Netflixed: Transporter 3

There is very little that Luc Besson touches that I don’t enjoy. Whether he’s a writer, producer, or director, I simply like the same things he likes. So of course I like the Transporter series.

The third installment, though, is my least favorite of the three. That isn’t to say it’s a bad movie, it just doesn’t have the same punch as the others. The plot is a bit simpler than the second installment.

One thing that bothered me was part of the female lead’s character. I enjoyed it very much when she came off as standoffish and sort of dark. There was some mystery to her. But then around the second act she takes drugs and gets drunk and is quite annoying. Jason Statham’s character is annoyed at first, rightfully so, but somehow falls for her drunken, drugged out “charms”. I did not find it at all endearing.

The action was good, with plenty of over the top elements characteristic of the series. Statham is awesome as always, the secondary characters are just as interesting as they need to be, and the villain is a weasel that you can’t wait to see get his comeuppance. All in all, it goes down easy and leaves you satisfied.

Worth A Rent? If you like the others, you’ll enjoy this one. It’s not a necessary watch.

Filed under: Movies, jason stathatm, luc besson, netflix, trasnporter

Netflixed: Bolt

I was hesitant to see Bolt for one reason: the involvement of Miley Cyrus. She’s annoying in general and has a terrible speaking voice without a shred of diction… the idea that she would be a voice actor for an animation was just off-putting. It was clear this was gimmick casting at its worst; a cheap attempt to grab Hannah Montana fans. Plus I’m sure ol’ Miley is under a rather stiff contract with Disney to do this sort of stuff.

All of that aside, I like animation, and decided to give it a watch.

Bolt as a movie was great. A very enjoyable film. Luckily, Cyrus is in very little of it. Unluckily, the titular hound is voiced by John Travolta, a poor choice in my opinion. Bolt is a cute, young pup. Travolta is an aged second-winder. Sure his voice is soft, but too distinctly his to avoid distraction.

The rest of the cast, however, was fantastic. The pigeons, in both voice and animation, were dead on perfect. The difference between east and west coast birds was pretty amusing. Mittens, voiced by experienced voice actor Susie Essman, was nuanced and enjoyable.

By far the standout actor was Mark Walton, who voiced the hamster Rhino, a die-hard Bolt fan. Walton steals the show with his believable, down to earth performance.

The story is the usual “protagonist undertakes journey to find the thing and learns about him/herself in the process” tale. Think Finding Nemo, Toy Story, and, well, almost every other children’s animation of the last ten years. Nothing special, but certainly not a bad choice. The sets are good, the animation looks top notch, and there are no complaints here.

Taking everythng into account, I felt that Bolt was a better movie than WALL-E. Sure, it’s a more conventional and doesn’t contain any eco-messages, but at least it doesn’t have live action and a sluggish third act. If it hadn’t been for the casting of Miley Cyrus I would have seen and enjoyed this film much sooner. Frankly, this movie proves that the stunt casting of celebrities is most often the wrong move. I know that execs are always nervous about not having “stars” attached to certain films, but it’s about time they realize that voice actors—people trained to play animated roles— are, in fact, stars, and should be treated as such.

If you ever want to hear what a teen girl is NOT supposed to sound like, listen to Miley Cyrus talk. Then imagine a cute cartoon girl with that voice. Even worse! Perhaps she’s not completely to blame, however… it’s the director’s job to get a good performance out of their cast. Byron Howard and Chris Williams certainly didn’t do this with Cyrus… then again, she strikes me as the type that can’t be told what to do, so…

A conundrum.

Worth A Rent? Yes. Even a person like me who has feels nothing but anger at the work and popularity of Miley Cyrus, can enjoy this movie.

Filed under: Movies, bolt, celebrity, john travolta, mark walton, miley cyrus, rhino, susie essman, voice acting

Netflixed: City of Ember

I’d been looking forward to seeing City of Ember ever since I watched the trailer. I’m a sci-fi and fantasy fan, I love inventive set design and costuming, and I’m a sucker for anything post-apocalyptic. Plus, Bill Murray! Of course, I hate going to the movies, so I had to wait until I could rent it to watch.

I’m not familiar with the book by Jeanne DuPrau, but was happy to learn that it is a four-book series. I may have to pick those up after Im finished with my current reading.

I get the impression that City of Ember is geared toward children. As such, it does come upon several problems that children’s movies have. The world of Ember is obviously complex, but many of these complexities are glossed over or skipped outright because movie execs think kids (and adults) are stupid and “won’t get” complicated concepts. The pace of the film is very fast, and while we get glimpses into the odd societal structure built by an unground city with few natural resources, we never really get into the intricacies of any of them.

Bill Murray plays the Mayor of Ember, the highest ranking official in the city. He does a great job with the greedy, complacent leader prone to cronyism. He’s not over the top, not cartoonishly mean… just a jerky bureaucrat who is up to no good. Again, the movie skips over any motivation the mayor may have for his behavior. Is it in the book? I don’t know… yet.

All the acting is great. I was never taken out of the story based on strange lines, bad acting, or massive plot holes. The story unraveled in an engaging and enjoyable way, and the actors playing Doon and Lina prove once again that young actors can be good and still seem like children, and can carry a story realistically.

City of Ember is beautiful to watch. The set design and costuming are fantastic and believable. The retro style that the filmmakers employed (Nixie Tube counters, massive amounts of what appeared to be Futura typeface, lots of dials and switches) work well. The minimal CGI is good, not great, but certainly not distracting.

If anything, I could do with the movie being a half hour longer. They perhaps would have had time to get into some of the meat of Ember. As it stands, things like a quasi-religious cult, the socialist structure of the city, and the incentives of a few characters are left out. Whether those things were left out to make it a shorter, simpler movie for children, I don’t know.

Worth A Rent? I liked it, and I would watch it again. It’s fun, it has decent action, and everything visual in the film was excellent. I was not disappointed, though I was left wanting more.

Filed under: Movies, bill murray, city of ember, jeanne duprau, review