Harlemer Reviews

Inception (2010)

A visually beautiful roller coaster of inventiveness

[9/10 · 27 July 2010]

Nolan may possibly be one of the best new directors to be rising into the Hollywood scene, considering he's slowly becoming a household name with the reboot of the Batman series. It's rare to find a filmmaker who brings something fresh into the scene with every movie he releases, and while he's far from perfect, Inception is his best work to date, next to his semi-independent film Momento.

Inception is a movie that comes around once in awhile that really sends you on a thrill ride of visual effects and gun fights, while simultaneously keeping you enthralled in a storyline that has been well fleshed out throughout the first and second acts, and concluded in a way that, as long as you had paid attention, leaves you fulfilled and satisfied. Unlike Dicaprio's previous film, Shutter Island, which makes you feel as if a potentially awe-inspiring story was just cut too short and given a generic, Shaymalan style twist.

Nolan's masterpiece (and yes, it is a masterpiece) is about a group of James-bond like characters who are able to infiltrate a person's dream through a specific kind of technology and steal ideas (usually in a symbolic safe and represented as paper). Leonardo Dicaprio plays the leader archetype, whose subconscious is unstable due to a past experience with his wife. Ellen Page is brought on the team to become the Architect of the dreams, and steadily becomes the voice of reason for Dicaprio's troubled character. What makes the film especially great is that there is no unnecessary, sporadic romance played off the generic Hollywood clichés that audiences will despise a movie without sex or love involved.

The ending may throw you for a loop, but you'll either make up your own decision about it's meaning or just take it as it comes. Either way, the movie is a fabulous example of intelligent blockbuster movies, and does an excellent job balancing story and character development with action and visual effects. And, by the way, the action scenes are pretty badass.

My final word to you is to see this movie, pay attention, and be amazed.

Kick-Ass (2010)

A Fantastic Joyride

[9/10 · 17 April 2010]

I have to say, out of all the technicalities that make a movie good, you never really think of "editing." But in all seriousness, the editing of this flick is so great, that even if it had horrible characters or plot, I'd still want to see it again.

Thankfully that's not the case. Kick-ass has a ton of fun characters, my favorite of which are the father and daughter (Big Daddy and Hit Girl). They all have an array of quirks that don't overwhelm their whole presence, and they all play off one another very well in a darkly humorous plot. That being said, the only problem I had with this movie was that it may have been too serious. It's a satire movie with very few laugh-out-loud jokes, but it doesn't make it any less enjoyable. I went into the movie expecting a boatload of jokes, but ended up getting a surprisingly dark experience. But it doesn't stop the fact that this is a fun movie from start to finish.

In my opinion, this is the Zombieland of super hero flicks. It may not be as funny as the trailer made it out to be, but it's well made, well executed and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

9 (I) (2009)

An interesting premise and look....

[7/10 · 12 April 2010]

9 is one of those movies that could be fantastic, but is often bogged down by several very prominent flaws. For every good thing there is about this film, there's something bad. The atmosphere is great, but the characters are dull. The setting is fitting and exciting, but the story is a bit lacking.

Let's start off with what makes 9 "bad". If you're looking for a movie with an incredibly complex, mind-blowing story, then this film probably isn't for you. It's your typical, average 'machines-take-over-the-world' scenario played out through the eyes of rag dolls. It's main character, 9, is a late-awakening rag doll who is introduced to the other rag dolls throughout the movie, all with their own numbers and distinct personalities. They're all that's left of humanity's "personality" and are living in a desolate world destroyed from the machine-human war. Like I said, a simple story with a few twists and turns that will keep kids more enthralled than adults. But that's not to say the story isn't interesting and somewhat engaging. You certainly won't get bored of it, because the movie isn't too long.

Secondly, the characters are a bit of a let down. There isn't much character development, except for maybe 5, who is by far the most three dimensional character of the bunch. 9 is your typical hero, he starts off as an out-of-water fish, because he 'awakens' later than the rest, and gradually becomes the strong leader the other characters need. You could call this character development, but it isn't anything we haven't seen before. The rest of the cast are a collection of personalities with little depth. You've got the "warrior girl", the "cynical leader", the "dumb brute", the "shy and tentative friend", the "wise inventor", and the "psychic oddball." They even have "curious and child-like twins" that serve to give a bit of exposition. The good thing about this is that the writers didn't go overboard. For instance, the only female character is portrayed as an independent, strong, and protective individual, but unlike other movies, she doesn't wave the feminist card in your face, or act like a raging whore for the entire movie. I rather liked how mellow and level headed she acted, whilst simultaneously being awesome.

Now, what makes this movie really good? Well, first of all, it's a child's film in my opinion. I don't see why some people think kids can't handle character death or scary images, because it's not true. This movie doesn't shy away from any of those themes often left behind in kid films, in fact they may have gone a little too far, but a lot of the death scenes were rather touching. That being said, kids will probably go crazy for this movie. The character's and story seem perfect for them, because they're much more simplified and clear for a younger viewer than for an older one.

Second of all, the movie has perfect atmosphere. I feel that for the lack of character development, the tone and mood of the movie couldn't be better. It was quite depressing in some moments, while surprisingly frightening in others. And mixed with the impressive visual effects, it created a very intense setting that was a pleasing combination of several "punk" genres. While at some times I felt the movie had a very "cyberpunk" feel to it, I would also see elements of "steampunk" and even "biopunk." Above all, of course, were the main characters making it perfectly clear that it was heading down the "stitchpunk" route.

All in all, I think it's a movie worth seeing, but I wouldn't say jump over your grandmother's dead body to do so.

Halo Legends (2010 Video)

Very Disappointing

[4/10 · 18 February 2010]

I'm a big fan of the Halo games, and when I heard that they were going to make an Animatrix-like collection of animated shorts based on the universe, I was hugely excited...

And then I got around to watching it, and I felt myself die a little inside.

Firstly, let me just say that not everything was bad. I did like how they used the same music from the games, but also added in their own music on occasion, and I thought the English voice acting was very good. However, unlike the Animatrix, Halo Legends is mostly crap, with only one or two good shorts out of all seven. Animatrix, despite some of it's shorts to be pretty mediocre, was mostly a good show.

Out of all seven shorts, only three were really good. But since Origins I and Origins II are the same thing, just divided, then let's just say only two were good. The two-part Origins segment is narrated entirely by Cortana, with good animation and music (though it only uses music from the game). It tells the history of the Halo Universe, why the Forerunners created Halo, how they died, how Humans first encountered the Covenant, etc. The other short that's worth watching is the final one, titled "The Package", is CGI-animated and loosely resembles the game cut scenes. It's about a group of Spartans, 117 included, who head into a Covenant fleet to rescue a "Package". This short is awesome because it starts off with a kick-ass space battle, gets you hyped up with a sweet guns-a-blazing race, and ends with a cool cameo appearance. It defiantly makes Halo fans feel like they at least got SOMETHING good out of this catastrophe.

And then there are the rest of the shorts...

"The Babysitter" is about a small squad of ODST soldiers who work together with a Spartan, who doesn't seem think that TALKING TO YOUR SQUAD is all that important, who are on a mission to assassinate one of the Prophets. This has really boring animation, really stupid characters, and no real redeeming features. When we find out at the end that the Spartan is actually a woman, I get no real shock. Who cares if she's a woman? We get to see the "main" character of the short, who greatly disliked the Spartan, suddenly have a change of heart because, hey, I may not like Spartans, but I can't hate a woman! "The Duel" is a like it or hate it segment. I REALLY didn't like it because of the portrayal of the Elites. It focuses on an Arbiter who is accused of Heresy, so his wife (yes, his WIFE, we get to see what female Elites look like, and let's just say, they don't look anything like Elites IMO) is killed, and he takes out a whole god-damn army of Covenant soldiers by himself. I guess what really irked me about this was how they made the Elites live in some kind of Japanese-inspired environment, wearing really uncharacteristic clothing. It just bothered me, even though I know it's a really petty thing to get upset over.

"Homecoming" is a boring pile of crap. It follows a Spartan named Daisy (ugh) who keeps having flashbacks about how she was recruited to be a Spartan in the first place. Omg, where do I start? First off, the kick-ass super-soldiers are portrayed as scrawny, angsty teens who need to serious get on some steroids, and the dialogue is all junk, sounding more like it came out of some cruddy shoujo anime than out of a HALO TRIBUTE. And the little symbolic teddy-bear key chain thing made me want to gag. And to top it all off, the animation was a major bore.

"Prototype" even though I kind of did like this one, because it had really good editing, voice acting, animation, and use of music, it just didn't seem like it had anything to do with Halo to me. It felt like more of an original segment from some mecha anime than a Halo tribute. It does a good job of making to feel sorry for the character and all, but by the end of it, all you can think of is, "oh yeah, right, this is about Halo, isn't it?" "Odd One Out" is a parody. This is this worst bag of garbage I have ever seen! Why the Hell would someone make a PARODY of Halo in a collection of SERIOUS SHORTS? I don't care if it's appropriately title "Odd One Out," it's not funny, it has horrible animation, the main character is UNBELIEVABLY annoying, and it serves no significance whatsoever to the whole project. There may be one or two jokes that are actually a little funny, but it doesn't cover up the fact that this is one of the most insulting things they could have added.

All in all, you may enjoy this if you're an anime fan, and, you know, you're stupid, but I suggest to fans of the Games to watch Origins I, Origins II, The Package, and maybe Prototype on the internet or something. Don't waste your money on the whole shebang.

S. Darko (2009)

A waste of time and money.

[3/10 · 18 December 2009]

When I found this DVD in a store on discount, I was stunned. I couldn't bring myself to believe that there were people stupid enough to make a sequel to a movie like Donnie Darko, when there was no indication at the end of the film that a sequel could even be made.

If you've seen and enjoyed the first movie, you'll know how unique and one-of-a-kind it is. The sequel, however, is a pile of messy, incoherent trash that obviously and thankfully was not worth sending to theaters, despite the fact it's a continuation of a cult-classic, cult-following film.

The "story" follows Samantha, the least developed character of the first film, played by the same actress. And let's just say, her acting as a nine-yea-old was better than her performance here. She's on a road trip with her trendy Maggie Gyllenhaal look-alike friend, when their car breaks down and are saved by a hip, cool-as-ice boy played by Ed Westwick, whose most notable role prior to this movie was Alex, from Children of Men. His character, Randy, likes to act cool, meaning he has no interesting qualities other than his adequate good looks. He brings the two girls to a motel in his sleepy home town where a meteorite strikes a windmill, and another Gyllenhaal look-alike predicts the end of the world. What ensues is crappy writing, drama, sub plots, and characters, all which add their own flare to this piece-of-junk movie.

The only redeeming quality about this movie is how they got a little bit creative with the main character, making her not the living receiver, but the manipulated dead. But that's it! There's NOTHING interesting about this movie, and it's nothing but a rip-off of the first one, creating nothing original, but creating quite a bit of similarities. A sequel is supposed to be it's own movie, as well as a continuation, but S. Darko failed at that. Plus, it was an unnecessary sequel, sent straight to DVD where it belongs.

All-in-all, I don't recommend this movie. It's boring, poorly-paced, and just a terrible piece of work. Spend your money on a better movie on the discount shelves.

The Land Before Time (1988)

As wonderful as it was eleven years ago.

[17 December 2009]

I watched this movie when I was six years old, and even at seventeen it doesn't fail to amaze and entertain. Of course you have the iconic scenes, but watching this movie as an adult is even better than watching it as a kid, because every scene stands out at you. I actually felt more emotional and sympathetic towards the characters than I ever did as a child, and it really makes a difference.

The movie was made in 1988, and was graced with an array of twelve horribly voiced, animated, and executed musical sequels that sometimes cover up the light of the original film (too much of a good thing isn't always good.) The first movie is a masterpiece, one of the few animated films ever made that provoke serious emotions and understanding of the need for companionship.

The story focuses around five young dinosaurs in a time where the world was a mostly barren place. After all of them are separated from their families, they find each other one-by-one and stay together, trying to find the one place on earth they have a chance of surviving in. What makes this plot so unique are these five characters, because they're not perfect friends and individuals, they have problems, ghosts, and don't always see eye to eye, making them a realistic and believable group of friends. However, by the end of the movie they've gone through so much together that they can't help but love one another. Now, of course, the sequels lack the chemistry shown in the first movie, so they aren't even in the ballpark of how fantastic this film is.

On the technical side of things, the animation is great, a true example of classic cartooning. Everything is so smooth and attractive, and at the same time, the darkness of the story gives it a gritty look that doesn't seem out of place at all with the cute little dinosaurs. As for the music, well let's just say that The Land Before Time would be a very mediocre film if it weren't for the score. This is by far the only score that's been able to instantly bring me to tears upon hearing it, because after seeing it set to such a happy ending after such a dark and depressing movie, it leaves a serious impression.

So, all-in-all, if you haven't seen this movie, see it. It's a classic that shouldn't be passed up, and it only gets better with age.