For A Few Movies More

Another film festival has come and gone. I’m always left with a sense of sadness at the end of a film fest. Watching all those (mostly great) movies, getting no sleep, going out with people and basically just experiencing that “film fest vibe”, I’m left wistful and excited after the last film has screened. Without getting too sentimental, the Japanese Film Festival has a special place in my heart. I lived in Japan for a year and always have a nostalgic feeling whenever watching Japanese movies, most especially films that are set in current times. Hearing the language and seeing the places (and even recognising some of them!) is like a taunt and a mini-holiday rolled into one; I feel like I’m there and wanting to go at the same time.

The Japan Foundation is responsible for the film fest, and each year their line-up gets bigger and stronger, and their organisation of the event gets a bit better. They usually have a good mix of different types of films (though no J-horror this year – WTF?!), including anime, dramas, comedies, and a samurai movie here and there. Pretty cool raffle prizes add a bit of excitement as well (surely I’ve earned my Onitsuka Tiger $150 voucher after 4 years and about 30 films?!). My main complaint I guess is with the venue. It’s always been at Event Cinemas George St, and being a generic multiplex, there are no special qualities about it – which is fine by me, I’m not looking for an arthouse setting where North-Shore types take glasses of wine into the theatre. But twice my seat was double-booked, and one of the films ran out of frame for about ten minutes, so they really need to up their game in that respect. But otherwise, a good time was had by all and I look forward to many more festivals to come. Eiga o mimashou!

I hate having high expectations going into movies. I usually try my hardest to keep my expectations in check, but in Due Date’s case, I couldn’t help myself. The movie just looked so damn fun! Plus after delivering the surprise, crowd-pleasing hit The Hangover, I couldn’t wait to see what Todd Philips was going to throw our way next. Well, suffice to say that Due Date definitely doesn’t come close to reaching the fun-filled antics The Hangover provided. Instead we’re left with a very strange, awkward, and even slightly dark film that still manages to conjure up the odd laugh, but will no doubt leave some folks scratching their heads while shifting uncomfortably in their seats.

Due Date starts off promising enough, with Father-to-be Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.) getting unwittingly placed on a ‘No Fly’ list after an unfortunate incident with frustratingly dim-witted Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis), a wannabe actor who’s apathetic troublemaking causes all sorts of problems for those around him. Unfortunately, Peter has only five days to get back to LA so he can be with his wife for the birth of his son, so against his better judgement, he heads off on a chaotic cross-country road trip with Ethan that will push his sanity to the brink of destruction.

Feels kind of like a theme, to do a movie-friends post right after a movie-parents one, but it was a coincidence — I swear! It just so happened I was watching a movie and one of the characters just stood out and hit me like a train; “This kid’s such an awesome friend!” I was amazed at what an impact this fictional person could have on me. And so at A Few Movies More we started  to think of other movie characters that are awesome friends.

A good character is the basis of a good film. If you don’t have solid, believable characters, then your movie will never reach any kind of iconic (or even just “Good”) status. Cinema is full of friendships, but out of the thousands of fictional people to choose from, who would you actually want as a friend? Sure,  Leon the Professional is a bad-ass dude with healthy bones, but would you really want a hitman as your best mate? Brings a bit more edge to a friendship when your pal is constantly killing people. Obviously, there will be some fun and so-never-gonna-happen choices, but hey, that’s the fun of the list. So without further ado, our Top 5 Movie Characters We’d Want as a Friend.

I had such high hopes for Skyline heading in. After witnessing the incredibly cool teaser trailer, I was pumped. Under the mindset that the film would have its maximum effect on me if I was genuinely surprised with what was in store, rather than having the best bits ruined in the trailer, I decided on the spot that I would avoid any other promotional material for it best I could. Well, it turns out I chose the wrong film to put all this extra effort into, since at best, Skyline is a mediocre alien invasion flick that borrows heavily from nearly every other successful film in the genre. At worst, the film is a god-awful mess.

The film starts off promising enough, with the appearance of strange blue orbs descending from the heavens above that proceed to suck up any individuals unfortunate enough to be in close proximity. Worse is yet to come though since these blue lights are only the entrée to a full-blown alien invasion comprised of all manner of extraterrestrial nasties. Now a group of survivors are stuck in a high-rise penthouse suite and must work together if there’s any chance for survival. Sounds intriguing right? I mean who doesn’t love an alien invasion film? Well unfortunately Skyline falls flat on its face in an astoundingly wide variety of ways. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves; let’s first take a look at what little it does right.

Harvey Dent, Gotham’s White Knight, is the city’s new District Attorney and he always has his game face on when prosecuting crime. In a city where the mob bosses are so far up the crime chain that no one can ever touch them, it is a blessing that this incorruptible force, this enforcer of law, is willing to take the fight to them face to face.

Dent is everything Batman can’t be. He is a tangible face fighting for Gotham’s citizens. A face they can look to for inspiration. A face that lives a strong, untarnished life within the bounds of the law. While Batman masquerades around the streets breaking countless laws, sporting a cape and hiding behind a mask, Dent is able to campaign for the good faith of the people. Batman shines a symbol into the cloudy night sky to put fear in the hearts of criminals; Harvey puts his face on the billboards and posters to inspire the hearts of hard-working citizens.

One thing I love about Harvey Dent, and most of the characters of Gotham is that their origins stories are so interesting. For all that goes on in Dark Knight between The Batman and The Joker, it could easily be looked at as one big Origins of Twoface story. Harvey is one of the first reactions to the work done by Batman. Harvey rose to the DA position after investigating police corruption through internal affairs. He has a guilt-free conscience in the fight for justice, and he applies this moral standard with the strength of his convictions.

The second thing I love about Harvey Dent, and most of the characters of Gotham, is the awesome symbolism — and Harvey Dent is some of the simplest yet compelling symbolism around. A District Attorney should be sure of himself, he should possess an unflinching desire to do good. What Harvey has is a coin he flips on every important decision. ‘Heads – yes; tails – no.’ But the trick is his coin has two heads on it (two faces you could say!) In the fight for justice Harvey Dent cannot be compromised.

They grow up so fast don’t they? It feels like only yesterday when the Harry Potter films were all about innocent, fun-filled adventures full of magic and excitement. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1, the seventh film in the mega successful franchise, is easily the darkest outing for the young wizard by far. Nobody is safe from the evil spreading across the land, and as fans of the book will no doubt already know, several beloved characters are killed off with little remorse. Those who grew up with the Harry Potter series will surely have adapted to the progressive dark tone that’s settled over the films leading up to this point, but for any parents thinking about taking their little ones to Deathly Hallows, then mark my words, this instalment is NOT a kids film.

If you consider yourself a Harry Potter aficionado who constantly grumbles over the film’s failure to stay completely loyal to the source material, then prepare to let out a sigh of relief. Harry Potter 7 stays remarkably true to the book, while still managing to serve up a few surprises of its own. The plot picks up right where the previous instalment left off, with a certain beloved character buried six feet under thanks to a traitorous villain, and the wizarding world is thrown into turmoil. Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) and his cronies are quickly spreading their dark shadow across the land, all the while constantly searching for the chosen one, aka Harry Potter. Meanwhile, Ron (Rupert Grint), Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and Hermione (Emma Watson) chart out their own journey to track down and destroy the remaining Horcruxes in an attempt to rid the world of that pesky Voldemort once and for all.

Ah Jackass, you served me so well throughout my youth. You’ve provided all sorts of crazy stunts and disgusting feats for my immature mind to embrace over the years. And now, with two previous films in the bag, you’ve returned to the big screen, in 3D no less, in an attempt to rekindle some of those old fond memories. Well I’m happy to report that you haven’t changed too much, you’re certainly as disgusting as ever, if not more so, and you haven’t toned down on the dangerous stunts too much either. But what brings a smile to my face more than anything is the fact that the crew of fools who make up this circus of stupidity are still as likeable and affable as ever. From Knoxville’s contagious laughter, to Steve-O vocalising his sheer dread regarding an upcoming stunt, this group of aging misfits add a human touch to the fun stupidity on display.

Chances are you’re familiar with the Jackass phenomenon by this stage, the ongoing antics of Johnny Knoxville and his band of lunatics who are willing to go to any length in the name of entertainment. And besides the inclusion of some fancy new 3D effects on display, the familiar formulae we’ve grown accustomed to remains intact. The film bounces from stunt to stunt, showcasing all manner of disgusting, crazy and just flat out stupid feats for us to wince over.

The Joker is a fascinating character. I don’t think I ever truly appreciated him until I read Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke. I would dare say Alan Moore was so in love with the Joker character that it inspired his own character, The Comedian from The Watchmen. The Comedian has a similar view of the world only he fights on the good guys’ side. The Joker, being on the side of evil, is free to reach higher potential in the insanity department.

Through Moore’s comic and Nolan’s movie I began to see the philosophy of The Joker, his mind state. The Joker is an anarchist. But not in some deep seeded human liberties logic, not in any logic. He just sees the world and society and especially the people who created it as one big joke. He loves to find what makes people tick and turn it against them to see how they act. He challenges their morals and their way of life. He takes nothing serious. You could even assume that the fact that I am writing so seriously about him right now would inspire him to break out of Arkham, kidnap me, and torture my mind and body until the day I skip, naked, down the streets of Gotham, reviewing movies through a series of limericks.

It’s been a long, blood-drenched journey leading up to this point, but finally the movie that nobody has been waiting for arrived. Yep you guessed it, the supposedly final instalment of the goretasitc Saw franchise has finally graced us with its presence. Arriving long after the point where most audience members have stopped caring about the series, Saw 7 promised a complete resolution to the convoluted films that would tie up all loose ends and satisfy any remaining fans the series has left. On top of that, the 3D aspect has been hyped up big time, with the film promising mind-blowing state of the art use of the technology. So did Saw 7 succeed in either of these areas? Well to address both of the aforementioned points at the same time, no, not by a long shot. Although there are still some slightly redeeming factors that at least the fans may enjoy.

Now this initially started as a character study on Batman. He is a character who has fascinated me for a long time and I have always wanted to write about why he is so awesome. But then if this is going on the Internet I need to remember that everyone who reads it will be a bigger nerd than myself and I’ll just end up being pwned or got for not researching the biblical allegories relating to Batman’s decision to wear a cape. So I will narrow my scope to Christopher Nolan’s recent interpretation of Batman. This has a second bonus though because I realised to express my love for Bats I really need to talk about The Joker. And if I want to talk about both The Joker and Batman then I have to include their good friend Harvey “Twoface” Dent. The three characters are so well intertwined that it’s no wonder Christopher Nolan chose them for his film. So at risk of turning this into a Chris Nolan love-in let’s get into it!

Batman

When I was young I saw the cartoon The Justice League. Full of all the DC superheroes. Superheroes with super powers. Super speed, Super (Power)Rings, Super hot Wonder Woman and of course Superman. Then there was Batman. ‘But Batman doesn’t really have any super powers’ I thought. But then I realised: Isn’t that one of the things that makes Batman so cool? They say with great power comes great responsibility, but Batman wasn’t gifted any of these performance enhancing abilities. He is just one tough mother dishing out some pure revenge for the good of everybody.