Alien: Covenant (2017)

Alien: Covenant (2017)

Director: Ridley Scott

Cast: Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Demian Bichir, Guy Pierce, James Franco, Noomi Rapace

Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979), is one of those seminal horror films that changes the face of a genre so much, that it marks the way the genre will be for years and years to come. How many movies have imitated the style, the look of Ridley Scott’s original monster movie? Many that’s how many.I could write a list of films that look and play out exactly like it: Alien Contamination (1980), Galaxy of Terror (1981), Outland (1981), Leviathan (1989), Event Horizon (1997)…and the list goes on and on. Ridley Scott left that Alien franchise after having directed that first film and the sequels that followed were directed by talented directors that took each film in totally different directions, which is why I love this franchise, each director has put his stamp on each film, so they are all extremely different. Now if we fast forward a few decades, things have come full circle. Now Ridley Scott has retaken the franchise as if saying “this is my baby and I’m going to make it my freaking legacy to the world!” Which is what Prometheus and Alien: Covenant are, these films represent Ridley Scott’s reclaiming the franchise he started. Does Ridley Scott still have it?

Alien: Covenant is a direct sequel to Prometheus (2012), just in case you had your doubts. This is the story of how the xenomorphs came to be, those nasty sharp teeth, perfect killing machines with acid for blood. Alien: Covenant is the second film in a planned trilogy of prequels, they tell us the story of how the infamous aliens came to be. When Prometheus came out, audiences complained about the lack of xenomorphs, audiences wanted more of the creature that frightened them so much in Alien (1979), they wanted the horror element amped up, the wanted that nail biting, heart pounding suspense they got that first time around. But I like Prometheus for what it is, part of a trilogy of how these creatures came to be, it’s the back story. With Alien: Covenant we can definitely see a story unfolding. There are some surprises in store for fans of the Alien franchise, my mind was blown. I mean, yeah, these prequels are deeper and more profound, but that has to do with the fact that Ridley Scott has grown as a filmmaker, he has a lot more to say about life, hence, the difference in tone between these new prequels and the classic Alien films.

And speaking of depth and themes, what I enjoy about these prequels is that they explore the origins of man. Who would’ve thought that the Alien movies would end up touching such heavy themes? But here we are considering themes about the origins of man, about death, about who made us. The exploration of these themes begins with the introduction to androids, synthetic beings who are capable of thinking and feeling like humans. Similar to us in every detail save for one: they can outlive us. Questioning death and begging the universe for more life is a theme that Scott has been exploring since Blade Runner (1984) a film in which we have renegade androids begging their creator, their “father”, for more life. So yeah, Ridley Scott’s exploration of heavy philosophical themes continues in Alien: Covenant. These are questions that need answers, and Scott knows they cannot be ignored. After all, these are "the big questions" in life. It doesn’t surprise me that these are themes Ridley Scott has chosen to explore now, at the end of his career and last half of his life. Scott is probably feeling extremely identified with the themes explored in these films, questioning life, questioning where we came from, who made us and ultimately: why must we die? As I write this, Sir Ridley Scott is 79 years old!

Ridley Scott does not forget that the franchise started with what is essentially a monster movie, a horror film, and a very good one at that. When we go into top horror movies ever made, there’s no doubt Alien (1979) will make the list. And Ridley Scott knows that. So with Alien: Covenant he seems to want to go back to that horror, the spine tingling, nail biting suspense. And I have to say that Scott nailed it. There are some genuine scary moments here, there’s gore, there’s blood. Yes my friends, this one amps up the terror. But the great thing about Alien: Covenant is that it doesn’t forget that it is a sequel to Prometheus. So it’s like we get half of the philosophy and deep themes of Prometheus (2012), and half of the horror and suspense from Alien (1979), so it should satisfy both camps.

The film works even better because it has an awesome cast, and a very eclectic one at that. Here’s Danny McBride doing a serious role, he doesn’t do bad at all I have to say. But if one performance stands out it has to be Michael Fassbender in the dual role of David and Walter, the androids of the film. I simply love Fassbender in anything he does, but here he clearly plays two different roles and it is magnificent. But then again, so many things are magnificent here. The screenplay is so poetic, so good, the dialog sounds beautiful with many references to classical music and poetry. By the way, you’d do good in reading Percy Shelley’s sonnet ‘Ozymandias’, it comes into play at one point in the film. Finally, the production itself is gorgeous looking, the sets, the ship designs, the alien designs I mean, this film is simply beautiful to look at, which comes as no surprise in a Ridley Scott film. So go see this completely satisfying sequel! Here’s hoping this one makes some cash at the box office so we can get to see the next and final film in this prequel trilogy!

Rating: 5 out of 5      

  

The Interview (2014)

Title:  The Interview (2014)

Director: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg

Cast: Seth Rogen, James Franco, Randall Park, Diana Bang

Thanks to the whole Sony Pictures Hack fiasco, suddenly The Interview is the movie to see. What’s the Sony Pictures Hack Fiasco you ask? Well, if we’re to believe the story, the North Korean government hacked into Sony’s data base and read a bunch of confidential e-mails where producers spoke crap about actors. I mean, I’m talking primo garbage like calling Angelina Jolie a “talentless brat”, admitting that Adam Sandler movies have a certain “blahness” to them and calling Leonardo DiCaprio “absolutely despicable”, amongst other things. Whoa! Earth shattering stuff, I know! Sarcasm aside, the reality of this situation is that all producers talk crap about actors, it kind of goes with the territory, it’s just that on this particular occasion, their comments were revealed for all to see, and my, what a parade. Big whoop; so anyhow, apparently, the hackers (a group calling themselves Guardians of Peace) also sent an e-mail threatening to perform terrorist acts on theaters that showed The Interview. Sony execs, fearing terrorist attacks upon movie goers, cancelled the films premiere, which of course made everyone want to watch it even more. Then Obama is like “Sony made a mistake in pulling the movie from theaters” so suddenly, Sony decides to do a 180 and releases The Interview anyway, on the day that it was meant to be released: December 25. A Christmas present to all those who believe in ‘freedom of speech’ and the ‘American way’. To be honest, at the end of the day I am left wondering if the whole thing was just an elaborate hoax to enhance audience awareness and then bam! Suddenly you want to, no, scratch that, you NEED to see The Interview. So what we got here is the most hyped movie on the planet, the question remains: was it all worth it?

The premise behind the film is that Dave Skylark, a television personality who runs a gossip show called Skylark Tonight, is suddenly given the opportunity to interview Kim Jong-Un, the big dictator of the moment. Why? Well, apparently the dictator is a huge fan of the show, mirroring in this sense Kim Jong-Un’s real life obsession with American culture, including being a huge fan of basketball, Michael Jordan and Dennis Rodman. So anyhow, Skylark is going to travel to North Korea to interview the political leader. At the same time, the FBI wants Skylark to assassinate Kim Jong-Un . Will Dave perform the assassination?

What we got here is what some might consider “silly film” that actually addresses important issues. Seth Rogen, who wrote, directed and stars in the film, has always been about freedom of speech and using the media for truth instead of lies. For example, he was responsible for The Green Hornet (2011), a film about how the media should be used for telling the truth to the masses, not for manipulating, not for political agendas, not for lies. The Interview, among the many issues it touches upon, is also about using the media for truth, not the masquerade of bull crap we get on a constant basis, not for the stupification of the masses. I mean, even Dave Skylarks show is a criticism on the kind of dumb ass television shows that pass for television these days. The stupification of the masses in deed. In the film, Dave Skylark wants redemption from all that; he wants to make a show that will matter, something with some true depth. There’s this awesome moment in the film where truth is finally being told through television, and the good guys have to protect the broadcast with machine guns blazing! I thought the scene was so symbolic of the raging desire to protect the truth.  

The film also does its best to demystify the god like status that some politicians give themselves. I mean, what are we, Egyptians believing in God like Pharaohs? That time is long gone, there are no godlike men, we’re all equals and we all know it. So if you’re a wannabe politician looking to rise to power, don’t give me this crap that you’re a god cause I aint buying it. I mean, how do some of these politicians get away with making their followers believe these whoppers? For example: Nicolas Maduro, the president of Venezuela says he constantly sees and talks with the spirit of Hugo Chavez, the politician who was in power before him, but died of cancer. This guy even said that Hugo Chavez’s ghost has come to him in the form of a bird! What the hell, worst part is that a huge chunk of the population actually buys into these lies. That’s nothing when compared to Kim Jon-Un’s claims that he doesn’t need to go to the bathroom, cause you know, that’s not a godlike thing to do! Sadly, many North Koreans take this to be true! The Interview bashes all that nonsense to the ground, which is probably why Kim Jong-Un would be angry at a film like this one, it not only makes fun of him, it destroys the god like persona he’s worked so hard at creating! Still, I’m of the mind that if Kim Jong-Un was in fact enraged by this film, then he’s overreacting. He wouldn’t be the first dictator to be made fun of, I mean, we can go as far back as Charlie Chaplin’s brilliant political satire The Great Dictator (1940), in which Chaplin made fun of and openly criticized the biggest dictator of all time: Adolf Hitler. Even  Kim Jong-Il, (Kin Jong-Un’s dad) didn’t mind being made fun of in Team America: World Police (2004), so why the overreaction? I guess The Interview does attack him in a more direct fashion.  

Kim Jong-Il as portrayed in Team America: World Police (2004)

It wouldn’t be the first time that a politically charged film creates controversy. The Great Dictator got Chaplin in trouble (he was considered a communist by the American government) and it was banned in a great deal of other countries (including Spain and Germany), this due to how truthful a film it was. The Great Dictator is a film that tells the people not to go to war, not to become puppets of powerful men, that greed and tyranny shall pass. And this is why I applaud films like these, because they dare to speak up. I’m not saying that The Interview is in anyway a masterpiece (far too many dick and fart jokes for that) but it does have the brass balls to knock a false god from his false godhood and it does attack the media and put a focus on the importance of using it correctly. Here’s a movie that reminds us that dictators are not gods, they are simply men, and mad at that. I highly recommend The Interview because it was enjoyable and didn't disappoint with the laughs and the “controversy”.  Would it have become a box office success without the ‘Sony Hack Fiasco’or without the threatening e-mails? Was it all a hoax for Sony to make more money with the film? I don’t know the answers to these questions, all I can say is the film was fun, recommend it for a good time.

Rating:  4 out of 5

Spring Breakers (2012)

Title: Spring Breakers (2013)

Director: Harmony Korine

Cast: James Franco, Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson, Rachel Corine

Watching a Harmony Korine film can be a grueling experience, don’t know how many of you out there have seen Korine’s first film Gummo (1997), but it is such a raw and crude film that it can prove to be too much for some people. But then, the thing about Korine’s films is that most of the time they mix the real with the fictional until the lines blur and you don’t know which one is which. There’s lots of improvisation to his films, magical moments are provoked and end up happening in front of the camera, take for example a scene in which one of the girls puts a gun in James Franco’s mouth and he begins to start giving the gun a blow job. That scene was improvised! On Gummo we meet these two hill billy teenagers whom we follow through a day in their life, in their neighborhood. Man, let me tell ya, you never saw America look so ugly! You know how most films will film in these squeaky clean beautiful locations? Well, not Korine, for Gummo he went to the ugliest, scummiest parts of America to capture a side of American life you probably don’t want to see. Which is why Korine’s latest, Spring Breakers,  surprised me a bit. I mean, first thing I thought when I heard about this movie having girls in bikini from beginning to end was how Korine had sold out! I was like, damn, he finally broke down and did a commercial film! Which is like the furthest thing on my mind when I think of an ateur like Korine, but there it is. Spring Breakers. A "commercial film" that made its budget back more than three times over!

Spring Breakers is all about these four girls who are bored of college and want to have fun, they are ready to cut loose and live life to the fullest; squeeze it for all it’s worth. Basically they want to fulfill every hedonistic desire they can think of. So they do what any penniless college girls would do, they rob a restaurant, take the money and run. For a while, their plan works, but then things take a turn towards the dark side. Will they end up living the American Dream or the American Nightmare?

Spring Breakers was a confusing film for me because the marketing made it look like one of those dumb movies about young kids partying like animals, you know, like Project X (2012) 21 & Over (2013). I personally don’t like these types of movies;  don’t know why, I guess they feel overtly stupid to me somehow. So I kind of let Spring Breakers slip by me because of this preconception of the type of movie it might be. But deep down inside I thought to myself that Harmony Korine was not the kind of guy who’d sell out like that. I mean, his movies were always so shocking, like a solid punch to your gut! They  aren’t pretty things, they focus on the dark side of humanity. Some of his films, like for example Mister Lonely (2007) are incredibly surrealistic, feeling like something Alejandro Jodorowsky might have directed. So yeah, it surprised me then that Korine was suddenly doing this movie filled with sunsets and beaches and beautiful people in bikinis. So was Korine betraying himself with Spring Breakers? I get what he did here. Korine's films never made money. They were always art house films deemed too shocking or weird for mass consumption, but you know how the movie world is; directors have to walk that fine line between making art and making money if they want to stay in the game. And so girls in flourescent bikinis was a smart move on Korine's part; yes my friends, sex will always sell. But did Korine sell out all the way? Hell no!  

The deal with Spring Breakers is that from a distance, it looks like your typical party film about young people getting drunk and doing stupid things. And for a while, this movie is about that. These girls go into the heart of Spring Break in Florida and go all out, they smoke their weed, do their coke, have sex like maniacs, basically these girls party like animals, but like most films about excess, there’s the dark side. The side where life shows you that going over board has its limits and that having your brain on stupid mode for so long will blind you to the consequences of your actions. I liked how the film starts out in a beautiful place and slowly descends into a very dark place. We are talking about young girls who like the dangerous side of life, they like to test their limits, they want to see how far they can go without getting in trouble. Hell, these girls are described as having “demon blood” in their veins! It’s no wonder they end up being soul mates with ‘Alien’ the drug dealing character played by James Franco.

And speaking of James Franco, wow, what a performance. I have to say the guy really surprised me with this one. I mean, I’ve always admired his work but honestly? To me this is his best performance yet, he really created a character here. When the girls fall into Aliens hands, you worry for their safety. Alien exudes true evil, they kind of evil that comes from a person who understands the hypnotic influence of words, money and power! He brought to mind a similar character played by Gary Oldman in Tony Scott’s True Romance (1993), remember that one? The crazy white pimp who thought he was black? Alien has this out of control quality to him that’s scary, but also get the vibe that the guy is smart, he knows what to say and how to say it, especially to impressionable young girls. So be ready for a bravura performance, I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets a nomination come Oscar time! In embodies his character so well it reminded me of the Daniel Day Lewis transforming performance in Martin Scorsese’s  Gangs of New York (2002). This is the kind of performance that an actor gets lost into. There’s some controversy concerning this character because supposedly, James Franco based his character on a real life rapper called Riff Raff? The full story is that Korine offered this role to Riff Raff, who turned down the role, so then it went to Franco. So the movie comes out and Riff Raff decides to sue Korine for 10 million dollars because he feels the character is based on him. Franco says no way, the character is based on another rapper called ‘Dangerous’. Controversy aside, the performance is phenomenal, not to be missed.

Sometimes you watch a movie and suddenly you know you’re watching one of the best movies of the year, and this is what happened to me with Spring Breakers. After a while I was just being floored away by this movie. The visuals are amazing, the party scenes were filmed with gusto, they don’t feel staged, they have that realism that I’ve come to expect from a Korine film, I’m sure they just filmed a real life party, you get the feeling things are unfolding in front of the camera naturally. Then there are the colors of the film which are intoxicating! Korine did things with fluorescent colors all throughout the film; the colors on this movie are loud and beautiful to look at. Kudo’s to Korine for trying something different, sometimes his films are so gritty and real, so harsh, but this one feels like some feverish drug addled dream; a different color from every pill taken in the film. The first few scenes filmed in St. Petersburg Florida look amazing, they make you want to pack up your bags on go on “Spring Break Forever”. Korine also did this great thing where he plays with images and dialog, to the point where they collide, juggling the two and making this interesting mix of dialog taking over the images and vice versa, loved that. Spring Breakers is a Korine film masqueraded as a commercial film, it’s the film that Oliver Stone’s Savages (2012) should have been, it has that edge that Savages was desperately in need of. Everyone talks about this one as “the movie with the four girls in bikini from beginning to end” and you might make the same mistake I did, mistaking it for a stupid movie, well, let me tell ya, it isn’t. This movie might just knock your socks off and become one of your favorite movies of the year.

Rating: 5 out of 5   

This Is The End (2013)

Title: This Is The End (2013)

Director: Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg

Cast: James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson

Review:

You all know Seth Rogen as the actor behind such films as Knocked Up (2007) and Superbad (2007). He’s currently enjoying a high point in his career working alongside people like Joseph Gordon Levitt, Michelle Williams, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Cameron Diaz, Christoph Waltz and even Barbara Streisand. Rogen has also worked with many renowned filmmakers and directors; but one thing you may not know about Rogen is that he himself writes and produces films. He is as active behind the camera as he is in front of it. Often times, Rogen collaborates with his writing buddy Evan Goldberg, with whom he has collaborated in writing films like Superbad (2007). Each of them has branched into the entertainment business in their own way, Rogen in the writing acting department, while Goldberg more on the writing producing department, but they always end up working together again. When they wrote Superbad, a teenage comedy which went on to become a smash hit, they decided their next film was going to be called Jay and Seth vs. the Apocalypse. This film would be about two friends who end up locked up inside of an apartment as the apocalypse is occurring outside, the two guys end up hating each other. They wrote it, shot a little trailer for it and then put it on You Tube. As of today, it’s been viewed by more than 630,000 people! So anyhow, they shopped their project around, found someone to back it up and voila! We have This Is The End, a film both written and directed by Seth Rogen and his pal Evan Goldberg. It’s obvious this was a dream project of theirs, so, how was it?

The interesting part about This Is The End is that all the actors that appear in it are playing themselves. So Seth Rogen is Seth Rogen, James Franco is James Franco and so forth. This of course isn’t entirely true because these actors are playing exaggerated or even alternate versions of themselves. But still, I gotta say it’s a fun gimmick imagining that Danny McBride is that much of an asshole. So anyways, the idea is that James Franco is putting on this party of the century type of deal where all these famous actors and performers are attending. So you’ll see Michael Cera doing lines of coke and slapping Rihanna’s ass! There’s Christopher Mintz-Plasse! There’s Paul Rudd! There’s Aziz Ansari and so forth. This part of the film is jam packed with cameos, which is fun. Even Jason Segel shows up at one point. So there’s a moment in the night where Rogen and Baruchel decide to go out to buy a pack of cigarettes when suddenly, the end of the world begins. What is triggering the end of the world? Why is blue light sucking people up to the heavens? Why is the earth opening and swallowing people up? Could this be the ‘judgment day’ that the bible talks so much about?

So yeah, the concept is that God has finally brought the end of the world upon humanity, so it’s up to these guys to figure out how they can get into heaven because apparently god didn’t think they were worthy. This is an awesome concept because I’ve always wondered how the biblical end of the world would look like. In my mind it was way more epic then what we see in This Is The End, but that has to do with the fact that This Is The End takes place almost entirely inside of James Franco’s house! This to me is one of the elements that makes this film so much fun because you hear these guys saying things like “Let’s make a sequel to Pineapple Express” and then they go on about what they actually want to do with that sequel, while smoking a joint! “We should make sequels to all our movies!” Funny, funny stuff. I loved how each of the characters takes on a persona, McBride is the hateful asshole, James Franco hates McBride, but loves Rogen. Jay Baruchel is the anti-social dude, Michael Cera is the out of line coke head. So it’s fun having all these guys partying their brains out, and then having to deal with surviving the apocalypse. That’s a double dose of funny situations.

Many will find this film extremely offensive, and it’s mostly to do with the fact that the film makes fun of all sorts of Christian beliefs. It’s the kind of film that takes all that mythology from the bible and turns it into one big fat joke, kind of like Paul (2011) did. In my opinion, this serves as a way to show just how ridiculous some of these ideas presented in the bible can get. For example, the film plays with this whole notion of ‘the rapture’. This is the event in which supposedly god takes the good people of the earth up to heaven with him while leaving the sinners down here to rot in a hell on earth. In the film, a blue beam of light sort of beams you up to heaven, kind of the way they beam you up in a Star Trek movie. Watching all this I was thinking how silly and hilarious it all is! But then you realize this isn’t so far from what the bible actually teaches! I mean all of the animals in the world fit into one boat? So you go up to heaven and you get a halo on top of your head? Come on! Eve actually talks to a snake! What? And let’s not forget the dragons with seven heads! If all these ideas sound fantastic to you, then you should know they all come out of the bible! Rogen and Goldberg take these ideas and put them in their movie and make you realize damn, this stuff’s actually funny! When James Franco is being beamed up to heaven is one of the most hilarious things in the movie, you gotta see it, I dare you not to laugh. While watching This Is The End I got a Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey (1990) vibe from it because same as that movie, the main characters go both to heaven and hell and they both offer us hilarious versions of these mythical places. In This Is The End heaven is one big ass party, but I ain’t gonna spoil it for you.

Aside from having fun with Christian beliefs, the film is also extremely graphic in nature. Not just with its jokes, but with its depiction of gore. For example, there’s only one porno mag in the whole house, and these five dudes have to survive the apocalypse with it, so I guess they take turns using it? Point is at one point a fight breaks out between Franco and McBride because McBride jizzed all over the magazine! This is just an example of how crazy the jokes can get, if you like your comedy cute and cuddly don’t go see this movie. If on the other hand you like your comedy raunchy, then you’re in for a treat. I read that while making this film, almost every actor (except James Franco) at one point said they wouldn’t do something because it was too crazy. I mean, Emma Watson herself stepped out of the movie half way because she thought the ideas were too crazy. She was actually supposed to be in the movie a lot more, but bowed out because she couldn’t take it. Hey, if you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen! So that lets you know this one will test your limits of good taste. And then there’s the gore, which is plentiful and hilarious! Ever wanted to see someone play football with some dudes decapitated head? Then this is the movie for you!

How cool was it to have all these funny guys together on the same film? I mean, this is the kind of comedy I love, where they put a bunch of funny dudes together in one movie and see what happens. Obviously there was a lot of improvisation on this film, its part of what I love about movies like this one. I mean, you can tell these were really just a bunch of friends getting together having fun making a movie. I’m sure it must have been pretty difficult to keep a straight face while shooting some of these scenes. One idea did pop into my head; maybe it should be this team of comedians that takes a stab at a Ghostbusters reboot? It would be hilarious to seethese dudes playing Peter, Eagon, Ray and Winston, but alas, that’s just me pipe dreaming. But you gotta admit it would be cool wouldn’t it?

So yeah my friends, this movie is all over the place! It’s extreme, it’s funny, it’s gory, and these characters curse like sailors even when in heaven! “Welcome to heaven motherfuckers!” Yes, this film is rated ‘R’ and don’t you forget it! I was surprised there weren’t any topless girls in this movie; it was all that was missing really. When I went to see this one, half of the theater was laughing, the other half was sitting uncomfortable in their chairs, so it’s a divisive movie. My guess is that the conservative half, the half that goes to church every Sunday was about ready to leave the theater, while the other half were laughing their asses off, I was of course laughing my ass off. After all, if there is a God, he’s gotta have a sense of humor right? I mean, he created George W. Bush didn’t he? So my advice is just go see this one with an open mind, ready to be offended, you just might find yourself having a good time.

Rating: 4 out of 5 

Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)

Title: Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)

Director: Sam Raimi

Cast: James Franco, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, Milla Kunis, Zack Braff

Review:

Sam Raimi’s Oz the Great and Powerful was probably not an easy movie to make for Raimi, especially when we take in consideration that it’s supposed to be an unofficial sequel to MGM’s Wizard of Oz (1939), a film that is revered and loved by many. Aside from keeping audience approval in mind at all times, Raimi had to also deal with a lot of legal mumbo-jumbo from the MGM guys, but I’m getting ahead of myself, let me explain things a bit so you won’t get lost in the magical Land of Oz. You see, L. Frank Baum’s Oz novels became public domain in 1985, so from there on in, anybody could make their own Oz thing, which is how Disney’s Return to Oz (1985) came to be. Now, though Baum’s novels became public domain, whatever original elements MGM came up with for their film is strictly the property of MGM, so Disney or anybody who wants to make their Oz thing, cannot use any of the elements that MGM came up with for their movie. This includes and covers everything from the ruby red slippers (which were never red in Baum’s books), to the green tone on the Wicked Witch’s face! Disney couldn’t even use the wart on the Wicked Witch’s chin because that wart belongs to MGM! So making this new Oz movie must’ve felt a bit like walking on a mine field for Sam Raimi.

Raimi works out a scene with James Franco

Still, I think even though they tried their best to get away from MGM’s film, they still ended up paying homage to it. This is something that they admittedly did entirely on purpose. There are many similarities between MGM’s Wizard of Oz and Oz the Great and Powerful, first of all, both films start out in sepia tones and later turn to color once we reach the Land of Oz. We have the singing Munchkin’s and the Wicked Witch flying on a broom, leaving a trace of black smoke behind her. The color scheme for both films is extremely similar, the yellows and greens have that over saturated look. The film looks as if Ted Turner himself had converted the film from black and white to color. My guess is that Raimi and Disney tried to get as close as they could to MGM’s film without breaking any of the legal boundaries. Smart move on their part because the idea that people have of Oz and that world is very closely linked to the old movie. They want that old yellow brick road, they want the same Emerald City, the want those Munchkins. So fans of the old movie can rest assured that this new film is extremely similar to the old MGM film.

Now here’s something I didn’t expect from Oz the Great and Powerful: how closely it resembles Sam Raimi’s Army of Darkness (1993)!  Now for those not in the know, once upon a time, Sam Raimi was once a filmmaker struggling to make his way in Hollywood. He made a moderately successful comic book film called Darkman (1990), and so Universal gave him the chance to follow that up with Army of Darkness, the closing chapter of his Evil Dead series of films; a series of films he started making way back in the beginning of his career, with his first film The Evil Dead (1981). After a successful run in theaters, he followed The Evil Dead with Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987) and ended the whole shebang with Army of Darkness. Now the similarities between Raimi’s Oz film and Army of Darkness are not denied by the director himself. In an interview for Screen Rant he mentions that he was aware of these similarities, and that he tried to get away from them as much as he could, but that at the same time he felt it wouldn’t be much of a problem, since a lot of people have not seen Army of Darkness. In that interview, Raimi also mentions that any similarities between both films cold be blamed on the writer of the script, which existed long before Raimi was ever committed to directing the picture. But if you ask me, Raimi knew exactly what he was doing because the similarities are way too obvious and you know what? So what, I liked it! Oz the Great and Powerful is essentially Army of Darkness but the characters from Wizard of Oz! And made with Disney’s kajillions!

And so, here my dear readers I offer you the similarities between both! There be SPOILERS AHEAD, so you've been warned! 

ASH AND OZ

On Oz the Great and Powerful, Oscar Diggs is an illusionist who works in a traveling circus. He is a sleazy guy who lies to the girls and wants to bed them all, he uses sweet lies in order to more easily seduce them. He is a hero, but not entirely. He lies, cheats and scams every chance he gets. In many ways, the great and powerful Oz is an anti-hero.  Interested in personal gain, he accepts helping others to achieve his goals, even with all these negative qualities, he ends up becoming a leader and a hero to the people.

In Army of Darkness, Ashley Williams is your regular blue collar worker. He’s sleazy with the ladies and wants to bed them all, telling them stories and using “pillow talk” in order to get to first base. He’s our hero, but not entirely. He is afraid to do what he has to do; he is at times a liar and a coward. But his interest in personal gain makes him help others, even with all these negative traits, he ends up becoming their leader and hero.   

HERO GETS WHISKED AWAY TO ANOTHER LAND THROUGH A MAGICAL WORM HOLE

In the ending of Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn Ash opens up a portal that is supposed to suck away all the demons and send them to some other dimension, unfortunately, the portal also sucks him in. Ash soon discovers that the portal doesn’t send him to another dimension; it actually sends him back in time! And so, suddenly Ash finds himself in medieval times, becoming the leader of a group of people who are fighting against an Army of the Dead.

In Oz the Great and Powerful, an illusionist known as Oscar Diggs is one day whisked away by a tornado, he soon discovers this isn’t just any regular old tornado, nope, this tornado ends up magically sending him to the strange and wonderful Land of Oz! When he arrives, he finds himself becoming a leader of a group of people fighting against an evil witch and her army.

HERO MUST AQUIRE A MAGICAL ARTIFACT TO COMPLETE HIS MISSION

In Army of Darkness, Ash must retrieve ‘The Necronomicon’, a magical book which the demons (a.k.a.  Deadites) have an insatiable hunger for. If he achieves this goal correctly, he saves the people and fulfills a prophecy. In order to retrieve this book, Ash must venture into a spooky forbidden cemetery where the book rests.

In Oz the Great and Powerful, Oz must retrieve a witch’s magical wand, in this way, fulfilling a prophecy that will allow him to turn in the “Great and Powerful Oz”. In order to get this magical wand, Oz must venture into a spooky cemetery to get it.  

LOVE INTEREST TURNS EVIL

In Army of Darkness Ash falls for a beautiful maiden called Sheila, unfortunately at a given point in the film, Sheila turns evil when possessed by demons! Sheila tells Ash: “You found me beautiful once” to which Ash replies “Honey, you got reeeeal ugly!”

In Oz the Great and Powerful, Oz falls for the beautiful Theodora, a good witch who dreams of one day becoming Oz’s queen. When circumstances in life tear them apart, Theodora’s hatred for Oz turns her into the proverbial ‘Wicked Witch of the West’.

EVIL  ARMIES and ROUSING SPEECHES

In Army of Darkness Ash must train a medieval army in order to fight against the demonic Army of Darkness. Ash gives a rousing speech in which he motivates his army to fight for their land.

In Oz the Great and Powerful, Oz must train The Munchkins, The Tinkers and The Winkies to fight against the Wicked Witch of the West’s evil army. He gives them a rousing speech that motivates them into using their smarts and their cunning in order to achieve this.

EVIL FLYING MONSTERS

In the world of Army of Darkness, there exists such a thing as a ‘Deadite’. What’s a Deadite you might ask? Well, Deadites can come in all forms, but one of the most hideous is the flying demons you see pictured above. In one moment of Army of Darkness, a deadite snatches Ash’s love interest away and flies away with her.

In Oz the Great and Powerful, there exists such a thing as an evil flying monkey; actually, there’s a whole army of them! In one pivotal scene of the film, an evil flying monkey snatches away Glinda the good witch and flies away with her.

GUN POWDER = UPPER HAND IN BATTLE

In Army of Darkness, Ash comes from the future and must learn to live amongst the “primitive screwheads” from medieval times. In order to have the upper hand in the battle against the Army of Darkness, Ash shares his knowledge of gun powder and chemistry with the soldiers of medieval times.

In Oz the Great and Powerful, Oz shares his knowledge of gun powder and fireworks with the people of the Land of Oz so they can use it in their battle against the evil witches. 

EVIL EVANORA – SHE BITCH

In Army of Darkness, Ash fights with a possesed old lady whom he refers to as “She Bitch”. He fights with her for a few seconds before blowing her away with his boom stick. In the ending of the film, he fights a similar looking possesed woman, whose ass he also blows away with his boomstick after which he proclaims himself a king.

In Oz the Great and Powerful, Glinda the Good Witch must do battle with Evanora the most evil witch of all, after Glinda beats Evanora, she transforms Evanora into who she really is, an old hag, who looks a hell of a lot like the “She Bitch” from Army of Darkness, and I mean a heck of a lot, it's almost a copy paste type of deal! At the end of the day, Oz ends up being King of Oz.

And that my friends, ends the comparison part of my review! 

But of course, the biggest similarity between these two movies is it’s director Sam Raimi. The film might be Disney, and it might be Oz but at times you will also notice it is very Sam Raimi, it has those kinetic camera moves that let you know it’s Raimi behind the cameras. It even has cameos by Ted Raimi and Bruce Campbell! Sadly, theres no 1973 yellow Oldsmobile on this one, you know, the car that Sam Raimi puts in all of his movies! But aside from all that, I personally really enjoyed the film, me being a huge fan of the Oz books and films, well, I was having a blast. One of the few flaws I found was Mila Kunis who for some reason didn’t deliver a great performance; her acting dialog delivery felt robotic and unnatural, no real emotion in it. But that’s a minor hiccup. Her bad performance stands out amongst all the other good ones. I mean, James Franco did a good job of portraying Oz equal times sleazy and equal times heroic. But if I had to pick a favorite it would have to be Rachel Weisz, who was great as evil witch Evanora. But Kunis? Left a lot to be desired. Still, even with this minor hiccup, the film ends up being ultra fun, and loaded with tons of visual effects. Yes my friends, this is one colorful mind bending CGI overdose that I recommend checking out on 3D. If you like CGI fests and you like 3D, then you should have yourself a dandy old time!   

Sam Raimi goofing around on the set of Army of Darkness

There was something else that I didn’t enjoy in this particular Oz film. You see, the Oz films have always played with the idea that the powers that be are lying to the masses through politics and religion, this is an aspect of these films that I’ve always found daring. Yet, in an interesting turn of events, this time around the film tells us that these lies are something necessary in society, a necessary evil if you will. In this way, it is similar to Life Of Pi (2012), yet another film that tells us that it is better to believe the pretty lie, then live with the awful truth. For this I give the film a point less, why? Because I don’t think the masses need to be lied to, I think people should be told the truth, no matter how “desperate the times”, for what kind of society are we living in if it’s all based on a lie? According to this film, people are lied to because they need a hero, they need hope, they need someone to look up to. Why do films like Life of Pi and Oz the Great and Powerful think it’s a good idea to lie to the people in order to keep them happy? I’d love to see a sequel in which the people of Oz found out that they’ve been had all along; wouldn’t that make an interesting sequel? 

Rating:  4 out of 5

Your Highness (2010)

Title: Your Highness (2010)

Director: David Gordon Green

Cast: Danny Mc Bride, James Franco, Natalie Portman, Justin Theroux

Review:

I had high hopes for Your Highness for various reasons. One of them was that David Gordon Green was directing. Green is a director who’s mainly known for directing indie dramas like George Washington (2000) and Undertow (2004). But in 2008 David Gordon Green decided to break out of his indie drama mold and ventured into big budget commercial comedy territory, the result was Pineapple Express. A film that ended up being a good stoner comedy in my book. So I kept that in mind, also noting the fact that Your Highness was a Pineapple Express re-union of sorts. It had the same director (David Gordon Green) and it reunited James Franco and Danny McBride both of which had worked together on Pineapple Express. So I was feeling confident about this movie. Add to that the fact that it now had Oscar winner Natalie Portman along for the ride and I was sold! And it was a stoner comedy! And it had magic and monsters! And Justin Theroux was playing the bad guy! I mean, this movie had all the makings of an awesome movie! So why did this film end up being such an atrociously unfunny disaster?

The sad part is that Your Highness is Danny McBride’s first attempt at carrying a big budget theatrical release on his shoulders. He is the lead, it’s his movie. He wrote it. Should this film fly or get shot down, all fingers will point to him. That type of thing tends to be a decisive moment in an up and coming actors career. This type of thing can either make or break your future in Hollywood. It reminded me of the time I first saw Ace Ventura in theaters, way back in 1994. That moment was magical; I have never seen an audience laugh so hard in my whole life as a film enthusiast. From then on, I knew Jim Carrey was going to make it big. And he did, it was one of those things where the film was so funny, that you just knew he was going to make it. Sadly, Your Highness was to be Danny McBride’s Ace Ventura. This was to be the film where McBride was going to show the world that he is a funny guy, and that he can continue making us laugh for years to come. Sadly, if I was to judge Danny McBride’s future in films based on Your Highness alone, I would have to say that he is dead on arrival. It’s a sad thing too because Danny McBride is one of those actors that always got second billing in comedies where he was funny enough for people to say “this guy is funny, he should be making his own movies!” Well, he finally got his chance to prove himself to audiences in a film where he is the main star. He’s been given the keys to the kingdom; did he make the best of it? Hell no he didn’t!

The main problem with Your Highness is that it just isn’t funny. I watched it in a theater filled with people who like me, decided to give it a chance, probably expecting McBride to be as funny as he has been in other movies where he wasn’t the main star. At the very least, he should have been as funny as he is in his own show, Eastbound & Down. Unfortunately, this was not the case. I giggled once or twice, but most of the time I was cringing at what I was seeing on screen. I remember the words “this is not funny” popping up in my head on various occasions. McBride and crew seem to think that saying the word fuck every five seconds is a funny thing. It isn’t. Curse words are to be used sparingly, like a bit of salt on your favorite food. If you over do it, you mess things up. Then it just becomes irritating every time you hear it. Maybe on a Gangster movie it would have been okay, cause Im sure gangsters say “motherfucker” every five seconds; but not on a fantasy film. And trust me; you’ll hear the word fuck and all of its derivatives every five seconds in this movie. On top of that, they chose to include these really crude sexual jokes, like having to give a hand job to a wizard so he can help them on their quest, or showing a Minotaur’s erection, I mean, literally, you can see the Minotaur’s erect member. I just typed that. Great. Thank you very much Your Highness.

And here’s the other thing, I love fantasy movies! I love movies about magic, monsters, dragons, swords and all that jazz. I was actually looking forward to seeing warlocks and wizards using their magic powers. I was thinking this was a great opportunity to spoof films like the Lord of the Rings trilogy. And yes, I did enjoy those moments where we have warlocks and witches using all these fantastical magic powers, showcasing some nifty special effects. I enjoyed all the creatures we get to meet in the film, the Cyclops, the Minotaur, The Wizard. You kind of get the feeling that McBride watched Princess Bride (1987), Labyrinth (1986), Legend (1985), Robin Hood Men in Tights (1993), History of the World Part I (1981) and Monty Python’s Holy Grail (1975) and wanted elements from all those films on this one. I have to hand it to the guy, he had his influences in the right place. Unfortunately, he didn’t quite get there. I mean, this was a 60 million dollar big budget production. These guys had all the resources needed to make a decent fantasy film; unfortunately, the result wasn’t a very good one. That’s one thing I always enjoyed about Mel Brook’s films, they were raunchy, and had sexual jokes in them, but they were never super offensive, they knew just how far to take it. Your Highness doesn’t just want to make sex jokes, they want to offend you with them. Shock you with them. Hence the Minotaur’s schlong in the film.

Justin Theroux as the evil wizard Lazaar

And I speak of Mel Brook’s films because he was obviously a major influence on this film. Right down to having Natalie Portman wear a chastity belt. But I think that McBride and Green forgot one very important thing that Mel Brooks got right most of the time. You can spoof a film, but you also have to make a good film within the genre you are spoofing. This didn’t always work for Mel Brooks (just look at Dracula Dead and Loving It) but more often then not, it did work. Take for example Young Frankenstein (1974). It was not only a great (actually genius) spoof of all Frankenstein films; it was also an excellent Frankenstein film on its own right. Same goes for Spaceballs (1987). A great spoof, but also, a good sci-fi film. I guess the big difference between Your Highness and the films I’ve mentioned is that Mel Brook’s spoof’s had good scripts. Hell, Young Frankenstein was nominated for a freaking Oscar for its screenplay! Not the case with the script for Your Highness which was written by McBride himself, who really hasn’t proven himself as much of a writer save for having written the script for The Foot Fist Way (2006). According to David Gordon Green himself, most of the dialog was improvised during shooting; a trick that can work if you are working with a cast of comedic geniuses. I mean Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, Will Ferrell, they’ll work wonders with improvisation. Doesn’t always work with everyone, apparently, it didn’t work with the cast on Your Highness.

Weird thing is, I have seen McBride being funny. He just wasn’t entirely ‘on’ for this film. Now, if Hollywood has taught us anything, it’s that it does not forgive gargantuan multi million dollar failures. You make them loose some moolah instead of making it for them, and it’s adios to you amigo. I hope this won’t be the case with McBride. I think the guy has potential to be one of the greats; he just needs a project that will really go with his personality and style of comedy. Something tells me that a fantasy farce simply wasn’t the way to go with McBride, he seemed to think so. I mean he wrote the damned thing. Sadly, he didn’t even write a good role for himself. He is the lead in the film, yet he isn’t the hero, James Franco is. And speaking of that cast! What the hell. Okay, Franco was obviously there to re-live the good times he had while making Pineapple Express, but Natalie Portman sticks out like a sore thumb in this movie! I guess she was on this production to lighten things up after having made the dark and brooding Black Swan (2010). Plus, they convinced her to show us her ass to sell the movie, sadly, even that old trick failed. This movie cost 60 million dollars and barely made 20 million at the box office! That’s a 40 million dollar loss my friends! That is something that Hollywood won’t easily forgive, I just know it. I’ve seen it happen. But who knows, maybe McBride will do a better film next time, one that fits his style of humor better. Actually, his next film up is called 30 Minutes or Less (2011) and it looks like the kind of project that’s right up his alley. Let’s hope that it will actually be funny. And that it will actually make its money back, if not, I fear we won’t be seeing much of McBride in the near future. Here’s hoping we do!

Rating: 1 ½ out of 5