Posts tagged 3D
Luhrmann’s ‘Great Gatsby’ Tramples the Novel’s Intentions
41 month ago
The Great Gatsby © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved
Baz Luhrmann’s bombastic big screen adaptation of “The Great Gatsby,” is like drinking cheap booze to excess. It’s unpleasant going down, and even worse coming back up, but when the experience is over, you’ll feel much better.
Speaking of bad alcohol, Luhrmann’s film is a nasty homemade concoction. With his take on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous novel, he creates anachronistic moonshine that doesn’t mix effectively with the story’s Prohibition Era setting. His predilection for combining the old and new isn’t surprising, considering previous brazen films “Moulin Rouge” and “Romeo + Juliet.” However those stylistic blends were arguably more fluid.
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Reviews: ‘Evil Dead’ and ‘Jurassic Park 3D’
22 months ago
Evil Dead © Sony Pictures Digital Inc. All Rights Reserved
Welcome back to Weekend Movie Preview. Things have been pretty busy for me over the last month or so, which is why you haven’t seen as many of my movie reviews coming out. However I’m trying to get back into the swing of things and hope to deliver you guys with more regular columns. I had such fun at the theater this week, I felt like I just needed to share my thoughts on the new “Evil Dead” and “Jurassic Park 3D.”
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‘The Hobbit’: An Unexpectedly Action-Packed Journey
16 months ago
by Evan Crean
in 2012 Movie Reviews
The Hobbit © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved
Forty-eight frames per second: a term that has the potential to live in infamy. Whether it actually does or not, depends on who is watching Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.”
If you’re a Tolkien fanatic, you may consider this visual treachery a minor offense. Or you might look past it entirely, because you’re thrilled to see a beloved novel come to life. If you’re like me however, and you have just a casual interest in the fantasy genre, there’s a much greater chance that you’ll be aggravated by the film’s higher frame rate.
Review: ‘Men in Black III’
31 year ago
by Evan Crean
in 2012 Movie Reviews
Josh Brolin, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Will Smith in Men in Black III © Sony Pictures Digital Inc. All Rights Reserved
If you think “Men in Black III” should have a new rap song by Will Smith or more scenes with Frank the Pug, then you’ll be sorely disappointed. The closest you get to either, is a tune by Pitbull during the end credits and a couple of minor nods to the famous talking canine. But you have to look on the bright side: Barry Sonnenfeld’s “Men in Black III” is a campy sci-fi adventure complete with time travel, gimmicky 3D, inane dialogue, and an outlandish villain.
Just like the other movies in the series, “MIB III” has our heroes fighting a renegade alien with plans of world domination. A goggle-eyed baddie named Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement) escapes captivity to exact revenge upon the man who put him away: Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones). Boris jumps back in time to kill Agent K, which alters the course of history and allows his species to invade Earth.
Since Agent J (Will Smith) is the only one with memory of the previous timeline, he travels back to the 1960s so he can foil Boris and save his partner. On his journey, Agent J bumps into the younger Agent K (Josh Brolin), who he joins forces with to defend the planet. Before they can make any progress though, they must learn to work together all over again.
While most situations in “MIB III” are business as usual for this franchise, there are a couple of humorous and inventive sequences which stand out. The prison escape involving Boris is hilarious its amusing twist on the “special” birthday cake trick. Likewise, time travel in the movie, also known as time jumping, quite literally requires plunging from tall structures. As he uses the time machine, Agent J falls through some entertaining time periods, passing pterodactyls and upset investors after the stock market crash of 1929.
Nicole Scherzinger and Jemaine Clement in Men in Black III © Sony Pictures Digital Inc. All Rights Reserved
Like most 3D films, the extra dimension in “MIB III” functions more as a trick than a means to enhance the storytelling. Sonnenfeld foolishly uses it to throw things in the audience’s face like a lame amusement park ride.
The stupidity of this movie extends beyond 3D, into the dialogue between its characters. Screenwriter Etan Cohen gives Will Smith very little to work with, so don’t expect many laughs from him. Cohen’s lowest point comes when Boris meets himself in the past, and his younger self actually asks “Who are you?” We’re not talking about an old Biff and young Biff scenario from “Back to the Future II” here. These two look enough alike that he should be able to recognize himself immediately.
Josh Brolin is fantastic as a young Tommy Lee Jones, impeccably mimicking the actor’s mannerisms. Since Brolin’s Agent K hasn’t become jaded yet, he’s a more sentimental fellow who can talk openly about his thoughts and feelings. Jemaine Clement’s Boris the Animal is also enjoyable because his snarling character is a vile villain. Occasionally Clement goes a bit over-the-top into cheese territory though, which can be annoying. Perhaps the most surprising performance comes from Michael Stuhlbarg, who portrays a quirky alien with the ability to see the future. Stuhlbarg’s childlike sense of wonder and tendency to break the fourth wall are especially fun.
“Men in Black III” possesses much of the same camp which made the first film so much fun to watch. Where it differs, is that takes an obnoxious sappy direction at the end by showing a direct connection between Agent K and Agent J’s destinies. At least this flick is more memorable than 2002’s “Men in Black II.”
My Grade: C+
‘The Avengers’ Surpasses Four Years Of Hype!
21 year ago
by Evan Crean
in 2012 Movie Reviews
Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. in The Avengers © Disney Enterprises, Inc.
The answer to your burning question about The Avengers is a resounding “Yes.” If you’re into movies or comics, you’ve anxiously awaited its arrival since 2008’s “Iron Man,” which first hinted that an Avengers film was in the works. After four years and four more Marvel movies, you’ve been wondering “Will it live up to the hype?” Rest assured, not only does director/writer Joss Whedon’s flick live up to the hoopla, “The Avengers” surpasses it.
Whedon’s 3D beauty captivates you from the opening scene, where Thor’s angry step-brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) makes a deal with some mysterious baddies. Promised an army to help enslave the human race, Loki drops down to Earth to assemble his force and stir up trouble. Despite Loki’s unclear motives, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) immediately realizes that he must call together the planet’s mightiest superheroes in order to stand a chance against the villain.
Gifted Homage and Lackluster Humor in “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Xmas”
11 year ago
by Evan Crean
in 2011 Movie Reviews
A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Xmas © 2011 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved
3D movies take entertainment to new heights, making ordinary visuals, extraordinary through great spectacle. However some things just shouldn’t take on the extra dimension. Male genitals are one of them, even if they’re only animated.
In newcomer Todd Strauss-Schulson’s comedy “A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas,” a claymation member comes very close to taking your eye out, during a drug induced hallucination. Needless to say it’s pretty gross, though you may find it amusing if you’re not easily offended.
The purpose of sharing this over-the-top moment is certainly not to frighten you away, but rather to let you know what you’re in for with this film. If you don’t find that kind of stuff funny, you should probably stop reading…now. For those of you left, let’s take a deep breath, because it’s not that outrageous for the entire movie.
Aside from the genitals, Todd Strauss-Schulson has created a 3D extravaganza that is visually stimulating. His film manages to poke fun at the 3D craze, while simultaneously celebrating it. Strauss-Schulson successfully rides the line between parody and tribute as puffs of pot smoke billow off the screen at you, and eggs from an angry mob hilariously pummel Bobby Lee in the face.
“A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas” also cleverly worships great Christmas movies of yesteryear. The most obvious sequences influenced by holiday specials are a large performance number, a claymation hallucination based on the Rankin/Bass animated films, and a not so subtle take on a particular scene from “A Christmas Story.”
Talented directing and skilled homage are not enough to support the entire film though. Unfortunately “A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas” shows significant weakness with its story and its humor.
At the opening of the movie, it’s obvious that our titular buddies have suffered a major falling out, and have not spoken for years. When Kumar (Kal Penn) receives a package accidentally intended for Harold (John Cho), he attempts to bring it to its rightful owner. In true Kumar fashion though, he causes destruction after just a few minutes, by accidentally torching the prized Christmas tree belonging to Harold’s father-in-law (Danny Trejo). Determined to win his father-in-law’s approval, Harold sets out on a quest to replace the tree, with Kumar accidentally in tow.
The tale then follows a logical path. Harold and Kumar warm up to one another, and they begin to remember why they were friends in the first place. Where it starts to get cheesy though is a side story about Kumar learning to grow up. As a stoner comedy that revels in the lighthearted, this sentimental bit feels extremely forced and out of place. It stinks of the cliché, feel-good warm and fuzzies you get in a more legitimate Christmas film.
Their journey is reminiscent of their previous outings, a wild night filled with all sorts of crazy encounters: Russian gangsters, waffle making robots, and yes, you guessed it, Neil Patrick Harris himself. The jokes themselves just don’t have the same pop though.
Probably the most insane development is a running gag about a baby that accidentally ingests several hard drugs, which isn’t really funny at all, it’s just messed up. And if a guy who likes screwball humor can’t even appreciate the jokes, then you know something is wrong. Stylistically “A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas” is better than “Escape from Guantamo Bay,” but it doesn’t capture the magic of their adventure to White Castle.
My Grade: C+
