Surrogates

Surrogates begins itself by taking the viewer to the distant world of tomorrow. It is a world where technology has advanced far enough to allow humans to live their lives through the aid of a robot called a "surrogate". The surrogate will walk and talk like a normal human, but beyond their eyes is a dead soul-less void with no hope of becoming anything more than just a pile of scrap metal. This was my impression of the movie. It was a adequate (albeit, incredibly overdone) idea that was simply handled terribly and executed by firing squad.

The Matrix and I Robot are much better examples of how to pull off this kind of film, and it would be fun to go through both movies compared to Surrogates to see exactly where it went wrong. Perhaps it was the incredibly forced, and almost mechanical dialogue? Say whatever you want about the intended "style" of the film; there is no reason, ever, for dialogue to be so unbearable that you begin to rewrite it in your mind in a desperate attempt to make it sound human.

This film in general went in several directions that I hated. Why did the surrogate humans need to be so obviously fake? Why did the inside wiring of said surrogates need to be green? Why were there so many not-so-veiled jabs at the anonymity of the Internet? I wasn't digging the almost campy art direction of this movie, and as stated above, I was simply not smellin' what the dialogue was cookin'.

About halfway through the film however, the story took a surprising turn and began to interest me. Although this phenomenon only lasted for about thirty minutes, a faint glimmer of hope sparkled under the ocean of poor choices that this movie made. The story took some interesting twists and turns, and caused my eyebrows to express a look of mild surprise for about ten minutes. If I was under the impression, however, that the story would propel this movie out of mediocrity, I was sorely mistaken. The above average middle sequence turned out to be a fluke in this mess of a film. The story found a way to coup-de-gras the audience's hope that they hadn't wasted their money. Then the credits rolled.

In the end, Surrogates turned out to be a terrible jaunt into the not-so-likely future. It was cold, distant, and although it offered a few genuine thrills, it was not able to hold my attention for the mercifully short 88 minute running time.

I would not reccomend this movie.

D

The Informant!

No, the exclamation point at the end of its name is not an accident. This film walks boldly into what could have been told as very serious story, and presents a whimsical, hilarious and sometimes biting story about a man who carelessly falls into the pitfalls of corporate greed, FBI investigations and the ever growing business of corn production.

The Informant! follows the story of Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon), who holds a Ph.D in nutritional biochemistry, and is a high level executive for Archer Daniels Midland, a multi-million dollar corn syrup conglomerate. When a virus spreads through a component of the corn and a Japanese competitor holds the antidote and the identity of the company informant from the ADM, Mark is instructed to have the FBI bug his home phone in order to prosecute the foreign business. When a trouble avoiding Mark informs the FBI agent that the calls were not made on his home business phone line, but on his home line instead, and that his company has been participating in corporate kickbacks and price fixing schemes, the FBI taps both phones and informs Mark that he must work undercover to obtain proof of his claim.

Although the story telling mechanism is twitchy and erratic, the film progresses quickly, and I was soon laughing at the sheer quirkiness of it all. I don't mean quirky in the Diablo Cody sense, but rather in a more adult and intelligent sense. Mark narrates his story, and although the film appears to follow the main plot, Mark seems to tune out of his life and into his thoughts more than twenty times throughout the movie. While FBI executives instruct him on how to properly wear a wire, Mark shares with us the trailing and almost infinite monologue in his mind. We are treated to diatribes about his hands, brain anurisms, ties, and the government controlled perceptions of paranoia. These prove to be the funniest parts of the movie, but the main plot of the story is not without its charms.

The film follows the events sweetly, but this film comes with a groan-factor that seems to almost outweigh the potential of the movie. Several scenes has me staring at the ceiling of the cinema in embarassment, and it was even scarier that Damon could so easily pull of the neivity required for a role like this. Speaking of Damon, although his work was ambitious, I wouldn't clamour to give him a nomination quite yet. He plays the part of Mark so honestly, and from a very real place, but the character simply is not strong enough to carry him to the Oscars.

The film found bits of lag in the middle, and if it weren't for the upbeat constant soundtrack that brought me back to the silent picture era, this film could have very easily been a flop. Luckily, with some interesting directional style from Steven Soderbergh, a very able cast of actors, an incredibly workable and hilarious script this film floats to the top, although its twitchy and occaisionally pointless stretches kept it from soaring.

B+

If you enjoyed Burn After Reading or NBC's The Office you may enjoy this movie.

September: The Month of Foliage

The oracles were correct in dubbing the month of September as a "graveyard of terrible movies". A visit to Rottentomatoes.com allowed me to quickly view the sewage line that is the variety of movies out in theaters right now. Yes, Inglourious Basterds and District 9 are still pulling their weight, but how could they not against a slew of sewage like The Final Destination, All About Steve, Gamer, Whiteout, Sorority Row, and Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself? I haven't posted a review in some time, and it is unfortunate that I do not have the luxury to buy tickets to something I know I would hate. Why should I spend nearly eleven dollars to see All About Steve? I refuse to review anything I have not seen in a proper theater (It offers a clean slate for any movie to stand on. Talking friends and fuzzy bootlegs can distract anyone who fancies themselves a film critic) so my only option is to review movies that interest me, or have a prominant presence in the Oscar Race. It is one sided, yes, but the current economy is unforgiving to my whims. I have free tickets to an early screening of The Informant tomorrow, and I will have a review up in the evening, along with my first "Oscar-talk" column regarding Matt Damons alledged Oscar-worthy performance.

Speaking of the Oscars, a slew of trailers (including a few Oscar hopefuls) have appeared on the internet. So here you are you silly goats!


http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/up-in-the-air/teaser-trailer
I was honestly surprised when I watched this trailer. I had counted Up In The Air out of the race early on in the game because I had not read a synopsis, seen a trailer, and when the poster came out it looked like a wacky romantic comedy. This looks like it will offer real Oscar-fare. Best Picture nominee, if not best original screenplay.

http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/a-christmas-carol/trailer
This is one I was dissapointed in. I was honestly excited for the Robert Zemeckis adaptation of A Christmas Carol, and it is unfortunate that it had to come out looking so shitty. Although I'm sure Jim Carrey is excellent, this one will go the same way as The Polar Express and Beowulf. Viewed, and then immediately forgotton.

http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/the-road/trailer
Although it isn't traditional Oscar-bait, I can see this one bringing some technical nominations. Look for it around November. Possible second Best Actor nomination for Viggo?

http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/where-the-wild-things-are/feature-trailer
A new trailer for what I believe will be one of the best movies of the year. I could just as easily be very wrong, but my bets are with Where the Wild Things Are at the moment. It's in a place where it could have been nominated for best picture back when there were still 10 slots.

A new New Moon trailer has also hit the web, but unfortunately it is the "really really shitty" version. I will post it with my next roundup when I wont be arrested for posting illegal links on my fledgeling website. (I know I wont get arrested).

Also, the new Pirates movie has a name. Pirates of the Carribean:On Stranger Tides.

And no one has any idea what it is about. Speculation has arisen that they are ditching the "Fountain of Youth" storyline and going in a new direction involving a legendary island that will grant it's inhabitants one wish that will only come to fruition on the island, but I have very small hopes for the movie anyway, and I choose to not get involved.

Please tune in tomorrow for my review of The Informant! Did I love it? Did I hate it? Find out!

Summer 2008 Report Card

School is now in session! Now that students across America are waking up early in the morning to finish their homework and participate in that tedious ritual of education, production companies are calling an end to the 2009 "Summer Blockbuster" season, to make way for the month of September, often referred to as a "dead month" for film. It is that fun inbetweeny area between the Summer Blockbuster season and the Fall Oscar season where we will find very few quality films being released widely. Although I am excited about Surrogates, 9, and Jennifer's Body, we will see plenty of Final Destination 4, Halloween 2, Sorority Row, Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself, Astro-boy, and the newly "High School Musical-ed" Fame.



Unfortunately, I had not the funds to see every blockbuster movie this Summer, so you may find a few are missing (the new Terminator, among a few others), but hopefully once I have a steady flow of income, I will be fortunate enough to see and review each new movie as it comes out. Either way, this Summer's Report Card has come in the mail, and although there are a few grades to hide from mom, this Summer mostly fared well.

Inglorious Basterds- A
The Time Traveller's Wife- B-
District 9- B
Moon- C-
(500) Days of Summer- A+
Harry Potter and theHalf Blood Prince- B
Brüno- B-
Public Enemies- A-
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen- D+
The Hangover- A-

A total GPA of 3.1 or an average grade of B-

That really isn't bad at all!

I hope to catch Taking Woodstock next before I hit up 9. Hopefully I can grab a few early screenings of The Informant and Bright Star and evaluate them Oscar style before the dead month of September ends. Hope to see you then!