movie reviews by PvtCaboose91

"It was for your welfare that I made this visit, Ebenezer Scrooge..."

It's borderline impossible to make a bad movie out of Charles Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol. A bona fide classic which has been adapted countless times for films and television shows, Dickens' story is equipped with rich characters, an evocative setting, valuable messages and wonderful sentiment. Produced by MGM, 1938's A Christmas Carol was the first high-gloss, big-budget (for the period) cinematic treatment of the source material. Nimble and powerful, this adaptation was the definitive film version of Dickens' parable for over a decade. Though superior versions have been produced over the years, this A Christmas Carol remains an undisputed classic with plenty to recommend.

In the unlikely event that you've forgotten the story of A Christmas Carol, it concerns rich old coot Ebenezer Scrooge (Owen), who detests the notion of peace and goodwill. He especially hates Christmas, perceiving the jolly festive holiday as an unwanted hindrance to his business. Returning home on one Christmas Eve after sacking his long-suffering clerk Bob Cratchit (Lockhart), the ghost of Scrooge's former business partner Jacob Marley (Carroll) presents himself to Scrooge. Marley warns Scrooge that he must change his ways to redeem his soul, and explains that he will be visited by three spirits - the Ghost of Christmas Past (Rutherford), Christmas Present (Braham) and Christmas Future (Corrigan) - who aim to help Scrooge reform and persuade him away from a life of greed and ill temper.

Screenwriter Hugo Butler palpably understood that a rote cinematic adaptation of a literary source rarely works, and hence altered aspects of Dickens' novella to terrific effect. For instance, Scrooge's nephew Fred is given more dimension and presence, Cratchit is actually sacked by Scrooge on Christmas Eve, Scrooge alerts the police about Marley's ghostly presence, and the closing Christmas Day festivities are a little different. Such additions and alterations give the picture its own unique voice, and, more importantly, they allow the film to stand apart from the dozens of other adaptations that have been produced in the decades since this version. However, a few key elements are excluded entirely to detrimental effect, such as Scrooge's former fiancée and old Fezziwig's party. As a result, this Christmas Carol feels underdone. Clocking in at a slim 69 minutes, the film rushes through the material, seldom allowing sufficient dramatic growth and consequently making Scrooge's arc feel unearned. Indeed, Scrooge begins repenting too soon, abandoning his miserly ways almost immediately without sufficient motivation. The picture lacks a key scene which clearly affects Scrooge in a substantial way.

A critical aspect of any adaptation of A Christmas Carol is its atmosphere and mood. Luckily, this version for the most part gets these characteristics right. Director Edwin L. Marin and his team did a remarkable job of recreating bustling 19th Century London. Production design is laudable, with storefronts and streets that look entirely convincing, supplemented with Yuletide decorations and crowds of laughing children and merry onlookers. However, while Marin nails the jolly Christmas atmosphere, he unfortunately downplays the spookiness of the film's ghostly elements. Scenes featuring the spirits contain a few still-impressive special effects shots, but it's clear that Marin was catering to family audiences, particularly during scenes featuring the ostensibly foreboding Ghost of Christmas Future which are decidedly tame.

This A Christmas Carol was actually conceived for actor Lionel Barrymore, who had played Scrooge in a popular annual radio broadcast and was hired to recreate the role on film. However, the actor began to suffer major health problems, compelling him to bow out of the picture a few weeks before filming. To replace him, the actor suggested his friend Reginald Owen, and the rest is history. Although he's not the best Scrooge, Owen's performance is commendable; he looks the part, he's appropriately menacing in the film's early stages, and his performance at no point feels contrived. Meanwhile, Barry Mackay is a delightful Fred, playing the role as an irresistibly happy chap with a fiancée who enjoys sliding on ice and playing in the snow like a schoolboy. Since Fred has a heightened presence here, it's a huge benefit that Mackay is so charismatic. Almost stealing the show, though, are Gene Lockhart as Bob Cratchit, and Gene's real-life wife Kathleen as Mrs. Cratchit. The two supply warmth and Christmas cheer, and remain eminently watchable. To top things off, their daughter June plays one of the Cratchit children. The only real weak link is Terry Kilburn as Tiny Tim. At 12, Kilburn looks too old for the role, not to mention he's strangely effeminate. Worst of all, he doesn't look sick or dying; he makes Tim look like a kid who just broke his leg.

Despite its shortcomings, 1938's A Christmas Carol is a solid versions of this classic Yuletide morality tale. For a '30s movie it's surprisingly accessible, and there's little wonder why so many people have ingratiated this picture into their annual Christmastime traditions.

7.6/10

"Everybody thinks I'm suicidal, in which case, I'm fucked and nobody wants to work with me; or they think I'm faking to draw a psycho pension, in which case, I'm fucked and nobody wants to work with me. Basically, I'm fucked."

Die Hard consistently ranks highly on lists of favourite "alternative" Christmas films (and Christmas movies in general), but it's not the only Yuletide-themed action movie that deserves your attention. Directed by Richard Donner (Superman: The Movie, The Omen) and released in 1987, Lethal Weapon is a bona fide '80s action gem, a skilfully mounted buddy cop action-adventure laced with razor-sharp dialogue, memorable characters and entertaining bursts of R-rated action. Lethal Weapon may not have invented or revolutionised the buddy cop or action-comedy genres, but it refined both of them - it shows that execution is more important, and well-worn genre formulas can still work in the right hands. Moreover, on top of being a remarkable late '80s action picture, the film introduces a pair of memorable central characters.

A veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department, Sergeant Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) begins eying retirement as he draws closer to celebrating his 50th birthday. When a sexy model is found dead after an apparent suicide from jumping off her apartment balcony, Murtaugh is pulled into the case and partnered with loose canon Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) to investigate. Owing to the untimely death of his wife, Riggs is a suicidal hothead; half the police force thinks Riggs is crazy, while the other half believes he's trying to earn a psycho pension. Developing a hesitant friendship, the two find themselves tracking a pair of dangerous drug smugglers, and the "suicide" turns out to be a murder case that's far more complicated than initially imagined.

Donner and screenwriter Shane Black (The Last Boy Scout, The Long Kiss Goodnight) clearly know their audience, as Lethal Weapon caters to the action crowd in a tremendously satisfying fashion. In the very first scene, the film provides a smattering of drugs, boobs and violence. It's one hell of a way to set the tone, and the rest of the picture easily lives up to this promise. Undoubtedly, the film works as well as it does thanks in large part to Black's screenplay. Black's contributions are often overlooked since the production is practically faultless from top to bottom, but the excellence of this script cannot be overstated. The dialogue is consistently engaging and witty, and Black mixes the humour and action with tender character development and moments of pathos. It also indulges in the writer's love of Christmas, which is evident in many of his films. While the still-good but inferior Lethal Weapon sequels primarily rely on set-pieces and are driven by their respective cop cases, this first instalment is driven by the personal journeys of these characters, affording depth and humanity to what could've just been an enjoyable but forgettable distraction. It goes without saying that the narrative is standard-order, but the execution is remarkable, and that's what truly matters.

Fortunately, for all of its character dramatics, Lethal Weapon does not skimp on the pyrotechnics. Ever the blockbuster veteran, Donner orchestrates a string of magnificent action set-pieces and conflicts scattered throughout the narrative, embracing the possibilities of the picture's R rating. Action was arguably at its pinnacle during the 1980s, and Lethal Weapon is a solid reinforcement of this opinion, with its fluid camerawork and crisp editing easily surpassing many of today's big-budget pretenders. However, the film does have its dumb moments. In the final sequence, for example, Riggs decides not to simply arrest the bad guy but have a punch-up with him instead while dozens of police officers stand around watching. It's an entertaining fight, to be sure, but the foundation is a bit shaky, and it feels like the only time in the film that action is being forced. For the record, the extended director's cut is this reviewer's preferred version. Some may find it too long, but the additional scenes deserve a place in the picture, providing extra action, a few extra laughs, and added character depth.

While Lethal Weapon is vehemently a buddy movie, it's very much Mel Gibson's party. Back in 1987, Mel was a rising star adored by the industry and by audiences, and it's easy to see why: he's a fantastic actor. Martin Riggs's introductory scene alone features some of the finest moments in Gibson's career. The star's intensity is extraordinary, and he balances depression with superb comic timing and edgy energy. His emotional outbursts are unexpectedly powerful, as well. One pivotal scene depicts Riggs contemplating suicide, sobbing as he sticks a gun into his mouth before realising that he can't do it. Gibson's acting in this scene is riveting, showing how much this guy genuinely deserves an Oscar for his acting skills. Likewise, Glover could have turned Roger Murtaugh into a one-note bore, but the actor creates a complex, devoted family man, and he matches Gibson step-for-step. The chemistry between Glover and Gibson is absolutely killer - it's hard to think of any male/female relationships in romantic comedies that click as brilliantly as these two. Watching Glover and Gibson trade witty banter is an absolute pleasure. Lethal Weapon also benefits from including Gary Busey as Mr. Joshua, the main villain's henchman. Busey is a fine actor who's as entertaining on the screen as he is off-camera, and he makes for a top-notch bad guy.

Like most action franchises, the Lethal Weapon series is somewhat tarnished by its sequels. Although the sequels are entertaining enough, four movies is pushing it. As the series progressed, things became more action-oriented, and the tone veered more into the comedic realm. On the other hand, this first film nails the mix of action and comedy, with Donner shifting between the two tonal extremes with utmost dexterity. The film is a godsend for action fans, but more casual movie fans will also find a lot to like due to how thoroughly enjoyable it is. And I don't know about you, but I'll always be watching this one come Christmas Eve.

9.2/10

"We are standing on the biggest burial mountain in the world..."

Over the years, filmmakers have inundated us with movies depicting Santa Claus as a jolly old fat man who delivers presents to all the boys and girls around the world. However, 2010's contentedly macabre Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale proposes that this fictionalised "Coca-Cola Santa" was invented to cover up who Santa really was: a horrifying, horned half-man/half-beast. A sort of Finnish-made Gremlins for the 21st Century, this tremendously peculiar horror/fantasy/dark comedy presents an entirely original take on the Christmas mythos, representing the perfect antithesis to the type of traditional holiday films to which we have become accustomed (and have grown sick of). Even if the picture only scratches the surface of its marvellous central premise, Rare Exports is destined to become an annual Yuletide staple for several households.

Single father Rauno Kontio (Jorma Tommila) lives in the shadow of the Korvatunturi Mountains in Finland with his son Pietari (Onni Tommila), and relies on the yearly migration of the reindeer for food and money. When a clandestine American-led dig commences in the mountains, strange things begin to occur - an entire reindeer herd is found slaughtered, radiators are stolen, and kids go missing. Frightened yet curious, Pietari sets out to conduct research, and uncovers the origins of the real Santa Claus who may have been awakened from his icy tomb by the American excavators. It isn't long before a bizarre old man is caught in Rauno's wolf trap who fits the description of Santa. With Christmas rapidly approaching, Pietari is horrified about what's to come.

Rare Exports contains very few typical Christmas movie customs. There's no holiday music or gift giving here, as writer-director Jalmari Helander sought to portray a more unsentimental version of the festive season, and he takes the idea of a malevolent Santa Claus rather seriously. It would've been easy for Helander to have created either a straight comedy or a run-of-the-mill slasher flick out of this silly premise, but Helander instead treats the premise as reality, making it easy to get immersed in this frightening fantasy. Rare Exports is somewhat moronic, but Helander plays everything with a brilliant poker face, incorporating pathos, character development, genuine stakes, and even a few scenes of impressive spectacle. It's an odd cocktail but it works, yielding a terrifically alternative Christmas flick that's more Brothers Grimm than Rankin-Bass which criss-crosses genres with utmost elegance.

The flick is based on two popular short films from 2003 and 2005 which were written and directed by Helander. Expanding a short to feature-length is a tricky proposition, hence Rare Exports runs a mere 80 minutes, with Helander working to ensure the picture doesn't outstay its welcome. The film still feels a tad stretched out from time to time, but sluggish patches are thankfully few and far between. Rare Exports was produced for a rather small sum, yet it never looks cheap and it excels in terms of visuals and atmosphere. Director of photography Mika Orasmaa is a huge asset - his cinematography is skilfully dark and moody, giving genuine majesty to the expansive Finnish snow-scapes. Towards the end of the film, though, a revelation hints that things are about to skyrocket to an entirely new level, but Helander seems to baulk. It ultimately feels like a tease, closing the picture on somewhat of a damp squib. Ditto for the elves, who don't entirely fulfil their potential. It would seem that the budget likely prevented certain things from transpiring, which is a shame.

Quality child actors are rare, but Onni Tommila is a terrific little performer, perfect for the role of Pietari. Onni ably balances fear and determination, and he always seems 100% committed to the material, no matter how outlandish it is. He's a solid entry point into the film for viewers. The best relationship in the film is between Pietari and his father, played by Onni's real-life dad Jorma Tommila. Jorma exhibits a strong mixture of fatherly warmth and stern frustration, and his interactions with Onni carry a warm, believable edge. Also great is Rauno Juvonen, who oozes cool and whimsical charm as Piiparinen.

Though the climax feels a tad underdone, Rare Exports closes on a high note, with a satirical (and cynical) commentary on the global commercialism of Christmas. Fortunately, Helander refuses to sell out with a treacly-laden conclusion; instead, the flick is dark right through to its ending. Rare Exports is not perfect, but it's exceptionally audacious, with a story balancing warmth, horror and deadpan dark humour, making it well worth your time if you're sick of heart-warming Christmas cheer. Without a doubt, Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale will not work for everyone, but it comes highly recommended for anyone seeking to watch a truly unique and offbeat movie destined to become a cult classic.

7.3/10

"People just do the strangest things when they believe they're entitled. But they do even stranger things when they just plain believe."

Following a career of profane comedies and light-hearted relationship dramas, Kevin Smith moves into darker territory with 2011's Red State. A jarring mishmash of horror and action supplemented with satire, the film is morally repugnant and unbelievably incoherent, ushering in a different side of Smith that I hope to never see again. Critics often describe films as being "schizophrenic," but the term is overused and now comes off as pretentious. Red State, though, undoubtedly earns the label: it's schizophrenic to extremes. In a notorious move, Smith fostered a lot of interest in the film by purchasing the distribution rights himself and screening the film during a multi-city tour which also included Q&A sessions and memorabilia auctions. Indeed, Red State developed into more of an event than just a film. Unfortunately, however, the finished product is stunningly underwhelming, to the extent that it feels like a bad joke on the part of Smith.

In the South, three randy teenage boys - Jarod (Gallner), Travis (Angarano) and Billy-Ray (Braun) - begin using the internet to find easy sex, and organise to hook up with a mysterious woman (Leo) who lives near their hometown. What the boys fail to realise, though, is that they are being set up by a controversial group of extreme fundamentalists who detest homosexuals. Presided over by the psychotic sermon-spouting patriarch Abin Cooper (Parks), the boys are drugged and bound, with the pastor looking to ritualistically murder them all before his congregation. However, a group of ATF agents led by Joseph Keenan (Goodman) arrive at Cooper's compound with orders to move in and slaughter everyone inside.

Why exactly were these young teenagers chosen for ritual execution? Blown if I know. The church are vehemently anti-homosexual, yet they want to kill a bunch of kids who were attracted to the notion of pussy? It's mildly suggested that the church abhors sexual deviancy, but the film fails to touch upon this notion in any considerable fashion, and there's absolutely no motivation. Not to think too deeply into Smith's thinking, but it sets off alarm bells that the writer-director refused to insert gay protagonists into this story about a church of homophobes.

It's clear that Smith's primary objective with Red State was satire, but his ambitions far outweigh his abilities. The film initially sets its sights on religious fundamentalists who fool themselves into believing that they can commit unspeakable acts in the lord's name. To Smith's credit, the religious satire is actually spot-on, with Smith staging a number of nail-bitingly tense and frightening sequences. But Smith soon progresses the story into, well, another movie entirely. Suddenly, Red State dissolves into a mindless action flick which is so tonally schizophrenic that you may get whiplash. Smith's satiric target becomes the American government, reinforcing the tired message that Americans are terrible at handling terrorist situations. But whereas the religious satire was mature and effective, the governmental material relies on outright slapstick, dumb theatrics and predictable throwaway lines, as if a teenager wrote it. It feels like two separate people wrote the two halves of the film, and Smith just jammed them together with no thought towards thematic or narrative coherence. Consequently, Red State is a jumbled mess of ideas. Smith wanted to do too much within the film's scant 85-minute runtime that none of the satire ultimately leads anywhere, and the film fails as both an action picture and a horror movie.

As the picture begins to wind down, a late twist suggests that all hell is about to break loose and the production is about to take on an entire new meaning that could've transformed it from audacious dud to minor miracle. But alas, it was not to be. Smith just cuts away at random, and the rest of the movie comprises of Agent Keenan explaining the boring specifics of how the skirmish ended. The twist itself, meanwhile, just becomes a punchline for a dumb joke. It's deflating, but all the more infuriating if one reads Smith's description of the ballsy original ending. The final scene here is completely unnecessary and exceedingly pedestrian, with the characters spelling out every thought and message in Red State's cinematic body. It's the equivalent of having an 8-year-old boy yell straight into your ear with a megaphone. Furthermore, Smith clearly takes issue with abuse of government power to silence potential terrorists. But Cooper's church are terrorists; they stockpile guns, they kill on a whim, and they're morally damaged. This confuses the movie's entire concluding point. What the fuck?

Smith often excels as a writer (though this is not demonstrated here), but he's a mediocre director. 2010's Cop Out emphasised how incompetent Smith's filmmaking is, and Red State is equally disheartening. A lot of the editing is much too harsh, which botches the tempo of several scenes, while director of photography David Klein heavily leans on predictable visual tactics like shaky-cam and body-mounted cameras to poor effect. There's also a tremendous problem with the climactic shootout: there's no rhythm. All Smith does is stage a lot of minor character dialogue moments set to non-diegetic gun-firing sounds, and every few minutes we get a customary shot of a few people firing their guns for which they seem to have unlimited ammunition. It diminishes the sense of immediacy, because people only seem to get shot every 5 minutes or so, and there seems to just be a lot of mindless shooting without casualties. As a result, the whole enterprise grows mind-numbingly tedious, and the actual shootout itself becomes too much of a fringe threat.

At the very least, Smith assembled one hell of a cast here. In particular, Michael Parks delivers a stunning performance as Pastor Abin. If Parks knew that Red State was bad, he doesn't show it; he truly went for broke, and he's easily the film's most valuable asset. However, Smith seems too enamoured with Parks to discipline his performance, resulting in sermons that drag on forever. Yes, I know that Smith had a lot to say, but brevity is appreciated. John Goodman, meanwhile, is predictably good as Agent Keenan, and the trio of boys playing the teens all did a great job. Special mention must be made of Kerry Bishé, who will probably be forever known as the one who destroyed Scrubs after having become the new protagonist in the show's dismal final season. Here, Bishé shows genuinely impressive acting chops as Cheyenne, one of the only adults in Cooper's church with something resembling a moral compass.

I'll credit Red State with one thing: it's wildly unpredictable, and it has its moments. Whatever fans of the movie which exist will probably proclaim that it's entertaining because it's uniquely crazy, but that entirely comes down to opinion. For me, the picture may work in pieces but it fails to gel as a whole. Smith tried to pack the film with historical and societal relevance, yet the filmmaker stumbles to do anything substantial with his ideas, merely staging brainless shootouts and tediously extended monologues. It seems Smith simply made things up as he goes along, hoping that heightened shock value and repulsive acts will add up to something laudable. In the end, Red State is exceedingly superficial; it's all about gimmicks rather than genuine substance.

3.8/10

"Although I am but one man, I have thousands of brothers and sisters who are the same as me. They will lay down their lives for me and I them. We stand watch together. The thin-blue-line, protecting the prey from the predators, the good from the bad. We are the police."

End of Watch was written and directed by David Ayer, who has spent his entire filmmaking career exhibiting a keen interest in exploring the inner workings of the Los Angeles police department. In the past, Ayer wrote such films as SWAT, Training Day and Dark Blue, and directed Street Kings and Harsh Times. However, End of Watch is arguably Ayer's greatest achievement to date. Using the popular found footage aesthetic, the film provides a realistic, gritty portrayal of both the danger and tedium of police work.

Brian Taylor (Gyllenhaal) and Mike Zavala (Peña) are LAPD officers who have developed a tight bond during their time as partners, spending their days thwarting the efforts of criminals and doing the daily rounds while keeping themselves entertained and sharing details of their lives. For a school film project, Brian begins using camcorders and hidden spy cams to capture their day-to-day exploits. However, during a routine assignment, the two officers uncover a human trafficking ring managed by a Mexican drug cartel. Though the Feds warn Brian and Mike about what they have gotten themselves into, the curious pair can't resist delving further into the case. As a result, they become targeted by the malicious Mexican gang, who are determined to make the pair pay a steep price for putting their noses where they don't belong.

The cartel stuff is more of a fringe conflict than anything else - End of Watch progresses without much of a plot, providing a slice-of-life portrayal as we ride along with Brian and Mike. On top of this, the film probes the personal lives of the officers, with Mike expecting a child while nursing a relationship with his wife (Martinez), and with Brian becoming involved with the sweet Janet (Kendrick). Such material heightens the picture's scope, giving the characters further depth and raising the stakes.

Unlike such films as Paranormal Activity or Cloverfield, the found footage approach does not overwhelm the production. End of Watch is not entirely comprised of footage shot by the characters - rather, the "real" footage is used as an enhancement tool, supplementing the traditional camerawork to add a nice degree of authenticity. This allows us to get insight into events and tender character moments we would otherwise have learned about via impersonal captions. Truth is, the found footage gimmick only rarely works in a genuinely satisfying manner, and the familiar style is outright boring and too predictable at this point. Hence, a new spin is appreciated. On the other hand, though, the divide between Brian's footage and the traditional film stuff is blurred, and you will often be left wondering whether you're watching one or the other. It would have been more effective if the found footage looked like consumer camcorder footage, while the rest of the material carried a slicker polish.

End of Watch's most valuable assets, easily, are Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña, who are superb as Brian and Mike. Stripped of theatrics, the two feel credible and unforced, and share a camaraderie that seems remarkably organic. It's still hard to shake the thought that these guys are recognisable Hollywood performers, but the duo do their best to sell the illusion. Even the supporting players are remarkable here. Anna Kendrick is down-to-earth and endearing as Brian's love interest, while Natalie Martinez makes the most of her role as Mike's wife. Most impressive, though, is Frank Grillo as the Sarge. Funny and natural, Grillo seems like the type of blue-collar worker you'd encounter in a police station. The interplay between all of the characters is spot-on. It feels like we're watching real footage of family and friends who've known each other for years, which bolters the comedy and the drama.

Ultimately, End of Watch is a celebration of the brotherhood which exists between the men and women in blue. Police officers are fundamentally a dysfunctional family who joke around and support one another as a way to cope with this cruel, unforgiving world of frightening criminals. The film has received flack for its final outcome, but this reviewer was left moved, devastated and satisfied. A deus ex machina works extremely well in the very last scene (bear in mind, people can survive a lot of gunshot wounds as long as they promptly receive proper medical assistance), and the picture closes with a comedic outtake that reinforces the camaraderie between the central characters and heightens the sense of tragedy.

David Ayer does not exactly tell us anything new about police work with End of Watch, but that's not the point. The found footage perspective gives the flick a realistic slant, allowing us to see the world through the eyes of the officers who endure scary situations on a consistent basis. The climax, in which Brian and Mike are alone with just their side-arms and instincts in an unfamiliar environment surrounded by hostiles, is petrifying and unnervingly visceral, far more intense than anything glimpsed in the latest Paranormal Activity film. Thus, while there are better cop movies out there, End of Watch is one of a select number which truly conveys how harrowing it is to be a policeman.

8.2/10

"It is our job to protect the children of the world. For as long as they believe in us, we will guard them with our lives..."

Movie-goers have understandably grown weary of holiday-themed motion pictures released during the lead-up to Christmas, a time when studios believe that audiences are in the mood for cheap and nasty festive distractions aimed at the lowest common denominator. Rise of the Guardians, however, is a completely different beast, as indicated by the fact that it's executive produced by Guillermo del Toro. Based on the Guardians of Childhood book series by William Joyce, Rise of the Guardians boasts a premise bound to make every screenwriter in Hollywood wonder how they didn't think of it first: uniting holiday icons and childhood folklore figures for an Avengers-style team-up movie. The resultant picture is a magnificent fantasy experience permeated with imagination which reworks familiar icons in a satisfying fashion. It carries a harder edge than expected, yet it's entirely suitable for children, with its adventurous plot giving rise to excitement aplenty. The flick could have been a numbing kiddie fare, but it's much more audacious.

Rise of the Guardians posits that - in addition to carrying out their respective duties - Santa Claus (Baldwin), the Easter Bunny (Jackman), the Tooth Fairy (Fisher), and sleeping agent the Sandman comprise an elite team of magical warriors who work together to battle the forces of evil who threaten the innocence of the world's children. The all-powerful moon presides over the team of esteemed Guardians, and brings suitable threats to their attention. The Guardians' arch nemesis, boogieman Pitch Black (Law), re-emerges from the darkness, seeking the chance to thwart all the goodness in the world and claim power over the minds of children across the globe. To stop Pitch's devious plan, Jack Frost (Pine) is extended an invitation to join the group. A loner with no knowledge about his past who has developed into a flippant troublemaker, Frost is hesitant to join the Guardians, but agrees to help overthrow Pitch when he learns that the boogieman may hold the key to his missing identity. As war wages between the forces of good and evil, and as children's belief in the mystical icons begins to fluctuate, the Guardians come into contact with a young boy named Jamie (Goyo), who unwaveringly believes in them and whose faith helps to fuel the team's endeavours.

The title of Rise of the Guardians is actually a tad misleading (not to mention hopelessly generic), as the Guardians rose to prominence long before this story takes place. A lot of the film's whimsical charm is derived from the marvellous re-imaginings of these fantastical icons: Santa (known as North here) is portrayed as a muscled Russian behemoth with "Naughty" and "Nice" tattooed on his forearms; the Easter Bunny is a badass Aussie warrior with a boomerang; the Tooth Fairy a hummingbird-esque nymph; Jack Frost is a slacker teen; and the Sandman is a quirky mute who communicates via objects he manufactures in gold sand above his head. The dynamics between the group are remarkable, with the screenwriters manufacturing in-jokes and bestowing each team member with quirks and personalities, not to mention each of them possess an inherent competitive streak that's most notably glimpsed in a side-splitting montage of the team taking care of a night of tooth collecting. If there's a disappointment in terms of the characters, it's Pitch, who looks like some type of generic emo rather than a sinister entity. Granted, Pitch had to be kid-friendly, but look at The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Amid the group dynamics, the picture required a strong central anchor. Jack Frost fulfils this need; he represents an emotional entry point for the audience, with the film essentially providing Jack's origin tale. As he has no memory of his life predating his turn towards immortality, Jack yearns to find his centre and understand where he came from. It's a formulaic concept, to be sure, but it bestows the picture with humanity, and everything gels thanks to the smart script by Pulitzer Prize winner David Lindsay-Abaire. Moreover, Rise of the Guardians does a wonderful job with its mythology - the film makes it clear that the existence of these fantastical figures is reliant on children around the world believing in them. It's a solid idea, and the reinforcement of the film's central message is far more successful than Robert Zemeckis' drab misfire The Polar Express. Guardians eventually culminates with a marvellous finale that will warm your heart and leave you smiling, all without resorting to cheap manipulation or opting for the lazy way out.

Guillermo del Toro's influence is all over the visual design of the feature. Guardians looks positively gorgeous, and each frame bursts with colourful imagination. The flick features unique character designs, a selection of vibrant backgrounds, and lively photography thanks to the input of famed cinematographer Roger Deakins. The film is packed with awe-inspiring moments of whimsy and several breathtaking flights of fancy, not to mention visual humour courtesy of Santa's amusing minions. Whenever the movie cuts loose with action, the results are spectacular, displaying heightened creativity in its depiction of the protagonists' combat abilities. Who knew the Sandman was the one you really don't want to mess with?

Vocal performances are spot-on right across the board, with each actor injecting their role with an agreeable personality. Hugh Jackman is perhaps the best, giving the Easter Bunny a very funny Aussie twang. Jude Law is the most instantly recognisable performer here, and he's great as Pitch, belying the character's weak design by making him dark, mysterious and even charismatic. As Jack Frost, Chris Pine is a solid leading man, boyishly charming and believable as a devil-may-care slacker. Meanwhile, Alec Baldwin is a good fit for North. His Russian accent is just believable enough, and the esteemed performer additionally gives the role a degree of welcome gravitas. Rounding out the main players is Isla Fisher, who makes for an adorable Tooth Fairy.

From start to finish, Rise of the Guardians is absolutely wonderful, a superlative fantasy adventure packed with action, a terrific sense of humour and extravagant animated imagination. The best family movies are those which appeal to varying demographics, and this picture succeeds in that regard. Kids will adore the fast pace and the eye candy, teens will have a blast due to all the action and comedy, and adults will appreciate the film's depth and originality. Sure, it would've been nice to find out more about the other Guardians, and the film doesn't supplement the spectacle with much emotion, but it feels mean-spirited to point out the minor foibles of this otherwise extraordinary effort, especially in a market dominated by the likes of Ice Age 4 and The Smurfs. It's a shame the movie was not better rewarded at the box office, as I'd love to see the Guardians return for duty again someday, and I'd love to see them joined by a few new friends.

8.2/10

"Have any of you heard it? The heartbreak of a parent who's lost a child... When a parent's heart breaks, the sound can travel for miles. So I really need to say this to you. Be as nice to Gang-du as you can. Don't scold him, okay?"

Korean cinema is often highly regarded by critics and film buffs alike, as South Korean filmmakers produce horror films and action-thrillers with more verve and creativity than their Hollywood counterparts. 2006's The Host is South Korea's attempt at an epic monster movie in the vein of Godzilla and King Kong. Directed and co-written by the Oscar-winning Bong Joon-ho (Memories of Murder), The Host does not disappoint, with the Koreans successfully nailing yet another genre. Despite a comparatively paltry $11 million production budget, this is a superlative monster movie, and its production values are only a few notches below a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster. Consistently thrilling and involving, The Host benefits from competent storytelling, engaging character drama, strong creature effects and top-flight filmmaking from top to bottom. It succeeds as a straight-up monster movie due to the many exhilarating and edge-of-your-seat sequences involving the creature, yet the film also works as a familial drama, examining the breakdown of a dysfunctional family in a time of great crisis.

A dim-witted family man, Gang-du (Song Kang-ho) runs a concession stand along the Han River with his father and young daughter. A nearby U.S. military base dumping toxic chemicals into the river over several years results in the creation of a ferocious amphibious creature that suddenly emerges from the Han River to begin a vicious rampage. After slaughtering multiple people, the beast flees and returns to its lair carrying Gang-du's daughter, Hyun-seo (Go Ah-sung), for future consumption. Gang-du naturally assumes the worst, and his family comes to his aid to grieve Hyun-seo's presumed death. However, word surfaces that Gang-du's daughter is, in fact, alive in captivity and being held somewhere in the concrete storm drains feeding into the Han River. Though the authorities quarantine Gang-du due to an apparent virus threat, he escapes and works with his family to bring the girl back home safely.

The Host does ask you to briefly suspend your disbelief to accept the plot. After the creature rises, we watch as it ruthlessly slaughters several people, devouring some and leaving others to die of blood loss, before snatching young Hyun-seo and taking her back to its lair alive. One imagines that she should have drowned due to the beast's constant submersion under the water, or at least received whiplash as a result of being carried around like a ragdoll. Luckily, beyond this hard-to-swallow contrivance, The Host is a top-notch flick mixing monster movie theatrics with moments of black humour, outright slapstick and biting satire. However, the humour is not a dumb distraction, as it feels like an organic extension of the characters' personalities. When Gang-du's family sprawls all over the floor, writhing around in clumsy hysteria over Hyun-seo's apparent death, it is simultaneously poignant and hilarious. Joon-ho competently navigates the challenging tonal changes, which is also a testament to the excellent performances from a capable cast.

To Joon-ho's credit, he wastes little time before diving into the tour de force set piece involving the monster's first attack along the Han River. Especially with an R rating in place that allows for shocking bloodletting, it's an astounding sequence, and it is so unnerving and riveting due to how plausible it seems. Indeed, Joon-ho dials down the theatrics to create a scarily brutal attack guaranteed to send chills down your spine. Momentum unfortunately slows down following this initial rampage, and the film runs too long at almost two hours, but there are far more strong moments than weak scenes. The attack scenes throughout the picture are absolutely killer, with cinematographer Kim Hyung-koo using exceptionally crisp and steady framing to capture the mayhem, allowing for maximum visibility to let us properly marvel at the abilities of this beast. The climax, in particular, is a stunner - a competently orchestrated showdown that is astonishing and emotionally affecting in equal measure. The creature design by Weta Workshop is commendable, and the special effects by American production house The Orphanage (The Day After Tomorrow, Superman Returns) are quite good, even if the beast is not always entirely convincing. Sometimes, the CGI looks too obvious, but Joon-ho's direction is strong enough to belie such shortcomings.

Song Kang-ho (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance) is hugely effective as the bumbling Gang-du. He's a terrific comedic presence, but his love for his daughter always shines through. Moreover, the actor impeccably sells the character's transformation from a slacker father to a mature parent. It's refreshing for The Host to feature a dysfunctional family battling the beast rather than a selection of soldiers or scientists. Speaking of which, The Host is an unorthodox creature feature that outright rejects Western mentalities: Joon-ho shows the monster in full view early into the film, the characters take precedence over action, no characters are safe, and the downbeat ending is unexpected. As a result, the film is a breath of fresh air within a genre that has grown stale of late.

There are political and satirical undertones throughout The Host, as Joon-ho drew inspiration for the movie from a widely-reported scandal involving the dumping of formaldehyde down drains running into the Han River. In the film, American soldiers combat the creature using the chemist agent known as "Agent Yellow," an obvious reference to the infamous Agent Orange from the Vietnam War. Indeed, Joon-ho openly admits that this movie is a metaphor and a political commentary about the United States. The Host is not perfect due to its occasionally rickety digital effects and a few patches of wobbly pacing, but it perpetually retains a quirky charm. It contains several standout action sequences, yet the film also follows the time-honoured Spielbergian formula of a dysfunctional family that must come together in an hour of crisis. If you like monster movies, seek out The Host as soon as possible.

7.7/10

"He opened a gateway, you know? Friedkin did. He took the real world and the spirit world and he mashed them together."

Although it was greeted with a mixed reception, Grave Encounters developed into something of an underground internet sensation, with the trailer racking up an astonishing 25 million views to date on YouTube. Masterminded by The Vicious Brothers, Grave Encounters was a creepy spin on the found footage subgenre, providing plenty of thrills and an engaging narrative. Its cult following guaranteed a sequel, which was hastily thrown together and released scarcely a year after its predecessor. Written by The Vicious Brothers but directed by newcomer John Poliquin, Grave Encounters 2 does carry a certain degree of merit, but it ultimately underwhelms. It exhibits promise in its conceptual framework, yet the flick crumbles as it approaches the finish line, introducing idiotic ideas and ill-advisedly leaving room for another sequel.

In a commendable masterstroke, Grave Encounters 2 swiftly establishes itself as being part of our reality in its opening sequence. The film begins with a montage of clips showing YouTube video bloggers reviewing the first film. One of the vloggers is nerdy film student Alex Wright (Harmon), who's less than impressed with the flick. Alex is a wishful budding filmmaker who hopes to be the next Craven or Carpenter, and believes that every current horror film is pure junk. In response to his review, a YouTube user known as "Death Awaits" sends Alex a series of anonymous messages implying that the events of Grave Encounters are genuine. Curious, Alex digs deeper and deeper into the mystery, becoming increasingly convinced that the film is in fact comprised of real found footage. Having been given the location of the haunted asylum from the movie, Alex spearheads a road trip to investigate, recruiting a few fellow film students - including close friend Trevor (Playfair) and love interest Jennifer (Lapp) - to join him. Alex is prepared, too, bringing an array of filmmaking equipment to document anything and everything that transpires.

Using YouTube clips to open the film was a terrific creative decision, but the subsequent first act is tedious, moving at a mercilessly slow pace through uninvolving scenes of character interaction. Naturally, the aim was to build up to the return to the haunted asylum and develop the central characters along the way, yet intention is not the same thing as achievement. An early party scene is borderline unwatchable, and Alex's growing fascination with Grave Encounters fails to gain as much traction as it should have done. It's also unbelievable that the characters would film as much of their personal lives as shown here - it's simply too convenient. With that said, though, the brilliance of this sequel's plot cannot be overstated. Grave Encounters 2 is exceedingly meta, often in an impressively creative fashion. The Vicious Brothers have answers for everything that would make us believe the first film to be fake: we learn that the cast members used stage names for the sake of their ghost-hunting TV show, the original film's producer admits they added cheesy digital effects to enhance a few moments, and The Vicious Brothers are revealed as just a couple of low-level interns who agreed to have their names put on the picture.

Thankfully, Grave Encounters 2 begins to foster momentum following the re-introduction of Jerry Hartfield (Wilkinson), the producer of the first film. And things get really interesting when Alex pitches the idea that he may be in the middle of making the sequel to Grave Encounters. How meta can you get?! Once the proceedings shift to the familiar asylum, though, the results are a mixed bag. The picture is atmospheric and at times horrifying, to be sure, but the material grows tiresome fairly quickly since we can predict what will happen. Moreover, Poliquin is not as skilled as The Vicious Brothers in terms of pacing or scares. It's a wonder why The Vicious Brothers opted out of directorial duties this time around.

In order to justify this sequel's existence, The Vicious Brothers needed to expand the mythology of the original film and introduce a fresh batch of novel ideas. Alas, this is where the wheels really fall off, as the picture begins to dabble in the realm of sci-fi. I won't spoil too much, but, suffice it to say, Lance Preston (Rogerson) makes his return here to explain some metaphysical nonsense that becomes too much to deal with, shifting the premise from simple creepy horror to something more akin to Stargate. The attempt to expand the franchise's lore is appreciated, but it's handled poorly, and this type of justification for the hospital's disposition diminishes the experience. This culminates with a character-betraying climax which fails on practically every front, though a final scene with Jerry Hartfield is a stroke of meta genius. Oh, and the movie's internal logic crumbles in one scene when we're shown security camera footage from a building that, as it turns out, does not actually exist.

The biggest strength of Grave Encounters 2 is Sean Rogerson, who returns to play Lance Preston here as a mix of Gollum and a crazed prospector. It's a strong performance which gives the actor the chance to do something different rather than rehashing his work in the previous film. Ultimately, if you're willing to endure the sluggish first act, fans of the original Grave Encounters may enjoy this follow-up, though its nowhere near as strong as its predecessor. The Vicious Brothers for the most part do a terrific job of breaking the fourth wall and subtly tearing at the edges of our reality, even though the positives are unfortunately affected by a number of poor decisions.

5.6/10

"You're like the fucking Hebrew Dolph Lundgren or some shit."

Written by Jay Baruchel and Evan Goldberg, 2012's Goon is a loose adaptation of Doug Smith's autobiographical book Goon: The True Story of an Unlikely Journey into Minor League Hockey. It is also a brash, crude, bloody, mean-spirited and nasty motion picture, but it's these exact qualities which makes the film such a uniquely enjoyable treat. Indeed, despite ostensibly being an uplifting underdog tale, Goon does not fall into the traditional sports film category, as there are no feel-good comebacks or inspiring coaches. Rather, the picture is wall-to-wall swearing, gushing wounds and punches, with bits and pieces of romance and debauchery tossed in for good measure. It never exactly reaches exhilarating comedic heights, but Goon is fun and watchable enough, and even those without an interest or understanding in ice hockey should enjoy it.

A dim-witted albeit affable brute, Doug Glatt (Scott) works as a bouncer in Massachusetts, but his unrewarding trade renders him a tremendous disappointment to his family. While on the sidelines during a hockey match, Doug shows off his unbelievable fighting abilities and sheer brute force, impressing a local hockey coach into convincing Doug to give the sport a try. Called upon to use his pugilistic tendencies to protect his teammates, Doug unexpectedly becomes a star player in the hockey world. He can barely skate and doesn't know much about the sport, but his ability to beat the shit out of anyone gives him the opportunity to try his hand at the big time in Canada. His task is to watch over burnout Xavier LaFlamme (Grondin), who scores more drugs than goals. Doug finds it hard to fit in with his team, however, and the threat lingers of league menace Ross Rhea (Schreiber) who's legendary for his beat-downs. Meanwhile, Doug finds love in promiscuous local woman Eva (Pill), who's disarmed by Doug's sweet side.

Goon is fairly predictable from a narrative standpoint. Although it disposes of several clichés often glimpsed in sports films, the picture's final outcome is still unsurprising. Nevertheless, Baruchel and Goldberg's script is otherwise solid, smartly devoting as much time to Doug's personal life as his exploits on the ice. And while the hockey scenes are good fun, the film really sparkles during scenes of Doug and his teammates, and his romance with Eva gives the picture a sweet, heartfelt core which feels neither half-hearted nor tacked on. Goon's pacing is admittedly uneven, and the film loses momentum into its third act, but it promptly recovers with a ripping climax featuring a satisfying confrontation between Doug and Ross Rhea.

It's clear that Baruchel and Goldberg are hockey enthusiasts, as Goon is packed with detail about the sport. But while there are several puck-oriented sequences, the film is ultimately a celebration of an aspect of hockey that's been downplayed of late: badass fisticuffs on the ice. It makes sense, too; I mean, are there any other team sports which feature mano-a-mano conflicts that are actually tolerated by referees? Fortunately, the fights are well-staged here, and director Michael Dowse and his team have skilfully captured the speed and danger of ice hockey. The hockey sequences are not perfect since more visual creativity would have been beneficial, but they're proficient and smooth. Likewise, the locker room bantering is lively and energetic. Hockey players and followers will pick up on more of the in-jokes and slang, but the uninitiated should not be discouraged as there's plenty of humour here to be enjoyed by all.

Ever since his infamous appearance as Stifler in American Pie, Seann William Scott has enjoyed a career playing likeable, comedic-centric supporting characters. Goon is Scott's first movie where he actually plays the lead protagonist rather than a supporting character or as part of an ensemble, and he handles leading man responsibilities extremely well. He easily sells Doug's brutish abilities and he's a believable fighter, yet Scott also permeates the character with a sincere core that allows us to like him. Moreover, Scott is essentially the antithesis of Stifler here, which really shows the actor's unexpected range. Alongside him, an unleashed Jay Baruchel steals scenes as Doug's marvellously foul-mouthed best friend. Baruchel often plays soft-spoken nerds, so it's hilarious to see him in such a vulgar role. Meanwhile, Alison Pill is funny and likeable as Eva, and Liev Schreiber makes the most of his antagonistic role.

Goon is a mightily pleasing and refreshing comedy, providing a nice handful of laughs and a few entertaining blasts of hockey-playing brutality. It's standard in terms of narrative trajectory, to be sure, and more energy and laughs would be appreciated, but it's hard to be entirely dissatisfied with the flick.

6.5/10

"Marines don't die, they go to hell and regroup."

Red Dawn was filmed and completed three years ago in 2009, but its studio, MGM, went bankrupt and lacked the money to grant the picture proper distribution. The same fate was shared by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard's The Cabin in the Woods, which was at long last released earlier in 2012. The two films share a common star in Chris Hemsworth, but the comparisons end there. While Cabin in the Woods is an outstandingly original horror movie and one of the year's notable highlights, Red Dawn is merely a middling actioner. The best remakes are those which produce an exciting new take on an old idea, or at least improve upon the execution of the original film. This Red Dawn does neither. It begins with promise, but soon collapses under the weight of its glaring idiocies, forgettable characters, and incomprehensible photography.

Jed Eckert (Hemsworth) is on leave from the Marines, living with father Tom (Cullen) and brother Matt (Peck) in their quiet Washington State hometown. Not long after a mysterious power outage sweeps the Pacific Northwest, Jed and Matt wake up to the sound of gunfire and a sky littered with armed paratroopers. With North Korean invaders hastily moving into the country, Jed and Matt skip town, forced to leave their beloved father as they flee to a forest in the local mountains with as many of their friends as possible in tow. Calling themselves the Wolverines after their high school football team, Jed begins presiding over a resistance unit, turning to terrorist tactics in the hope of defending their tattered country and thwarting the takeover effort run by Captain Cho (Lee).

As Red Dawn languished on a shelf awaiting release, the invading force was changed from China to North Korea, necessitating extensive dubbing, a new opening title sequence, and digitally altered flags, uniforms and insignias. The decision was purely motivated by money, as the distributors realised that China is a huge market for action blockbusters, and Chinese invaders would diminish foreign box office takings. North Korea was fair game, though; nobody cares what they think. To the credit of those involved, the change is seamless, but the notion of North Korea successfully invading America is risible. I mean, North Korea cannot even take over South Korea. Plus, the country's population falls short of 25 million - even Texas alone has a higher population. Hell, the amount of armed citizens in the whole of America would outnumber the invading soldiers by a hilarious margin. It's implied that the Russians are assisting the takeover, but the extent of their involvement remains a mystery. We only see one Russian in the entire film.

Screenwriters Carl Ellsworth and Jeremy Passmore not only neglected to fix the glaring idiocies of the original Red Dawn, but they introduce a new slate of stupidities as well. What is North Korea's game plan? What do they aim to achieve? Plus, the Wolverines seem able to easily come to town and leave as they please. Are there no road blocks to prevent them from escaping into the forest? How is the forest not overrun by North Korean forces seeking to find the squad's base camp? Cell phones are often used to take photos as well, despite the fact that the characters have nowhere to charge the things. And not to worry, although America has been taken over, Subway restaurants are still in operation. Moreover, all it takes is one training montage for Jed to single-handedly turn his inexperienced would-be soldiers into competent militias able to shoot and fight. Red Dawn is bloody cheesy, too. No matter which way you cut it, chanting "Wolverines!" and giving motivating speeches can never be taken seriously.

Director Dan Bradley's years of experience as a stunt coordinator and second unit director serves him well here. This Red Dawn admittedly works in fits and starts, with bursts of stand-out action here and there. The initial takeover is chilling and nail-biting, a petrifying vision of what a modern military invasion might look like. Added to this, a few shoot-outs are fairly awesome. But here's the thing: Bradley merely aspired to blow shit up and use the teen guerrillas as action figures with perfect marksmanship skills who can superhumanly jump from great heights without breaking any bones. (Are these Wolverines reinforced with adamantium?) In other words, while John Milius' original Red Dawn explored the devastations of war, this reboot is all cheap thrills, but without any actual bloodshed since this is a PG-13 film. The 1984 film was one of the first pictures to receive a PG-13 rating, yet it's far more violent and edgy than anything in this sanitised, bloodless remake.

Compounding its many flaws, the film's attempts at character development oftentimes fall flat. The screenwriters even use the old "forcing a naïve newbie to consume something nasty under the guise of it being tradition," even though the stale old joke hasn't been funny for over a decade. The characters are much too indistinguishable beyond the three main characters. Whenever one of the characters died, I struggled to figure out who it was, and struggled even further to care. It doesn't help that Bradley's team heavily leaned on lazy shaky-cam techniques. Throughout the action set-pieces, the cameramen keep suffering epileptic seizures, so it's hard to tell who dies and how they were even killed. Interestingly, the cast of the original Red Dawn (including Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen) went on to become big stars. Meanwhile, the stars of this update became big names between filming the movie and the film finally being released. Heh. In the lead role of Jed, Chris Hemsworth is suitably authoritative and strong, whilst Peck is merely okay as Jed's younger brother. Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games) and Connor Cruise (Tom's adopted son), meanwhile, play some of the most forgettable characters in the film, though it's hardly their fault; blame Bradley and his writers. Honestly, if someone lined up all the Wolverines in the film, I would not be able to tell you whether or not they died, or, more pertinently, how or when some of them died.

1984's Red Dawn was relevant at the time of its release. Created at the height of the never-ending Cold War, it was a response to the public's heightened paranoia that the Soviets could be on their doorstep at any minute. Moreover, although the film is cheesy, it had a wonderful sense of political awareness and its portrayal of war was effective. 2012's iteration, on the other hand, has no relevance or ambition; it's a random stab against a country with no beef against the United States. To be fair, this Red Dawn may entertain you, and there are worse action movies out there, but overall it's a wasted opportunity. Its initial sequence depicting the takeover is chilling, yet the film doesn't follow through with its promise to be a complex, challenging war movie emphasising the terror of a foreign invasion.

5.1/10