Reviews: 2012 & Pirate Radio

Apocalypse Now and Again and Again

You know, I had almost given up hope on old Roland Emmerich. I thought that his heyday as a great action director from films like Independence Day and The Patriot were slowly coming to an end. The Day After Tomorrow was a mild success, but it really wasn't his success entirely. And then there was 10,000 BC, a film that was so bad that I thought for sure that this was the final nail in the coffin, and the deliverer of the news that Emmerich's time as the new "master of disaster" had passed. Well, it might still be true, as Emmerich has stated that this will be his last disaster epic. But if it truly is, then he has gone out with a definite bang in this cheesy, over-the-top piece of riveting popcorn entertainment.

Like most of these types of films, and what is probably the best callback to those '70s flicks, there are a plethora of melodramatic storylines among an assortment of characters that circle around the natural disaster. The disaster this time is the destruction of the earth itself that happens to fall right on the Mayan calendar's prediction of an apocalyptic end to occur on December 21, 2012. The pseudoscience tries to explain that intense particles of the sun's rays are internally heating up the earth's core which is causing the crust to become unstable and produce massive earthquakes. Then that causes the polarity of the poles to shift and with it even greater tremors which then all leads to massive tsunamis all over the world.

The many subplots concern an out of work writer (John Cusack) trying to save his ex-wife (Amanda Peet), her new boyfriend (Tom McCarthy) and his kids, the lone scientist (Chewitel Ejiofor) going up against cold hearted politicians like Oliver Platt, a Russian billionaire (Zlatko Buric) and his own efforts of survival, the president (Danny Glover) dealing with the strained relationship with his daughter (Thandie Newton) and a little bit of Woody Harrelson's wacky mountain man who knows all the hidden government hidden secrets.

This whole film is what Emmerich has worked all his career for. Our modern day Irwin Allen is hellbent on destroying the earth a thousand different ways, and he does so here in some really spectacular manner. But it's not just that the destruction is so descriptive, it's that it is deliberately over the top extravagance. There's something fascinating about Emmerich's unabashed imagination at destruction, and the result is several action scenes that are incredibly over the top but ultimately fascinating in their path of great destruction. Emmerich does indulge in a little too much exposition, some flawed character types and a third act that adds one malfunction after another when the film should be wrapping up. But so what, nobody says this was a perfect film.

This is also not a film about the acting, but I will say that it isn't atrocious. In fact, Cusack doing an autopilot performance still manages to squeak out the charm enough for us to get invested with him. The same goes for McCarthy, a sometime writer/director (he make The Visitor, which didn't have even a tenth of the budget on this one)Performances from Platt, Newton, and Ejiofor seem so serious and good that they're almost out of place in this film. Peet and Glover give disappointingly bland turns, but Harrelson seems to be the only one who's having fun with this ridiculous film, and his brief screentime is some of the film's most memorable.

The film is filled with flaws and cracks, and some of them are as the ones that tear through Los Angeles. But on the whole, this is what going to movies is about. That fun, entertaining thrill ride and takes the mind on a roller coaster of effects. Emmerich has delivered just that in all its glory. Just when I thought he couldn't do it anymore, Emmerich manages to pull it off one last time. He says this will be his last, but can we really imagine him doing a little indie drama? That might be just as harrowing. *** / ****; GRADE: B

Cast Away

There was a movie that came out earlier this year that not too many people saw. That was Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock. Now, I liked that film, but I know some others that weren't quite too fond of it. I can understand that viewpoint because many people wanted a light, breezy comedy that would be accompanied by the sweet classic sounds of the era. Instead we got a heavy dose of character study that was followed by a third act that was tethered by faintly heard music and too much melodrama. I dug a good deal of that film, but many didn't, as was reflected in its poor critical and box office reception. Quite similarly was this film in its native England back in April, when it was called The Boat that Rocked. Since that time, it was given a trim, slapped with a new name and put out in American cinemas. I don't know how it compares to the previous version, but this film ends up being quite a fun ride and everything that Ang Lee's film should have been.

It's 1966, and the authoritative rule of the British government has zeroed in on rock and roll music as the element that is corrupting the nation. One politician (Kenneth Branagh) is in charge of shutting down a broadcasting ship in the ocean that is away from most on the onshore regulatory laws. On board is the head American DJ "The Count" (Philip Seymour Hoffman), along with another well known English one (Rhys Ifan), the ship's actual captain Quentin (Bill Nighy), Quentin's godson Carl (Tom Sturridge), who is the main focal character of the film, as well as other nutty character actors like Tom Brooke, Rhys Darvey (from "Flight of the Concords"), and Nick Frost of Shaun of the Dead/Hot Fuzz fame.

A big deciding factor as to whether or not you're going to like this type of film is if you love the music as much as the characters and filmmakers do. For me, I don't know if I'm willing to die in a fight for The Hollies, but make it the Rolling Stones and The Who, maybe so. Needless to say that the music from this era has been part of my life for a long time, and the soundtrack is full of nostalgic energy (though there are a strange number of references to the Beatles without their catalogue being heard). Still, the film is also quite funny, and writer-director Richard Curtis's well placed blend of quirky humor among a sea of sophisticated accents keeps the film afloat.

Well, most of the time it does. Despite the trim, the film still carries on longer than it should, particularly at the end when the ship meets an unfortunate accident. The sequence is well shot, but feels overly dramatic and out of place when next to the light comedy that came before it. That scene also goes on too long. As well, the motivation behind Branagh's actions never seem quite clear, and he's seems to only exist as an uncompromising, square authority figure to rebel against. On the one hand, it's nice that the film doesn't get bogged down in elaborate details of the specifics on the government's issue and creates a real mindset that the '60s were really about just standing up against who was in charge. At the same time, it makes the fight to stand up have little value when the stakes aren't really made clear. It's a win some, lose some approach that falters the film slightly.

Everyone in this cast contributes quite well, and it comes close to breaking the normal comedy rule that one person is the showman while everyone else stands around doing their best to keep up. It almost does, but the singling out has to go to Nighy, with his light attitude and always on the mark responses. The rest from Hoffman, Branagh, Ifan and particularly Frost all have their moments of comedic showcase and add a great deal to the film. As the central character of the film, Sturridge plays the part well, but his character presents a fault. He's not the most interesting character on this ship, and it's a bit of a shame when the film deliberately wants to make him be that. His struggles of searching for his long lost father are not interesting, and when we get a cameo by Emma Thompson, who plays his mother, the film really feels like it comes to a halt.

The film's has got some faults in it, for sure, but most of the film achieves what it sets out to do. It's a nice, breezy comedy that equally indulges on the laugh track and the soundtrack. If anything, you should see the film for the music and Bill Nighy's wonderfully comedic turn, as well as some other members in that very talented cast. I don't expect Ang Lee to take any notes from this film, but he probably should. But then again, Curtis should also take some notes from Lee whenever he decides to hit it heavy on the drama again. That would be a win-win in my book. ***1/2 / ****; GRADE: B+