2013 Preview: January

Back in September, I did a four-part preview of the final quarter of films for 2012. Now, as 2013 has begun, it's time to look ahead to the lineup of films coming up in the following months. This is the first entry in a year-long preview of 2013. Expect new posts to come out during the first week of each upcoming month. With that said, it's time to look ahead for the year of 2013. Here is the lineup of movies coming out in January.



*The year starts off with a horror film, this one in question being 'Texas Chainsaw 3D'. This is the seventh film in the 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' franchise and can also sort of be classified as the second attempted reboot of the franchise following the 2003 remake and its 2006 prequel, both of which were produced by Michael Bay. This new film reportedly will be set right after the original 1974 film directed by Tobe Hooper. Expect this film January 4^th.



*On January 11^th, there were be two films coming out that weekend. The first is 'A Haunted House'. This film, written by and starring Marlon Wayans, is a horror spoof film, parodying the 'Paranormal Activity' franchise and other films of the 'found-footage' genre.

*The same weekend will see the release of the film 'Gangster Squad' and this is after the film was originally supposed to be released back in September of 2012. However, following the Aurora shootings, Warner Bros pulled the first trailer for the film as it contained a scene of gunmen shooting inside a movie theater. The movie has since gone through re-shoots and it is unclear if that original scene will remain in the film. The film stars Josh Brolin and Ryan Gosling as members of an elite police force that takes on gangster Mickey Cohen, played by Sean Penn, in 1940's/50's Los Angeles. Emma Stone, Anthony Mackie, and Nick Nolte also star in the film.

*Three films are scheduled for release the weekend of January 18^th. The first is a crime-drama titled 'Broken City'. It's stars Mark Wahlberg as a ex-cop who becomes immersed in a scandal when he begins to follow the wife of the mayor of New York City, played by Russell Crowe.

*January 18^th also sees the long-awaited return of action star Arnold Schwarzenegger with 'The Last Stand'. It is Schwarzenegger's first leading role since 2003's 'Terminator 3' and the first following his tenure as Governor of California. In the film, he plays the sherriff of a quiet town who must take on a drug cartel leader heading for the Mexican Border.



*Finally, there is 'Mama', a Spanish horror film based on a 2008 short film from the same director, Andres Muschietti. Guillermo Del Toro serves as executive producer and Jessica Chastain stars in the leading role.



*On January 25^th, another film that was originally supposed to be released in 2012 (note: the same will apply for many other films this year) comes out. 'Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters' continues the story of the original fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm. 15 years after their original encounter with a witch, the two become bounty hunters looking to take down witches. Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton star as Hansel and Gretel. Originally the film was supposed to be released in March of 2012, but was pushed back in the wake of Renner's two big films from last year, 'The Avengers' and 'The Bourne Legacy'.



*The final major release of January 2013 is 'Movie 43'. This movie is a compilation of 12 story-lines, all done by different directors including Peter Farrelly, Brett Ratner, and Elizabeth Banks. It also has a very large ensemble cast, including Hugh Jackman, Emma Stone, Kate Winslet, Kristen Bell, Halle Berry, and much, much more.

*The sole limited release of the month is Parker, an crime thriller starring Jason Statham as a thief who enacts revenge on those that he trusted after he is left for dead. Jennifer Lopez and Michael Chiklis also star in the movie, which be released the same week as 'Hansel and Gretel' and 'Movie 43'.

Check back next month for the next '2013 preview' entry.

The Expendables 2 (2012) review

In 2010, Sylvester Stallone gathered up some of Hollywood’s biggest action stars, old and new, for the ultimate action team-up, something that until that time seemed impossible, especially during the days when stars like Stallone, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger were at the top of their game. The end result was The Expendables and while it may not have fared well with critics, audiences loved it enough as it was a huge financial success. Really, in regards to the first film’s more negative reception, it’s just one of those movies where you don’t go in expecting Oscar material and the film delivered on what it was supposed to be; good old fashioned action, something that is lacking in a lot of big budget movies these days. You also have to give Stallone a lot of credit as even with all of these big action stars, he managed to give each member a solid part and aside from a few exceptions, no one stole the spotlight from anyone else. Sure, it’s not perfect, but it’s not supposed to be. It’s a loving homage to the action films of old and it did its job very well.

So now we have a sequel. This time, Stallone isn’t behind the camera directing like he did in the first movie. Now, the reigns are handed over to Simon West, who previously helmed films like Con Air and The Mechanic. As with any sequel, the stakes are higher and more of Hollywood’s action legends are joining in for the fun. When you get down to it, you should go into this movie the same way you should’ve done with the first film. This isn’t going to win any major award like an Oscar, but that’s not what this movie is all about. It’s a fun, exhilarating, and overall quite epic action flick and it’s also very much aware of how stupid and silly it is. Also, this is actually even better than the first film in a few areas, from the main villain to some of the fight scenes. If you’re looking for a great time at the movies or if you’re someone who loves the old-school action films of the 80’s, then you’re going to love this film.

The Expendables 2 continues the adventures of a mercenary group known as The Expendables, consisting of leader Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), knife specialist Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), martial artist Yin Yang (Jet Li), volatile sniper Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), weapons specialist Hale Caesar (Terry Crews), and demolitions expert Toll Road (Randy Couture). Ross is approached by one of the team’s former employers, CIA agent Mr. Church (Bruce Willis), to take on a job as payback for the last time Church hired the team. What looks to be an easy job soon goes awry when the team runs into Jean Vilain (Jean Claude Van Damme), another mercenary leader who murders one of their members right in front of them. Seeking revenge for their slain comrade, the Expendables head off to fight Vilain and his men before they intend to sell valuable plutonium which can very much mean trouble for the world.

If you go into this movie and you’re not having a good time watching it, then you are very much missing the whole point of this film. This is pure unadulterated 80’s style action to the extreme. Yes, this film isn’t perfect. The characters constantly spew out one-liners, both good and bad. Some of the more serious moments of the film are unintentionally funny, and there are times where the film defies the laws of physics. But if you decide not to go by the book and ignore the film’s flaws, this is just one fun movie. The one major difference when comparing this film to its predecessor is that it is mostly nonstop action and few scenes when the movie takes a breather. But again, that’s no problem when you have some of the best shot action sequences in recent years, particularly during the film’s opening sequence and finale. Like before, every major star gets solid screen time and everyone is clearly having fun here.

For the most part, this is actually a much better movie than the original. Don’t get me wrong, the first Expendables movie was also a really fun and entertaining movie, but this sequel improves on it in a few areas. The editing is a bit smoother especially during the fight scenes, the lighting is much better compared to the first film where it got too dark in a few areas, and probably most importantly with the main villain himself. Jean Claude Van Damme is excellent as the villain and proves to be quite an adversary for the team right from his first appearance on screen. His scenes with Stallone are among the many highlights of the film and the final fight between them is one for the ages. The two main villains in the first movie (the general and the ex-CIA agent played by Eric Roberts) were solid villains too, but Van Damme is more entertaining to watch.

As for the all-star cast, you know what you’re going to get. Sure, maybe some of the acting is rather bad, but it’s clear all of the guys are having fun doing this. There are two standouts in this cast, the first being Van Damme as the villain and the other is Liam Hemsworth as a new member of the team, former Afghanistan veteran Billy the Kid. At first glance, you probably think that he’s not capable of being on a team with guys like Stallone and Statham but when you get down to it, he’s actually the best actor in this whole movie. It’s more along the lines of whether or not this guy is too good of an actor to be in a movie like this. His story arc is also well-done and you can see how fighting in the war has really affected him. It’s just like in the first movie with Mickey Rourke’s tale of how one person he could’ve saved changed his life forever. It’s also great to see Arnold Schwarzenegger back in action, even if he’s rather rusty (we’ll let it pass because he’s been out of it for a while) and Chuck Norris’ role in the film is both hilarious and awesome, with a great line of dialogue spoofing all of those jokes about how Norris is apparently a super-being. Sadly, Jet Li is underutilized here as he only appears in the opening sequence and then leaves the movie altogether after that scene.

Is this movie stupid? Yes, it very much is. Is it a fun movie? Oh hell yeah! This is exactly the movie that you think it’s going to be. It’s one of the most entertaining movies of the year and it doesn’t have to be the most well-written or well-acted movie to do so. It’s just a fun time to be had at the movies. It’s also a big improvement over its predecessor mostly due in part to its lead villain and a few technical aspects such as editing and cinematography. Does an ‘Expendables 3’ sound like a good idea? Sure, I’d be interested in it. They already have Nicolas Cage signed on and are considering bringing in Harrison Ford and Wesley Snipes (maybe Liam Neeson perhaps?). Stallone may be an old action star, but he isn’t going down that easily and this movie is the epitome of great action flicks. Both old-school and newcomer action fans are sure to love this movie.

Rating: 4.5/5

Total Recall (2012) review





Joining the long line of remakes that seem to come out at least once every year now is Total Recall. 22 years after the original 'Recall', starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and directed by Paul Verhoeven, hit theaters in 1990, this new version based on the Philip K. Dick short story 'We Can Remember it for You Wholesale' stars Colin Farrell in Arnold's role and is directed by Underworld's Len Wiseman. So how does this version compare to the original, a film that is widely regarded as one of Schwarzengger's best films. Well, in terms of the writing, visuals, and tone, this remake does do enough to have a reason to exist. But when you get down to it, there were just some things that the original film did much better, and this one is clearly more focused on action then story. While the remake may improve on the original in terms of action and visuals, the original just worked much better as an overall film.

This version of Total Recall takes place in a future where the Earth has been devastated by war and now consists of two main superpowers, the United Federation of Britain and the Colony, who are locked in a battle in order to unify the world. In the midst of this is Doug Quaid (Colin Farrell), a factory worker who yearns for something more in his life. Looking to change that, he visits Rekall, a company that implants memories into their clients to help them live the lives they want to have. However, something goes wrong and all of a sudden Quaid is on the run from the Federation and even his own wife Lori (Kate Beckinsale), learning that the life he thought he knew is all a lie and that he is really a secret agent named Hauser working against the Federation. Joined by the mysterious Melina (Jessica Biel), a woman who had been in the recent dreams that have plagued him every night, 'Doug' looks to find out who he really is while fighting the UFB's forces under the leadership of Prime Minister Vilos Cohaagen (Bryan Cranston).

The key differences between this version of Total Recall compared to the original film lie in its plot and overall tone. Unlike the Schwarzenegger version, this version does not have the main character going to Mars and instead takes place in a future dystopian Earth. Being the remake, this film does look great visually, but it seems like the creators borrowed a lot from Star Wars as well. We have synthetic police officers who make up the Federation's forces that resemble clone troopers from the prequel films and the whole main conflict between the Federation and the Colony is nearly identical to the war between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire. The other major difference when it comes to this new film is that it is more serious than the original film, which was much more cheesier. Obviously, because Schwarzenegger was the star then, that makes sense for how that movie played out because that is what Arnold is known for. Here, Wiseman goes for a more serious take on this story.

That may be good enough for this remake to be, if anything, different from what was done before, but that doesn't mean that it's handled that well. The film is just a bit too serious and lacks humor. Really when you get down to it, this story was done better when Schwarzenegger and Verhoeven did it back in 1990. Sure, that film was full of corny moments, but that's part of what made it great in the first place. It would've helped if the writers had added a little more humor into the screenplay here. Instead, what this film does instead is focus more on action and unfortunately, that also brings up a problem. Once Doug starts going on the run from the law, pretty much 90% of the film is action and there are only a few short instances where the film takes a break from the action to develop the plot. Now I'm not saying that the action is bad because it actually is quite good, especially considering that this film is rated PG-13 and is considerably less violent than the original R-rated film. It's pretty much the equivalent of what we're used to now; action films that are full of special effects.

As for the cast, I can't really say anything bad about their performances, as they all did a good job. Obviously if we're going to compare Colin Farrell to Schwarzenegger, Arnold was more memorable in the role. But when it comes to the more serious take on this story, Farrell is better suited for the role. Both Beckinsale and Biel are very good as the female leads, Beckinsale being very entertaining in her first major role as a villain and Biel, while in a more traditional leading role, is still really good. As the villain, Bryan Cranston (who has made quite a year so far with minor roles in a lot of movies) isn't in the movie much but Cranston alone does makes something out of it because he's a great actor. However, the filmmakers could've used him just a little bit more.

So when you get down to it, this new version of Total Recall isn't really that bad as we thought it would've been, but as you might have guessed, the original did the better job at telling this story. True, as cheesy as it was, the original with Arnold was just better as a film in general. While this new film does take a more serious route in telling the story, it does lack the humor that made the original so great. I'm not saying that the filmmakers should've gone the same comedic routes as the original, but for a movie that is more focused on action than story, it needed more humor. That being said, the cast is still good and obviously the action and visual effects are excellent. It's an entertaining movie but it could clearly be better, especially considering what came before it.

Rating: 3.5/5