Immortals

I was 'meh' on this beforehand. It was on my schedule, but I was ready to cross it off if there was going to be an issue of making time for it. I was also further annoyed that NONE of the AMC theaters in Manhattan (which is the only chain in NYC that does any kind of matinee pricing) were screening the film in 2D. But then I saw some wonderfully ecstatic responses from a couple of AICN screenings. So I ponied up the extra money for 3D but brought my own glasses - the nice ones we were given at BNAT1138 that you can use as sunglasses and that don't give you the 3D headache.


Immortals

Let me start by giving you the bottom line. If you loved 300, this movie is right up your alley. In fact, you might think it's the same movie. Scantily clad warriors doing battle against impossible odds, with gods in the mix and plenty of highly stylized violence ... sound familiar? It did to me, but I didn't really care because it was all so AWESOME!

Henry Cavill - who you may or may not remember as the jerkwad Humphrey from Stardust - takes the lead as Theseus and shows us why he's going to rock like a hurricane as Superman in the forthcoming Man of Steel. Mickey Rourke is the baddie, and Slumdog Millionaire's Frieda Pinto is the beautiful virgin oracle. John "Ollivander" Hurt plays a wise old man who is much more than he seems. And an actor named Luke Evans who I've never seen in a movie in my life, but he looks FOR ALL THE WORLD like Battlestar Galactica and Dollhouse star Tahmoh Penikett, plays Zeus (also, he'll soon be appearing as Bard the Bowman in The Hobbit). Oh, and one of the lesser known Cullens from the Twilight movies plays Poseidon. Stephen Dorff is in it, too.

The basic story is that the ruthless king Hyperion (Rourke) wants to declare war on the gods. To do this, he's going to release the Titans (who are not what you might think they are from seeing Clash of the Titans), and to do THAT he needs this special bow that was forged by Ares. Theseus, with the help of his fellow slaves and the lovely oracle, must lead the fight to stop him. Now, I'm a huge fan of Greek mythology, and while I was fine with the different way the gods were portrayed here, my one beef with the movie was that there wasn't more of them. Because when they finally join the fight, it is a beautiful, slow-motion-y, head-exploding thing to behold.

This movie was made by Tarsem Singh, whose first film was The Cell, which had a fairly forgettable story but a truly unforgettable visual aesthetic. I didn't see his later film, The Fall, but Immortals is cut very much from the same cloth as The Cell. The visuals are like nothing you've ever seen before, and even though it's not quite as coherent a movie as 300, I liked the look of it a bit more (notably, the color palette, which I found more pleasing to the eye than 300's nearly monochromatic look).

Like I said, if you dug 300, you will probably like this a lot. Yeah, it's essentially trash, but it's GLORIOUS trash. If you can find a theater that's showing this in 2D, I don't think it will lessen the experience at all. In fact, I think huge chunks of the movie aren't even in 3D anyway. (Though Frieda Pinto's naked bootay gets the up close, 3D treatment, if you're into that sort of thing.)

Drive

"I used to produce movies in the 80s. Kind of action films, sexy stuff ... one producer called them European."

Albert Brooks, in the quote above, might as well have been describing the film he was currently in - Nicolas Winding Refn's sleek and stylish Drive. I had only seen one of Winding Refn's films before this, which was 2009's Bronson and which also incidentally announced to the world that Tom Hardy was made of awesome. I thought the film was interesting, epecially style-wise, but I wasn't in love with it like a lot of my movie nerd friends were, and I wondered if I would have responded differently if I had seen it with a bunch of them in a proper theater instead of by myself on my laptop. I was, however, completely excited about Drive after hearing about it from Cannes back in May.

I'd been counting down the days to seeing this, and had more than I wanted in adventure trying to lay eyes on it this weekend. I could have seen it first thing Friday morning, after work, and was tempted to do just that - such was my chomping at the bit. But I decided to make it a rare evening viewing - rare because it costs more than twice as much as AMC's morning screenings, and because it's difficult to find a showtime that's convenient with my work hours. It was important to me to see it with a good audience. I'd even put together a playlist with the film's (AMAZING) soundtrack and a bunch of 1980s songs that I thought had a similar chilly, urban vibe. There was some drama at the theater that night, and I was forced to wait another 24 hours, which drove me crazy. I was pretty exhausted by the time I hit the cinema and the movie was going to have to be pretty danged good to keep me awake.

Far from being pretty danged good, it was flipping awesome. Hands down, my favorite film of the year so far.

The film opens with a pulsing music track and credits that look like they were scrawled on a mirror in shocking pink lipstick. We meet Ryan Gosling's character, whose name we never learn (he is simply "the Driver"), and he's laying out the rules for his "getaway" services. If you've seen the trailer, you've heard this schpiel - his clients have him for five minutes. Whatever happens in that five minute window, he will get you out of there. If something goes wrong before the clock starts or after the five minutes is up, you're on your own. He speaks very directly and succinctly, and you get the feeling you should listen to him closely, because he's not the kind of person who repeats himself. We see him on a job like this, and where another movie would show you all manner of metal objects weaving in out of each other in furious pursuit and flight, Winding Refn starts slow, putting the focus on Gosling's face instead, and you can see the wheels turning behind his eyes. When the volume gets turned up, though, it's exhilirating. But even as the chase kicks up several notches, we still mostly stay on Gosling and watch as he shifts strategies (could I get any more automobile metaphors in here?) and tries to elude the police.

The Driver doesn't just do getaways; he's also a stunt driver for movies and does some work in a garage. He's kind of a genius with cars, and his boss Shannon (played by Bryan Cranston) tries to get him into racecar driving, with the help of crime boss Bernie (in a knockout performance by Albert Brooks, who is about the last person you'd imagine being as great as he is in a role like this). He also becomes involved (though not romantically - at least at first) with his neighbor Irene (the always excellent Carey Mulligan), who struggles as a waitress at Denny's while her husband is in prison. You can sense that the Driver likes to keep people at a distance, but his relationship with Irene is what sets the bulk of the film's action in motion. We see a man who is initially very reserved and calm (comparisons to Steve McQueen in Bullitt and Robert DeNiro in Taxi Driver are not far off the mark here) become violent and scary in the defense of the innocent.

Nowhere in the film is this better crystalized than in what may be the centerpiece of the entire film, "The Elevator Scene." The Driver is going to walk Irene out of their apartment building, and they get into an elevator with a third person. We already know that the Driver is in danger, but when he looks sidelong at the stranger in the elevator, he spots a concealed gun and shit's officially real. But rather than ratchet up the adrenaline right away, the film slows down a bit and the Driver pushes Irene protectively behind him. He turns around and kisses her, presumably knowing that after what's about to happen this may be his only chance, and then proceeds to beat and kick the man to death as she looks on, part horrified, part exhilirated.

The film is quite violent, but what I love about it is that it doesn't fetishize the violence. There are cool weapons (I love that you rarely see a gun in this movie) but it doesn't wallow in the horror-show. What it does tend to linger on are the moments just before the violence occurs. I kept thinking, after this movie, about the Solozzo scene in The Godfather - that moment the camera seems to stay a bit too long on Al Pacino's face and you see, plain as day, the change that turns Michael Corleone from war hero to future crime boss, just before he guns down Solozzo and McCluskey. There's an especially operatic scene in Drive when Gosling's character dons one of his movie diguises (a rubber head mask) and goes to take out the penultimate baddie. The music choice here is inspired - the main theme from a film called Farewell Uncle Tom, which I saw at BNAT in 2007 and which is the most offensive movie I have ever seen, despite some excellent filmmaking elements, including the music. And for the length of the song - about three minutes (an eternity in movie time) - the Driver simply drives to where he's going and then looks through a window at his prey. You know for a certainty, just from the actor's eyes, that someone is about to die, probably painfully, because that's just what time it is.

This movie has been compared to early Michael Mann (think Thief or Manhunter) and William Friedkin's To Live and Die in L.A. It even has a similar feel to Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Samourai, a vintage hit from BNAT last year, and the camera work was apparently inspired by Melville's work. The plot is not anything earth-shattering - typical biolerplate stuff - but plot is not what makes this movie extraodrinary. Style and love of cinema make this film something special. (And speaking of style, this movie gave me an intense desire to own a satin jacket and a pair of driving gloves - and I don't even drive anymore!)

Drive has the trappings of all those fantastic car movies of the 60s and 70s, the flash of 80s neo-noir, and the sensibility of a dark fairy tale. I don't see anything happening on the Oscar front for this movie - perhaps a supporting nod for Brooks (I'd be overjoyed if Gosling were recognized, but I don't dare hold my breath), but that's not because it's not great. It's absolutely fantastic. This was originally developed as a $60 million blockbuster starring Hugh Jackman. Nothing against Hugh, but I'm so glad *this* movie is what got made instead.

Sherlock Holmes

I feel woefully inadequate to be writing about Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes, for two reasons:

1) I saw it after working a late shift and not sleeping the night before, so I dozed a bit.

2) Aside from a solitary mystery I read for a college class and which I barely remember, I have read zero percent of the Doyle canon. I'm also pretty sure I haven't seen any significant portions of any of the kajillion film and television portrayals.

However, I do know the caricature. Houndstooth hat, calabash, Baker Street, "elementary," and "the game's afoot." So I'm not entirely a blank slate. But close.

If you want a look at the film from someone who is immersed in the canon, check out this awesome review by Drew McWeeny (who used to go by the name Moriarty on Ain't It Cool News). There's something pleasing to me about the way he sort of punctures the popular portrayals of Holmes, which he claims are not really that close to Doyle's Holmes, but have stuck and people are attached to them.

What I can tell you about my impressions of the film are twofold, and both, err, folds involve two insanely popular franchises. First, this film does for Holmesology what Abrams's Star Trek did for Star Trek. It takes an established canon and beloved characters and repackages them in an appealing, contemporary way. This will naturally infuriate many purists, though not all (I've read many glowing comments from people calling themselves Sherlockians, which I have to assume is a more-than-averagely obsessed group of Sherlock fans). What it will also do, however, is take a bit of the "geek" off of the brand and make the franchise accessible, nay, delightful for people who were not heretofore dedicated fans. In that way, I'd say Sherlock Holmes is a great success.

Second, this movie is FUN. Bombastic and ludicrous at times, but never empty, and with characters that are so enjoyable to watch it should be outlawed. In this respect, Holmes reminds me quite a bit of Pirates of the Caribbean. Think the outlandish fun of Dead Man's Chest, without the mythmaking element and setup for a final installment. I'd compare it to Black Pearl, because it's closer in those respects, but that film exists perfectly without the sequels (though I think it exists just as well with them), and Holmes could not be more deliberate in setting up sequels if it tried (which, much as I enjoyed the references, is one of its flaws).

Is this a perfect film? By no means. But it does what movies (as opposed to "films") are supposed to do - provide us with escape and entertainment. Downey and Law are positively delicious as Holmes and his heterosexual life partner Watson (the slashfic will be strong with this one), and it makes logic and intelligence sexy again, which is enough by itself for me to heartily recommend this. If you weren't one of the millions of people who already saw it this past weekend, that is.

BNAT 11 - [PREMIERE] Kick-Ass

Now at the two-films-to-go mark and knowing that both would be premieres, anticipation levels were rising. But even if we had known what film we were about to see, we could not have predicted the awesomeness of what happened when we watched it. People started ordering breakfast and trying to get that extra steam to plow through to the end. But first some clips.

Tim League showed us something, curious for our thoughts as to how appropriate it would be for children, so we obliged. What looked like a generic sumo wrestling clip soon took a turn when horny dogs were brought in to hump some guys' legs and ... other things. I'm pretty sure I witnessed a 69 humping. After this, and after assuring Tim that nothing could be more appropriate for children than dog humping, we saw the "AICN True-ish Hollywood Story," which was basically a collection of sarcastic insults and birthday wishes to Harry from various film personages, including Jon Favreau, Danny McBride, Damon Lindelof, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, JJ Abrams, and "Michael F***ing Bay, Motherf***er!" Jon Favreau concluded his birthday wishes and the entire clip by telling us we were going to be the first to see the Iron Man 2 trailer. Mickey Rourke is awesome. That is all.

Okay ... here goes. First, some trailers - Fearless Frank (with Jon Voight), Animal Protector (with David Carridine - audience love), and OMGIHAVETOSEETHISRIGHTNOW Return of Captain Invincible (a superhero musical spoof with Alan Arkin and Christopher Lee - WIN).

Harry then set up the next film by reminding us of the several films this year about endangered children, pointing out that Fearsome Toddler was turning the tide towards kids fighting back, perhaps even ... kicking ass. (*THUNDEROUS CHEERS*)


Kick-Ass

Sweet Holy Lord, what an awesome movie, even as a rough cut. The basic story, if you haven't heard much about it, is that a teenager named Dave, wondering why no one ever tried to be a superhero, decides to try and be one himself. He orders a wet suit and mask online, which becomes his costume, and goes out to help someone. Of course, not possessing superpowers or supergadgets, he gets his ass kicked on his first attempt and lands in the hospital. When he comes out, he's had metal implants and his nervous system is all jacked up, so he can take a lot of pain without passing out.

He goes back to school, amid rumors that he is gay (fueled by the fact that he stripped off his costume before the paramedics came, in order to protect his identity), and the girl he's got a crush on suddenly wants him to be her gay BFF. He makes a second attempt at thrilling heroics, and this one is much more successful. He saves a guy from a multi-thug beating, and someone captures the whole thing on a cell phone, asking Dave after the beatdown what his name is. Dave's response ... "I'm Kick-Ass."

Dave's video goes viral and catches the attention of a father-daughter duo, played by Nicholas Cage (sporting a mustache that makes him look like Stanley Tucci's child murderer in The Lovely Bones) and the unbelievably awesome Chloe Moretz. Not just any father-daughter duo, though. This father spends quality time with his daughter by teaching her how to take a bullet in the chest while wearing a Kevlar vest (do they even make those in kids sizes?) without flinching. Inspired by Kick-Ass, they become the vigilante heroes Hit Girl and Big Daddy.

Kick-Ass meets this duo on his next mission, trying to persuade a drug-dealing thug not to bother his girl-who's-just-a-friend anymore. Just when it seems he's in over his head, a knife appears out of the chest of one of the thugs and Dave meets the unbelievably ass-kicking eleven-year-old Hit Girl, who utters some choice profanities and proceeds to lay waste to the entire room to the strains of the Dickies' cover of the Banana Splits theme song ("Tra la la, la la la la!"). The musical cues in this movie were nothing short of INCREDIBLE, and it makes me sad that not every single one of them (15% of the music is still temp) will be in the final version. I think "Tra la la" will be, though, which is awesome. The movie was a genuine hit with the audience already, despite the fact that something seemed wonky with the sound, but right in the middle of Hit Girl's bullet ballet, wonky turned into dead.

The sound was out and the film stopped completely. The lights came up and Tim came out to explain some technical sound stuff I didn't understand. Something about a Tweeter. Twenty minutes passed while our very own Drafthouse superheroes worked tirelessly to get the sound restored, which they eventually did. The problem now, of course ... would the interruption ruin the screening? Would the audience be able to get back into the movie?

The answer came when the lights went down and the movie started again. But not at the point where we'd stopped. No, we were going to watch the entire sequence again - before Hit Girl's appearance, from Kick-Ass first going into the thug's apartment. The room positively shook with applause and cheers when they saw going to see that whole scene again. It was the second most amazing audience response in the whole film. So okay, Hit Girl opens a can of whup-ass, it's very very awesome, and we officially meet her and Big Daddy. And they kind of make fun of Kick-Ass a bit (Big Daddy actually calls him Ass Kick). But they're going to be allies, even though Kick-Ass would rather just sit back and let them be the heroes, since they're much better at it than he is.

There is the obligatory bad guy, Frank D'Amico (played by Mark Strong, who worked with Matthew Vaughn on Stardust playing Septimus). I don't think it's too clear (not that it needs to be) what exactly he does, but it's kind of general organized crime, drugs, etc. He's made lots of money by not-honest means, yet he's still a family man. Kind of a less likable Tony Soprano. His son Chris (played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who most of you know better as McLovin) wants to be part of the family biz, and when Kick-Ass, Big Daddy, and Hit Girl start getting in D'Amico's way, Chris offers to don a superhero costume himself and help out. He therefore becomes Red Mist, and due to daddy's money he has all the cool gadgets, including a badass car (complete with MIST ACTION - this car now belongs to Matthew Vaughn, by the way). He befriends Kick-Ass, who D'Amico believes is solely responsible for all the damage being done to his operations, and intends to deliver him to his father.

I'm not going to get into the rest of the plot - God knows, this is long enough - but this movie is an absolutely fantastic deconstruction of the superhero genre. By someone who actually loves the genre, as opposed to someone who, as Vaughn said in the Q&A, is just trying to be cool. The film is kind of a natural extension to the superhero phenomenon as a whole, as its focus is on people who admire superheroes and have grown up with these mythologies, much like the film's target audience will have done. It acknowledges how silly the idea of dressing up in a costume and kicking the bajeezus out of people is, but also kind of revels in the wonder and awe of what it might be like to actually try and do it.

I have to mention the most amazing bit of audience response. There's a moment during the climax, a calm before a storm, one of those moments where you know something amazing is about to happen, but you don't know what and the film wants to build it up a little bit. Another amazing music cue is used here. I'm sure most of you can call up a few bars of Guns N Roses' "November Rain" into your memory. Remember the bit at the end, when it kind of turns into a different song entirely and you hear those driving strings? That's the music used here, and it really effectively sets up the "something's coming" mood. So much so that the entire audience began clapping to the beat. This happens in concerts and sporting events, but not in movies, and if you've ever done this at a concert or something, you know there's always that point where it goes on a smidge too long and the clapping kind of peters out. Not so this time. The music and the moment in the film lasts just as long as they should, and everyone kept clapping the rhythm until there was nothing more to clap to. And amazingly, the scene this was building up to was every bit as awesome as such a build-up like that demands, which is rather rare.

I wasn't at the first 3 BNATs, but I'm fairly sure this was the most incredible audience reaction to any film at any BNAT. Director Matthew Vaughn and Red Mist actor Christopher Mintz-Plasse came to the front to a huge standing ovation and answered questions from the techinical (they're only just now beginning the grading process, and Vaughn thinks the print we saw looked terrible) to the mercantile (many, many ladies in the audience - including me - want a Hit Girl costume) to the inevitable talk of sequels (Chris reminded us that the film was not out yet and we should probably not be talking sequels until we know how well it does). Vaughn mentioned that they'd gotten permission for all the temp tracks they used, except two - the Dark Knight and the Superman theme. I confess, I didn't even recognize the Dark Knight music, but that Superman track is perfect, and I hope something can be done to keep it.

I'm so glad I got to be at BNAT for this.