Open Letters Monthly: The Wolverine

Now that Marvel Studios have changed the way people see comic book movies, it's time the other major studios got on board. It's currently 20'th Century Fox's turn with The Wolverine, the second spin-off (and sequel to the much-hated X-Men: The Last Stand) of the popular mutant superhero team that first leaped onto screens way back in 2000.

Riddled with guilt over his actions in The Last Stand, the man formerly known as Wolverine is living the hermit's life in Canada when he is discovered by a Japanese agent named Yuki,sent to give him a message. A man the near-immortal Logan saved in World War II wants to say goodbye, but when Wolverine goes to Japan to give his farewell, he is made an offer from the dying clan leader. For saving his life that day at Nagasaki, Logan is given the deal of a lifetime: allow his mutant healing factor to be transferred to someone else, so that he can live a finite existence and eventually be given peace from the demons that haunt him. But some demons wear human skin, and the world just might need Wolverine alive and kicking, even if he doesn't always feel the same.

The Wolverine is directed by James Mangold and stars Hugh Jackman, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima, Will Yun Lee, Haruhiko Yamanouchi, Svetlana Khodchenkova and Famke Janssen.

Click here for the full review at Open Letters Monthly.

Open Letters Monthly: Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters

If you ever had any doubt that January is where studios dump the stuff of failure, look no further than Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, the alternate fantasy from the mind of Dead Snow's Tommy Wirkola. In it, we follow adult incarnations of Hansel and Gretel as they journey throughout the land, killing witches and saving children from what was almost their fate twenty years ago.

When a small town suffers some of the worst and most brazen witch attacks of all, Hansel and Gretel are brought in as bounty hunters to kill the witches and rescue the children alive. But something is terribly wrong, as the witches seem to be hatching a plan unlike anything seen before.Soon it seems apparent that Hansel and Gretel are not hunting... they are the hunted.

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters is directed by Tommy Wirkola and stars Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton, Famke Janssen, Thomas Mann, Pihla Viitala and Peter Stormare.

Click here for the full review at Open Letters Monthly.

Sweet Revenge

It's really not rare for a studio to create a sequel to a popular movie. It's also not rare for said sequel to change little in what made the dynamic of the first movie work so well. It IS however rare for that sequel to then match the actual quality of the original, without feeling like more of the same. Expendables 2, anyone? The Hangover: Part 2? Ghostbusters 2, Home Alone 2, Rocky II, the list goes on. And on, and on, and on. With few exceptions, these sequels changed only cosmetic details of the plot, resulting in the exact same tale all over again. And almost all of them were of lesser quality than their predecessors, to boot. So when you see the trailers for Taken 2, with all the violence and action of Pierre Morel's Taken but with none of lead actor Liam Neeson's patented "certain set of skills" speech, you have to wonder if this sequel was just going to be a poorly-made copy. On the other hand, with Taken hardly holding a complicated premise, perhaps more of the same wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing.

Just turned 60: can still kick ass.

Taken 2 plays straight out of a classic revenge tale; former CIA agent Bryan Mills (Neeson) has reunited with his family after the events of Taken, and continued with his bodyguard work. With ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) split from her new husband and daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) still recovering from the shock of her kidnapping in Paris, Bryan invites them to Istanbul, where he has just completed a security contract, to help take their minds off of their troubles. But while they think the evils of the world are long gone, they don't realize that Bryan is a hunted man. The families of the men he killed in France have sworn revenge, and now an Albanian hit squad has infiltrated Istanbul. Their mission? To kidnap Bryan and his family, and to make him suffer for their losses. Our hero will have to fall back on all his "special skills" to neutralize the threat and keep his family out of danger and get them back home safely.

Talking on the phone while committing mass murder may soon be against the law.

Yes, it's clearly the same plot as the first movie; hell, for a few minor details, it's EXACTLY the same thing. Director Olivier Megaton picks up everything Morel did the first time around and ran with it, but while the man behind the fun Colombiana  has possibly the best name for an action director, he doesn't have the cajones to let the action carry the movie as much as it should. Besides filming way too many establishing shots, Megaton's idea of fight choreography is to zoom the camera in as closely as he can to disguise what is actually happening. There might be a good reason to do so (Neeson was 59 at the time of filming and is potentially on his last legs as an action star), but it doesn't change the fact that closeup cams are one of the worse crimes Hollywood perpetrates, especially when compared to the expertly captured work of something like Raid: The Redemption (Jeez, I keep referencing this one; maybe I should just own it). When Megaton isn't half-assing fight scenes, he's pitting Bryan Mills against such high odds that what happens on the screen runs the gamut of "Mildly Unbelievable" to "No way in Hell", for instance when he and Kim survive an assault from a heavy machine gun in what must be an armored taxi (well, it IS Turkey...). While I liked the idea that the deaths of all those faceless goons in Taken had consequences in the production of this sequel, it's a concept they barely take so far as to point out that killing all the faceless goons HERE might have a similar effect. Action movies always have to be taken with a grain of salt, but the list of things Bryan manages to survive with barely a scratch gets more and more ridiculous as the story progresses.

Don't worry, she's not in this one much.

Of course, there was really only one good reason to see Taken 2, and that was Neeson himself. Despite treading this ground frequently the past few years (not only in Taken but also Unknown and The Grey), the Irish thespian never fails to make you believe that, given the opportunity, he could and would use your skull as a target and your spine as a punching bag should you piss him off. While he doesn't get a chance to offer up any chilling monologues, Bryan's characterization becomes a "less is more" endeavor, playing up Neeson's pure screen presence. Besides his menacing profile, Neeson does a great job in the investigative side of his character, showing us almost effortlessly why Bryan is so good at his job. He absolutely MAKES Taken 2, and I have no doubt that without his talent as part of the package, this would have just been another mediocre Jason Statham flick.

Putting a face to all the Eastern European criminals out there.

The rest of the cast is, how shall we say it, a mixed bag. You will quickly become tired of Grace and Janssen, the former of which is barely a step up from the simpering mess that was her role in Taken, while the latter not benefiting at all from the extended screen time. Grace, who is following up a VERY similar job in April's Lockout, either doesn't have what it takes to make it as an actress or just doesn't care about the roles she takes. Either way ought to see her doing bad teen slasher flicks in a few years, which might actually force her to emote, so that would be an improvement. And I couldn't get out of my mind that Janssen once was one of Hollywood's darlings, especially in her recurring role as Jean Grey in the X-Men films. Here her emotions are visibly forced, and she is simply out of her element as a performer. The one major cast addition also turns out to be the best: Rade Serbedzija's role as the main baddie might seem like a transparent attempt to put a face to all the corruption and crime in places like Albania, but he does an amazing job chewing scenery, rattling off excellent dialogue and holding his own in the few scenes opposite Neeson. Serbedzija has recently made American audiences aware of his presence, with roles in 24 and Harry Potter, so hopefully this will translate to more Hollywood roles in his future.

Killing folks makes him sad... that doesn't mean he won't do it.

Despite being a carbon copy of the original and featuring more logic holes than an unfinished puzzle book, seeing Bryan Mills (and by extension, Neeson) out for another round of bad-assery will be well worth your time if you enjoyed Taken, and I know that a lot of people did. I went to see this over the weekend with Todd and a few of her co-workers, and we all agreed that while this was one of the stupider movies released in 2012 (the year of Battleship, mind you), it was still a lot of fun if you don't expect too much. This is one of those movies that delivers exactly what it promises, and to be fair if you thought you were getting something more then you don't really understand what Taken is all about. Another sequel would certainly be too much, but for now Neeson and company satisfy your desire for that good action flick you might have been waiting months for, and manages to at least get close to the majesty that was its progenitor. Just turn your brain off, ignore all those silly inconsistencies, and enjoy.

All reviews should end with milkshakes.

2009 Backtrack

Last Wednesday I reviewed Unknown, the latest film starring outstanding actor Liam Neeson as an amnesic tourist who goes from trying to rediscover his life to fighting for it. I mentioned the similarities pointed out by others to his earlier film from two years ago, another thriller called Taken. A startling turning point in Neeson's career, it was easy to bridge the gap between the two films. With similar mood, plenty of violence and enough action to pique the senses, it was obvious filmmakers were trying to copy the commercial success of Taken, which debuted number one at the box office and was one of the most talked-about films of the year. Some of you noticed however my admittance that I had not actually seen Taken, and commented to me as to how amazing a film it was. Considering I wasn't seeing a whole lot of modern films at the time it was released, I knew it by mainly reputation. Despite being ultimately underwhelmed by Unknown's unbelievability, I was intrigued enough to get on board with seeing this earlier film. And so, getting my hands on a copy (thanks to Jeff for that) I got home from work, ordered some take-out, popped the DVD in the player, and sat back to see what everybody has been talking about.

They're not exactly the perfect family

Liam Neeson stars as a former CIA operative named Bryan Mills, who is living in retirement after a long career. Serving his country did a lot of good for the world but strained his relationships with his wife and daughter. His wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) divorced him and eventually got a new, rich husband (Xander Berkeley), and Bryan is trying desperately to stay in tough with his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace), but the long years apart and a controlling Lenore keep Bryan at arm's length. Just turned seventeen, Kim and a friend want to travel to Paris, but need Milton's permission because she's underage. He eventually gives it, but his initial concerns are confirmed when, the day the pair arrive in Paris, they are kidnapped by an Albanian group that focuses on human sex trafficking. Immediately setting off for France, Milton decides to call upon all his years of training to get his daughter back as quickly as possible, because in ninety-six hours' time she will have disappeared forever.

Yeah, I would surrender right about now

Taken is an excellently-made film and much of what the film does well can be directly attributed to director Pierre Moret. An experienced cinematographer, this was only his second feature film but doesn't feel like a rookie job. It's obvious he learned a lot from working with directors such as Louis Leterrier, Corey Yuen and Luc Besson, who also produced the film and is credited as one of its screenwriters. The camerawork is amazing, the action sequences impeccably filmed, and the story told strongly enough to stand up under some scrutiny. Most well done (and possibly most important) is Moret's ability to properly set the mood of each scene, from a joyous birthday party to a gritty slum setting. Getting that scene right so your actors give a more believable performance is key here, and the director nails it.

"... Are you calling me COLLECT??"

Speaking of acting, THIS was exactly the performance I had been hoping to see from Liam Neeson ever since this film's debut. Even though early on, Neeson plays the guy more than happy to get away from the career he left behind, he also looks completely at home in scenes which might not have been condoned by the Geneva Convention. When he tells one of Kim's kidnappers over the phone "I will kill you," you give yourself willingly over to the idea that he WILL do it, and anything else to get his daughter back. The film often feels like a one-man show, but that works out fine considering Neeson is that one man. Maggie Grace was okay, but she doesn't quite pull off playing a seventeen-year-old. Trying a bit too hard to play the "adorable" daughter, she comes off as somewhat false in most of her scenes, only really any good during the pivotal scene in which she's kidnapped. Famke Janssen could have been more interesting as Bryan's ex, but the role never goes beyond the cliche of "distrustful ex." Her ignorance of the world outside her tiny bubble is supposed to be a foil to our hero's near-paranoid experience, but the part is so small and somewhat brief as to dull that sensation. Other potentially interesting characters played by Berkeley, Leland Orser and Olivier Rabourdin don't get as much attention as they probably could have, either. It really is all Neeson, all the time, but I'd be lying if I said that wasn't satisfying all by itself.

Eventually he decided to go beyond just showing the photo around

The film lacks in anything akin to a main antagonist. The reason for this is when Bryan meets one, he kills the bad guy with such efficiency that it's time to move up to the next challenge. Taking bad guys out constantly actually works a lot toward exposing the several layers that expose how real sex trafficking works, from the makeshift brothels and the kidnapping squads to the corrupt police and major businessmen who see kidnapped women as "assets" and not humans. You might not even realize it until after the final credits roll just how scary the real thing is to the women who simply disappear from polite society by the hundreds. That alone puts this film far ahead of its contemporaries by painting a real world problem into a fictional tale of redemption and rescue.

A traffic dispute gone horribly wrong

Taking a page from "current" action films, most notably the Bourne series of films, Taken is an explosive thrill ride with some real social messages to convey. Without Neeson's obvious talents to raise it up, it would probably have been a fine, above-average enjoyable and forgettable genre film with some interesting ideas. Neeson's perfect casting however means that for the ninety-plus minutes you are watching this film, you will be unable to take your eyes from what is happening on the screen. The ending might be a little too pat, but I would still easily argue it as among the best modern action films based on Neeson alone.