Man of Steel

I'm going to go out on a limb here and declare this as the best film of the summer. I may even go further and declare this the best superhero film I've seen. This may come as a surprise because critics have not been kind to this film. It currently has a 56% splatter rate on rotten tomatoes, but an 8.1/10 on imdb, which goes to show that critics have completely lost their footing in reality.

One of the main complaints from critics is that the film lacks joy and humour. Man of Steel is directed by Zac Snyder and produced by Chris Nolan, director of the Dark Knight trilogy. Does anyone remember laughing in the Dark Knight films? I don't. And yet no one complained about the lack of humour in those dark films. I think what's happening is that critics have become so used to Marvel's take on superhero films they have come to expect the same from others. In the Marvel universe there is more colour, more humour, more opportunity for some light-hearted banter. With DC things are a little darker, more bleak. Batman's struggles were always as internal as they were external. We had to watch him fall before we could watch him rise. 

In Man of Steel Clark (Henry Cavill) is struggling to align the two sides of himself. He is both alien and human, alien in the sense that he is not of this world, but human in his morality, his connection to the Earth. He is however an outsider, always has been. He uses his abilities to help those in peril, but does so anonymously, hiding his true self in fear of how people will react. Clark may be practically indestructible but he has one very human desire: to be accepted. 

The film is not told in a linear form, rather it goes between present and past, creating an in-depth look at how Clark came to be the man he is today. Like the Dark Knight trilogy, it allows the audience some breathing space, doesn't throw in a lot of exposition and instead lets the story flow in its own way. This means that some questions pondered earlier in the film aren't answered until later, keeping audiences engaged. It sounds like a simple thing, but so few films do this, giving too much away too soon.

Cavill is perfect as Clark. He embodies the man of steel and brings a vulnerability to the role. Amy Adams is refreshing as Lois Lane. She is not overly sexualized and is allowed room to be a character and not just someone the hero has to save. Michael Shannon is at first a little overwhelming as General Zod, but it soon becomes natural to the character. He sure does love to yell a lot. Russell Crowe has a bigger role as Jor-El than I anticipated, and this is a good thing. Kevin Costner is well cast in the role of Jonathan Kent, showing both the fear and pride he feels for his son. 

The score is done by Hans Zimmer and deserves its own review because it's fantastic. With the epic fight scenes throughout the film the score adds tension and emotion, particularly in one scene near the end where, between you and me, there may have been some tears in my eyes. 

I really can't express enough how much you need to a) ignore the negative reviews and b) go see this film. As much as I love the Marvel films, I would be more than happy if superhero films of the future were to become more like Man of Steel. The beauty is that we can have both: the joy and humour of Marvel and the darker journeys of DC characters. It's a big bad universe out there, and there's plenty of room for all. 

Why do we fall?

I was a good wife and waited for my husband's day off to go see The Dark Knight Rises, though truth be told it drove me crazy hearing all the wonderful things and having to wait. But good things come to those who wait, and I was rewarded for my patience.

The Dark Knight Rises is the best film I've seen all year, perhaps the best film I've seen in many years. It is the perfect finale to an already outstanding trilogy. This seems like quite the statement to make but I stand behind it. There are many factors that determine how great a film is: screenplay, directing, acting, cinematography and the score to name a few. Some films reach greatness on some of these levels but miss others. As we've come to learn with Chris Nolan's previous work he is a man who knows how to take us to levels we hadn't fathomed before (cough cough Inception cough). TDKR is no exception.

Let us begin with the acting. There are some outstanding performances in this film. I feel that I have to mention Sir Michael Caine as Alfred first. He doesn't have as much screen time as he did in the first and second installments but his performance packs an emotional punch. He brings heart and soul to the film, in many ways he is the voice of the many, he doesn't possess the physical strength of the heroes but he brings his vulnerability and love of Bruce to the point where he humanizes him, reminds him of his own limitations. The next actor I need to mention is Tom Hardy as the frightening Bane. His physical possession of the screen is intimidating enough, but he also brings a calm and destructive control. He's a villain you will love to hate, and will also come to understand.

Anne Hathaway is wonderful as Selina, she is sexy, sophisticated and strong. She isn't just there to be a pretty face and a nice body. Her character has purpose, a very important purpose and Anne shines in the role. Christian Bale is back again as the complex Wayne and heroic Batman. We get to see him as Wayne more in this film which was nice, I felt it gave more insight into the character. We also get to see more weakness in him which only adds more to the triumph of his rise from the (literal) hole he finds himself in. Joseph Gordon Levitt has a great performance as Blake. Like Alfred he shows the world of Gotham through a citizen's eyes. He proves himself to be a true hero without a mask. Morgan Freeman as Fox, Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordan and Marion Coutillard as Miranda give nothing but the fine performances we have come to expect from them.

The screenplay is spectacular, I don't really know what else to say about it. There are so many great twists and turns, secrets are revealed, lives are lost, heroes rise. There is never a dull moment, nothing felt too long or too short. There is some foreshadowing, one in particular that made me know early on how it was going to end, but that didn't make it predictable, it made it feel complete. The ending is exactly as it should be. Both Chris Nolan and Jonathan Nolan wrote the screenplay and with brilliant minds like that at the helm it's easy to just let go and know that the story is in safe hands.

The cinematography by Wally Pfister is joyously moody. I know that's quite an oxymoron but it truly is. The lighting is dark, the ambiance tense, but there's a charge in the air, and as Selina says a storm coming. Throughout the film you feel that storm brewing purely through the lighting in the scenes. Batman has always excelled in the dark, it's his element, but perhaps this time the shadows will not be the allies he has found them to be previously.

Director of the year goes to Chris Nolan (sorry Joss Whedon, I truly do love you too). This man is unstoppable. Watching Memento years ago I knew that he would be one of the greats and he has not disappointed. I cannot begin to imagine the daunting task it would have been to direct a film of TDKR size. I have seen a few behind the scenes clips and it looks overwhelming. Hundreds of extras, enormous sets built, not to mention the constant hold he has on the story at all times. As an aspiring director I find myself in awe of such talent. What I wouldn't give to be able to shadow that man through the process of making one of his films. In an earlier post I saluted Joss Whedon, in this one I bow down to Nolan.

TDKR is one of those films that I found myself wanting to clap, gasp out loud, and at one point actually physically stopped myself from making a sound. It's a true hero film in that you really believe in Batman and you want to see him rise no matter how far he has to fall first. We've seen his beginning, we've seen him fall and now we get to watch him rise. It's okay to feel a little emotional about that.

The Men in Black are back...again

2012 is a great year for film. In the upcoming months we get Snow White and the Huntsman, The Dark Knight Rises, The Amazing Spiderman and The Bourne Legacy. And of course we are all still riding the wave that is The Avengers. The film has done spectacularly at the box office and has had the number one spot since opening...until now. Last week Men in Black III came out and has surprisingly managed to push The Avengers from it's perch.

To be honest I wasn't particularly excited about the release of MIB3. I'd seen the other two films when they came out years ago and neither left an impression. However the rating on IMDb was decent so I thought why the hell not? Yesterday my husband and I went to check it out. We went in with very little expectations, no memory of what had happened in the previous films and no idea what the plot would be. We just wanted to be entertained.

So here's the thing. I didn't hate the film, but I can't say I really liked it either. The plot is interesting enough. Boris the Animal (Jermaine Clement), a disgusting alien who a younger Agent K (Josh Brolin) put away fourty years earlier on a luna prison has escaped. Boris decides to go back in time to kill the young Agent K before said agent chops off Boris' arm. In the present Agent J (Will Smith) and the older Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) continue on MIB business until one day Agent K disappears, from the earth, from time and from everyone but Agent J's memory. Agent J then has to go back in time and save Agent K, and also catch Boris who is determined to destroy Earth.

Josh Brolin did a wonderful job at stepping into Agent K's shoes. He mimicked Tommy Lee Jones' K to perfection. He showed a new side to K, a more humorous, approachable side. This is slightly confusing for Agent J who doesn't understand how K could be so cold and detached in the future when he was so different in the past. You really don't need to have seen the other films in order to follow this story. Both Agent J and K have a bizarre relationship. They seem to care a lot about each other yet in some ways they barely know each other. J would love to know more but K is hesitant. Just before K disappears in the future he seems to want to tell J something but never gets the chance. We find out what this something is later in the film, which adds a nice twist to the story and to their relationship.

Unfortunately the other characters don't really get a chance to be explored. Smith's J is meant to be the driving force of the plot but appears to be more of a passenger. I had expected more humor in the story. Smith had some quirky moments but I noticed that the audience laughed more in The Avengers than in this film. I think this is partly because the script wasn't very entertaining and also because we didn't get a chance to get to know the characters. Clement's Boris was deliciously grotesque but lacked depth. I like when we get to know a villain, their goals, and the extent they will go to in order to reach those goals. In other words I like to know the stakes. We didn't get that in this film. Boris' reasons for going to the past to kill K were a little weak. He shows up throughout the film at random points but he almost feels like an after thought. This pains me to say because I really love Clement, he's a fellow kiwi and I daily sing songs from Flight of the Conchords. Unfortunately his character was written without depth, and although he gave all he could to it Boris somehow fell through the cracks.

Obviously this is not a film we are meant to take too seriously. It's a fluff film, there to distract, make you forget about work, the kids, that crack in the bathroom sink that needs fixing. This is not a painful film to watch by any means. It flows well, has a beginning, middle and a somewhat satisfying end. However I had expected it to pack a bit more of a punch considering the last in the series was ten years ago.

Perhaps if this film came out a couple of years after the last I would have enjoyed it more. Unfortunately for them, but luckily for us, directors like Chris Nolan and Joss Whedon have raised the bar. We don't just want to be distracted from the bathroom sink anymore. We want to be entertained.