I really like the casting in this film. I also like the fact that the humour is fairly grounded considering the high concept premise.
Dylan Dog: Dead of Night
While I am looking forward to this film, I wish they had done it as a television series instead. The concept is good enough to provide material for a full television season.
There are times when you are watching a film and you cannot help but wonder what it was about the film that brought this particular cast together. In the case of Unthinkable I can only assume that it was the film’s premise. Other than that I cannot, I fathom how such a disjointed film managed to get such a strong cast.
Steven Arthur Young (Michael Sheen) is an American whose beliefs are more in line with the fanatical sect of Islam more than the true teachings of Islam. Steven uses his experience in the US military to aide him in creating three nuclear bombs which is as hidden in three different US cities. In order for FBI agent Helen Brody (Carrie Anne Moss) to find the locations of the bombs she must work alongside an interrogator known as H (Samuel L. Jackson). Listed as a “special consultant” for the CIA, H has his own methods of interrogation that are not officially condoned by the US government. As H tries to get Steven to reveal the location of the bombs, Helen struggles with the human rights and constitutional laws that are being violated.
Unthinkable ultimately ask the question are the rights of one more important than the safety of many? The film wants to be both a tense thriller and a thought provoking commentary on the US handling of terrorist prisoners. Unfortunately the film does not succeed at being either. The issues being raised are nothing new and neither is the way the film presents it. To be honest, the television show 24 has tackled this theme on several occasions and has executed it far better.
In one of his earlier films, Buffalo Soldier, director Gregor Jordan demonstrated that he could handle the grey areas that often come with military life. Unfortunately he does not have a strong script to work with this time around. Unthinkable’s script is very uneven throughout and, at points, the dialogue is atrocious. An example of this comes in a key scene where H says “what I have to do…is unthinkable.” The lines comes off unintentionally funny considering that everything H has done to that point would be consider extremely excessive. The cast tries their best to sell the material as it is written but there is only so much they can do.
The poor script leads to the biggest problem with Unthinkable, the lack of character development. All of the characters, with the exception of H and Steven, constantly flip flop on their positions regarding torture. There comes a point in the film where you wish that they would each take a stance (either for or against) and stick with it. Now some may argue that this is designed to show the moral conflict inside them but I simply do not buy it. To have Helen constantly struggle with this is one thing, but it is downright insulting to have the official who is the closest link to the president, and who hired H based on his past results, change his mind the way he does. Especially, considering the extreme measures he has allowed H to take to this point.
Is the film in favour or against the use of brutality when it comes to interrogation? Are the rights in the Constitution more important that the lives of a whole country? These are left for you to decide. Frankly, I would recommend that you just rent a few seasons of 24 instead.
Hyped by diehard fans of the comics, heralded by critics, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a film that many expected to be a huge box-office hit. Yet upon release Pilgrim was considered a “bomb” by Hollywood analyst as the film barely cracked the top five. Many critics, marketing insiders, and blogger are still scratching their heads wondering where it all went wrong! The answer is actually clear if you really look at the film objectively. Scott Pilgrim, in its current incarnation, is too much of a niche film. It does not have, nor will it ever have the crossover appeal to hit it big with mainstream audiences.
Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is a musician in his twenties that has had a rather large “love them and leave them” track record with ladies. Scott is dating Knives Chau (Ellen Wong), a girl who is still in high school. Things between Scott and Knives seemingly go well until Scott meets a delivery girl, Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstad), who takes his breath away. Convinced that Ramona is his soul mate, Scott sets out to win her over while trying to figure out how to break it off with Knives. Scott’s life is further complicated when he discovers that he will need to defeat her seven evil exes (including Jason Schwartzman, Brandon Routh, Chris Evans, Keita Saito, and Shota Saito) in order to have a normal life with Ramona.
As I mentioned earlier, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is really made for fans of the comic. Though this does not mean you have to run out and get the books before seeing the movie. I was thoroughly entertained by the film despite having not read the series. Its fast paced energy and hilarious pop culture references made this film one of the more pleasant surprises of the year. However, it must be noted that the kinetic pacing of the film will not appeal to everyone.
The film intentionally plays out like a video game on crack. At times the film is almost too self-aware for its own good. There are jokes in the film that require multiple viewings before you catch all the references. For example, Broken Social Scene’s bittersweet song “Anthem for a Seventeen Year-old Girl” plays in the background while a broken-hearted Knives plots revenge; or when Scott enters his apartment, ala Kramer from Seinfeld, to a brief sound of an audience laugh track.
While the film features a plethora of talented young actors in supporting role (including Anna Kendrick, Kieran Culkin, Alison Pill and Mark Webber), and some inspired cameos (Thomas Jane, Clifton Collins Jr.), the real star of the film is director Edgar Wright. Through Scott Pilgrim Wright succeeds in doing what the Wachowski siblings failed to with Speed Racer, and that is to make a truly engaging live action Manga style film. Pilgrim, at times, is an overload to the senses. There are so many visual treats that you will spend half of the film figuring out how Wright achieved all the different nuances.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a film that will please fans of the source material and, in my case, cause a whole new group of folks to seek out the comics. Sure the film will not appeal to the masses, but that is fine. Those who “get” the film will be treated to an immensely entertaining ride that you will want to take multiple times.
