Movie Review: SUPER 8 (2011)

written & directed by J.J Abrams
starring Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler, Ron Eldard,
Noah Emmerich, Bruce Greenwood & Ron Eldard

It's a movie echoing hyphenate J.J Abrams' childhood, told through the prism of those wonderful early-'80s Steven Spielberg movie; where being a kid meant you were part of a gang (treehouse and dog optional), had a bedroom full of NASA posters and B-movie memorabilia, rode a BMX, used a walkie-talkie, and lived in a small-town nestled in a beautiful valley. More importantly, your ordinary life was destined for the extraordinary: perhaps due to the discovery of a treasure map (The Goonies), a visionary dream (Explorers), the arrival of iconic monsters (Monster Squad), or, in Super 8's case, the accidental release of a dangerous alien...

Our mop-haired 13-year-old hero is Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney); half-orphaned by a factory accident that claimed his mother's life, he now lives with his bereft father (Kyle Chandler), the town's Deputy Sheriff, and has bottled his grief by investing time making a homemade zombie movie with pals Charles Kaznyk (Riley Griffiths), Preston (Zach Mills), Martin (Gabriel Basso) and Cary (Ryan Lee). After soliciting the help of older neighbour Alice (Elle Fanning), who proves to be a brilliant actress (cemented by an adolescent version of Naomi Watts' audition scene from Mulholland Dr.), the gang get more than they bargained for while filming on the outskirts of town. It's there a passing military train derails one cloudless night—in spectacular, cacophonous fashion—and, unbeknownst to the young filmmakers, its extra-terrestrial cargo escapes...

From there it's E.T-meets-Iron Giant, with dashes of Jaws and Jurassic Park (and Jeepers Creepers 2?) stirred into Abrams' melting pot. Thankfully, it would be wrong to outright condemn Super 8 for adhering to genre formula, as its intention is to evoke the era when a "summer blockbuster" had to rely on a sense of wonder rather than the wonder of spectacle; where ideas, story and characters were enough to draw audiences. F/X sequences were the parcel drops that kept audiences nourished on the way through a story—they didn't gorge on a Transformers 3-like banquet, which leave you overdosed on nothing but visual stimuli. Abrams manages to nail this old-school approach perfectly; so much so that a part of me felt it was a shame his alien wasn't achieved using stop-motion (CGI almost looks misplaced in a 1979 context), but I suppose there's only so far Abrams' could afford to keep his head in the past.

There's heart and respect to Super 8 that's sadly been a rarity in children's movies these past few decades, once kids started to be spoonfed digital phantoms, photo-realistic tragedies, and rapid-fire editing that batters their minds into submission. Abrams resurrects the gentle spirit of youthful adventure here, helped by some great child stars who give the story real character and, for anyone over-30, a lovely swim in nostalgia. The puppy love between Joel and Alice is touchingly handled, while the thorny issue between their respective fathers provides decent human drama in-between waiting for the alien's back-story, motivation, and escape plan to be explained to us.

While there's nothing that isn't in some way derivative about Super 8, it's fantastic love-letter to a bygone age, and if Tarantino's allowed to recycle '70s exploitation cinema, I see no just cause for Abrams to face criticism for doing exactly the same thing with a more mainstream genre. The individual elements may be familiar to many, but they're blended in such a way as to appear fresh, and the whole thing will probably delight contemporary youngsters who never even lived during this time (either in reality, or vicariously through movies).

Overall, Super 8's a great throwback movie that only suffers because its limited ambition means it's rather predictable, and there are some nitpicks that'll stick in your craw. Why does the alien's magnetized spaceship only attract specific metal objects, for example? But when focusing on its young cast, while refreshing memories of early Amblin movies, Super 8's a pleasing alien-on-the-loose caper that knows exactly what it's doing. I just wish it had subverted more of the genre's conventions (beyond having a menacing alien that isn't anthropomorphized too much), but it's mostly content to replicate the tropes with loving care, attention, and effection.

Paramount Pictures / 112 minutes

READ MORE - Movie Review: SUPER 8 (2011)

Movie Review: HARRY POTTER & THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2 (2011)

directed by David Yates; written by Steve Kloves (based on the novel by J.K Rowling)
starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Alan Rickman & Ralph Fiennes

After a reprise of Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 1's closing scene, with Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) retrieving the fabled Elder Wand from the entombed corpse of Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) and firing a triumphant bolt of energy into the heavens, Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2 continues without interruption—so I recommend you get reacquainted with the previous film, or risk spending the first section of Hallows 2 trying to remember how and why Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) captured a grumpy goblin, and that Hermione (Emma Watson) can transform into the likeness of wicked witch Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter).

Of course, the Harry Potter movies tend to assume the majority of the audience have read the books till they're dog-eared, which is probably true, but not in my case. For me, the Potter saga has been an exclusively cinematic experience, but I finish many installments with questions and confusions buzzing around my brain. Whatever happened to that nice Chinese girl Harry kissed once? When did Ginny Weasley and Harry get together? Whatever happened to Moaning Myrtle, whose role as "resident ghost" is supplanted here by the Grey Lady (Kelly Macdonald)?

"You've kept him alive so that he can die at the proper moment."

After eight movies covering seven increasingly hefty books, I think it's safe to say the saga's narrative could have been improved by writing the scripts with the benefit of having all Joanne Rowling's completed books to draw from. Instead, the movies were being made before J.K had finished the fifth tome, and despite the guidance she kindly gave laudable screenwriter Steve Kloves (highlight this character more because he'll be important later, wink-wink), a feeling lingers that the movies were incapable of properly developing or emphasizing key ideas, characters, and storylines that became important in the latter films. A case in point: I have no doubt that Warner Bros would have insisted a better actress play Ginny Wesley, and Kloves would have developed that character more, had everyone known she'd become the hero's love-interest.

Hallows 2 is just an extended climax of its immediate predecessor; a movie that brings a dazzling sense of pace and energy to the often sluggish franchise, in particular contrast to quiet and character-focused Hallows 1. It's not long before we're watching an exciting Potterverse bank heist at Gringotts (where a terrific dragon's ued as the getaway car), and then we're back inside the oppressed Hogwarts—now run by traitorous, dictatorial headmaster Snape (Alan Rickman)—before the students regain power and batten down the hatches in preparation for Voldemort's arrival with his army of Death Eaters. It's an epic clash evoking The Lord Of The Rings' fabulous Siege of Gondor, only involving characters you have deeper attachment to.

In many ways Hallows 2 is one of the least nuanced and plotted installments, but after seven films nudging the mytharc along (often within the confines of self-contained mysteries), it feels only right the boy-wizard's climax is an epic action movie involving animated stone knights, club-wielding trolls, giant spiders, ethereal Dementors, and thousands of wizards spitting spells with their wands. Of particular merit were the World War II feel to battle sequences—with Hogwarts analogous to liberal Britain and Voldemort's cronies representing fascist Nazi Germany. This war movie vibe echoed through the design of the half-demolished school, resembling areas of post-Blitz London with '40s-style wooden stretchers to ferry the injured away.

"You were right, never better. I feel like I can spit fire."

The lead triumvirate of Radcliffe, Watson and Grint have grown into their characters and play them well, with Radcliffe delivering his best performance yet with clenched determination. It's just a shame Watson and Grint don't have much to do beyond chase a big snake around before sharing a kiss (a moment that flops because, honestly, who's ever believed Hermione was attracted to twerpy Ron?) It's particularly sad to realize that Hermione has faded from the plucky young know-all of yesteryear into someone who can't even summon the courage to destroy a horcrux by herself, fated to live out her days as a wife and mother? Considering Rowling's claim that Hermione's essentially herself as a young girl, it's especially disappointing treatment by the author. Rowling even gave an imperative and heroic moment to a relative background character like Neville Longbottom? Astonishingly poor judgement, at least from the perspective of what the movies have given us. (For all I know Neville was a boy of considerable depth and latent valor in the books—anyone care to shed some light?)

Such is the busyness of Hallows 2, most of the adults are just wheeled on to prove they're still on the payroll (hello Mark Williams and Julie Walters, nice to see you again Emma Thompson and David Thewlis), with the exception of the delightfully eerie Alan Rickman—who almost steals the show thanks to a sublime final moment with Radcliffe, leading to a revelatory flashback for Snape that, despite slightly undermining a sacrifice, was brilliantly handled and highly charged. Fiennes also receives a greater amount of screen time than ever before, cementing Lord Voldemort as one of fiction's greatest villains. Seeing the Dark Lord slowly emasculated by every horcrux's destruction, his power chiefly derived from a serpent (how Jungian!), made for compelling drama.

"It seems despite your exhaustive defensive strategies, you still have a bit of a security problem, Headmaster."

To its credit, the mechanics of how Harry triumphs over his arch-nemesis has good internal logic and a few surprises that feel plausible, blessed with some very memorable imagery (a dueling Harry and Voldemort locked in a Star Wars-esque stalemate with fizzing wands, an embryonic Voldemort curled into a fetal position), and the only real letdown is the inclusion of the novel's contentious coda involving a limp flash-forward. It may have felt daft on the page, but at least your imagination could do a better makeup job.

Overall, this conclusion of the long-running, astonishingly popular Harry Potter saga is unlikely to disappoint its fans, and even people left scratching their head over various matters will have been too entertained to really care. At times Hallows 2 delivers edge-of-your seat action, not to mention some emotional peaks that should elicit some lump-in-your-throat moments. For all its faults, and problems with the series as a whole (which danced with greatness, but never seized it), the majesty and ambition of this franchise is beyond reproach. A remarkable contemporary mythology; these spellbinding films, like the best-selling books, will be entertaining us for many years to come.

Warner Bros. Pictures / 130 minutes

READ MORE - Movie Review: HARRY POTTER & THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2 (2011)

Movie Bites: 'The Hole', 'The Last Airbender' & 'The Other Guys'

THE HOLE. Joe Dante (Gremlins) makes his overdue return to directing with children's fantasy-thriller The Hole; essentially Goosebumps-meets-The Gate. In a typically Spielbergian suburb of America, teenager Dane (Chris Massoglia) and his younger brother Lucas (Nathan Gamble) move into a new house with their single mother (Teri Polo), later discovering a padlocked trapdoor in the basement that covers a bottomless abyss. They investigate the uncanny hole with the help of cute next-door-neighbour Julie (Haley Bennett), only to later realize that they've awoken malevolent spirits from within.

There's a pleasing sense of '80s nostalgia about The Hole, particularly in its first act, which features the tropes of many kid-friendly horrors of that decade: a family moving into a new neighbourhood, a shy teen ignoring his mom because he's listening to loud music, there's even a sinister jester puppet that recalls both the unnerving clown from Poltergeist and Dante's own Gremlins once it springs to maniacal life. The trouble with The Hole is that the mystery and scares become less potent the longer the movie trundles on, despite a fun detour when the trio find the house's previous occupant "Creepy Carl" (Bruce Dern), perhaps proving The Hole would have made a better Outer Limits episode than a full-blooded movie.

Still, credit Dante for delivering a scary movie for kids with some genuinely creepy moments (the grinning jester's a recurring nightmare-in-waiting), camera tricks that were once avant-garde for adult horrors (reverse-filmed ghosts, to create an unnerving jittery gait), and good use of Friedrich Nietzsche's quote "if you stare into the abyss long enough, the abyss stares back at you" to explain the eponymous hole's power.

directed by Joe Dante / written by Mark L. Smith / starring Teri Polo, Chris Massoglia, Haley Bennett, Nathan Gamble & Bruce Dern / 98 mins.

* * *

THE LAST AIRBENDER. All hope that M. Night Shyamalan could reverse his filmmaking nosedive by tackling someone else's material are dashed by the dreary non-event of The Last Airbender. Maybe MNS should try directing someone else's script entirely, although there are a worrying number of awkward, stilted scenes that belie Shymalan's usual competence behind the camera. Maybe the guy's starting to lose whatever glimmers of latent talent remained on The Happening? Last Airbender's chilly steampunk production design, nifty special effects, and intelligible fights are the only things worthy of some praise, and thus responsible for my one-star rating.

In a mythical realm there are four kingdoms whose populations can wield, or "bend", the five elements (earth, air, fire, water) to their will. The Air Nation are extinct at the hands of the bellicose Fire Nation, who declared war on all their neighbours, and our story begins with Water Nation friends Katara (Nicola Peltz) and Sokka (Jackson Rathbone) uncovering an airbender called Aang (Noah Ringer) in a globe of ice -- who's also the long-lost Avatar, capable of controlling all four elements and commune with the ethereal Spirit world. Elsewhere, exiled Fire Nation prince Zuko (Dev Patel) is determined to capture the Avatar to regain the acceptance of his warmongering father, Fire Lord Ozai (Cliff Curtis).

There's nothing about Airbender's premise that shouldn't work as a live-action movie. I hear the Nickelodeon cartoon this movie's adapted from is a revered animation with the potential to have spawned a successful franchise in the Harry Potter/Star Wars mould, which makes Shyamalan's limp movie a bitter pill to swallow. The screenplay unwisely tries to compress an entire season's worth of plot into 99-minutes and, frankly, this results in puzzling twists and turns. I'm still not sure if Zuko was a hero or villain, or exactly why the Fire Nation refuse to live in harmony with the other kingdoms. All the actors are vacuous husks, bringing no personality to proceedings, so it's impossible to care about the quest they're on, or invest in their motivations -- if they even have any. While a stupid love-story materializes out of nowhere for gormless Sokka and a beautiful teenage princess, any potential of a romantic undercurrent to Katara and Aang fails to ignite.

The Last Airbender is a movie with a rich universe to explore, but provides no emotional tether for its audience. It's rather like watching a hazy dream unfold, only half as fun in the moment and forgotten twice as fast. But it was a surprise box-office success, despite being savaged by critics, so maybe a lower-budget sequel will happen. If so, let's hope Shyamalan finds his Irvin Kershner and hands over the reigns.

written & directed by M. Night Shyamalan / starring Noah Ringer, Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone, Dev Patel, Shaun Toub, Aasif Mandvi & Cliff Curtis / 103 mins.

* * *

THE OTHER GUYS. Mismatched "buddy" cop comedy from Adam McKay (Anchorman), where pen-pushing detective Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell) and his dimwitted partner Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg) stumble upon a case where billionaire David Ershon (Steve Coogan) is trying to cover his business's financial losses to client Lendl Global. Gamble and Hoitz are the eponymous "other guys" of the precinct, dismissed by their colleagues (particularly an egocentric duo played by Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson), who get a chance to prove everyone wrong by solving the city's biggest ever crime.

My problem with this comedy is, at heart, very simple: it isn't very funny. The case being investigated is a white-collar bore that's impossible to feel any connection with, wasting Coogan in the process (no change there), while the simply humour of partnering nerdy Ferrell with idiot Wahlberg rarely amuses. The only element that works is a running gag that Ferrell's character can't see that his sexy wife Sheila (Eva Mendes) is every man's dreamgirl, instead convinced she's a plane jane, which has very little to do with the actual story being told. There are moments when you get the impression this is intended to be an American answer to Hot Fuzz (a climactic car chase swaps Fuzz's miniature village for a golf club's driving range), with McKay also indulging himself with memorable but pointless sequences (like a one-shot tableaux in a pub, where the camera floats around frozen 3D snapshots of Gamble and Hoitz partying.) Adding to the sense of a movie utterly failing in its intentions, the end credits involve animations that explain various financial concepts (using graphs, pie-charts, and statistics), despite the fact The Other Guys never once felt like a clever treatise on shameful business practices.

directed by Adam McKay / written by Chris Hency & Adam McKay / starring Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes, Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne Johnson, Steve Coogan & Michael Keaton / 107 mins.

READ MORE - Movie Bites: 'The Hole', 'The Last Airbender' & 'The Other Guys'