, and didn’t really pay attention to it until the good reviews started coming in upon its US release. And now that I’ve finally watched it, I can easily say that ParaNorman is the best animated film of the year so far.

The plot is fairly straightforward and easy to follow for a kid’s film, but what’s original about ParaNorman isn’t its broad plot, but its slight intricacies. The exact character traits and plot points are against the grain and not what you’d expect (a couple of them could be seen as revolutionary). The film is very fast paced and doesn’t stop moving once the second act kicks into gear. The jokes, while not consistently hitting, fly so fast you hardly notice the bad ones. There are many references to classic horror movies (Norman’s ringtone is the Halloween theme. Nice!) and the film even opens with a tribute to Grindhouse. Not sure how many kids are going to get that reference, but its still awesome.

The film has a high quality cast that helps to bring some of these eccentric characters to life. Smit-Mcphee can sometimes be a little dull as Norman, but considering the loner attitude of the character, it fits. Mintz-Plasse does a good job as the bully Alvin, but even in the animated world he can’t escape being recognised as McLovin. The stand-outs for me in the cast were Affleck as the jock Mitch (a certain revelation about him is hysterical, John Goodman as Norman’s hobo uncle, and Jeff Garlin as Norman’s dad. The rest of the voices fit well with their characters, but don’t really stand out as much. Oh, and Jodelle Ferland plays another creepy child. Haven’t seen that before *sarcasm*.

But the stand out thing about ParaNorman is the animation. This was the same company that did Coraline, and it shows. The stop-motion feels so much smoother than films by Aardman, and really helps to suck you in. The art style, while very reminiscent of Tim Burton or Henry Selick, is beautifully realised to create some very detailed environments and set-pieces. The range of facial expressions, helped by the use of 3D printers, are astounding. CG is often used but, like with Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists, it is used only to expand upon the stop-motion, not replace it. The music is also really good and balances a thin line between whimsy and horror flawlessly.

In conclusion, ParaNorman isn’t a perfect movie, but it’s still a damn great one and one I could see myself popping around Halloween. It often feels as if it caters more to adults than kids, but I think the entire family can enjoy this one as long as your kids aren’t too squeamish. Its technical achievments may outshine its story, but is still a fun ride regardless. Don’t miss it.

FINAL VERDICT: 8/10

DREDD review

Starring: Karl Urban (Star Trek), Olivia Thrilby (Juno), Lena Heady (300)

Director: Pete Travis (Vantage Point)

Writer: Alex Garland (28 Days Later)

Runtime: 1 hour 35 minutes

Release Date: 7 September (UK), 21 September (US)

Judge Dredd is the poster boy for British comic book publisher 2000AD. While I have never read a Dredd comic myself, I am fairly familiar with the character and find him interesting. They then made a Hollywood movie version in 1995 starring Sylvester Stallone. It was sub-par. Not just because it changed several key aspects of the comic (such as Dredd’s failure to keep his helmet on throughout the movie), but because it ended up being an over-budgeted, under-written 90’s sci-fi actioner. You know you’re a 90’s movie when Rob Schneider of all people plays your sidekick. 17 years later, the Brits have taken their icon back and put matters into their own hands to create Dredd. Does it stand above its disappointing predecessor, or does it “BETRAY THE LAW!”?

The plot of Dredd is very simple and easy to follow, but story is hardly the film’s first priority. Many claimed after viewing the trailer that it was ripping off The Raid, but I’ll say for the record now that it has little to do with it other than the basic premise. Dredd is as similar to The Raid as The Hunger Games is similar to Battle Royale: enough to make the comparison, but so stylistically different that you soon forget. Instead, Dredd’s inspirations are clearly the sci-fi action movies of the 80’s. Several times throughout, there are clear similarities to films such as Robocop and Escape from New York. Dredd isn’t as clever as either of them, but it is just about as fun. The film has a tendency at the start to get bogged down in scenes full of exposition early on, but once the plot kicks into gear it all dissipates into blood and gunfire.

Sylvester Stallone’s portrayal of Judge Dredd was a performance that incited more laughter than fear. Karl Urban steps up to the role with a lot more stoic-ness and delivers a performance that is not only more menacing and bad-ass, but true to the source material (in answer to the fans: Yes, you never see his full face, and yes, he does get to say “I AM THE LAW!”). But on further examination, it becomes clear that Dredd himself isn’t the film’s main character. That falls more to the character of Judge Anderson (Olivia Thrilby). Not only does she serve as the audience avatar, she’s the film’s main emotional grab-on point. The filmmakers clearly know that Judge Dredd isn’t that sympathetic or relatable, and don’t try to make him a more standard hero like the Stallone version did. Luckily, Anderson isn’t a boring sidekick; she kicks about as much ass as Dredd does and even has a few witty one-liners. She’s also a psychic, which leads to some clever scenes between her and a perp they drag through most of the film. Lena Heady serves as the villainess and, while she is threatening and serves her role well, she doesn’t have enough screen time to be memorable.

But the main draw of a film like this is the action scenes, and Dredd delivers on that front. The action remains simple but fun, with some cool set pieces like when Dredd has to avoid a barrage of minigun fire. The film has sold itself on both the slow-mo (so much so that they incorporated it into the plot) and the 3D. The slow-mo scenes themselves are impressive, but don’t really advance too far after they’ve been introduced. At least they don’t spam it as much as some other films (Resident Evil: Afterlife anyone?). On the subject of 3D, it is mostly pointless; skip it if you have the choice. My main sticking point with the film is some of the CG, particularly the CG blood. How many times do I have to say it: CG blood looks terrible and is just plain laziness. It is even more obvious due to the slow motion. Please people, use practical blood if nothing else; it just pulls me out of the movie. Aside from this, the film is full of fun action, explosive sound and a kick-ass soundtrack.

In conclusion, Dredd is an awesome sci-fi action movie that should please both fans of the character and the genre. If you enjoy 80’s action movies, this is probably far more satisfying than watching The Expendables. While they don’t foreshadow it, I think it’s clear they want to make more of these. When they do, I’ll be queuing up for my ticket ASAP.

FINAL VERDICT: 8/10