Director Todd Phillips handles a lot of boys-just-want-to-have-fun comedies, such Due Date, Old School and Road Trip. When The Hangover was released in 2009, it was the ultimate edition to this specialty trend of his. In a story about three friends trying to locate a fourth after a night of debauchery and tomfoolery, the film reveled in its barrage of unpredictable events. Then, the filmmaker tried to replicate the success with a sequel two years later, which ended up just being a joyless rehash of the original.
Now, with The Hangover - Part III, Phillips brings his alcohol-infused series to its conclusion. Although this third installment abandons the formula from the previous two films and offers a few shots of laughs that are scattered throughout, it's clear that this Hangover premise has downgraded from a swig of Jameson to non-alcoholic beer.
After Alan (Zach Galifianakis) causes a huge traffic accident while off his medication, his father reprimands him and dies of a heart attack shortly after. Following the funeral, Alan's family and friends, including Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms) and Doug (Justin Bartha) stage an intervention. As the Wolfpack is driving to Alan's rehab center, they are run off the road by a group of thugs and its leader, Marshall (John Goodman). He knows that the friends have connections with Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong), who has stolen Marshall's gold. They are told to track down Mr. Chow and take him and the gold back to Marshall, or his gang will kill Doug, who has been taken as a hostage.
Although the story material doesn't accomplish nearly as much as the original, the performances can still elicit laughs sporadically, despite being mostly what has been seen before. Phil is still the most levelheaded of the Wolfpack's main three, delivering his more witty lines with his usual seriousness. Meanwhile, Stu has his typical and occasionally amusing freak-outs. As for Alan, even though he was considerably funnier in the original when audiences were first introduced to him, his character has an appropriate send-off as he emerges into maturity near the film's end.
John Goodman provides the film with a truly funny performance as the relentless gangster. His outbursts of fury help the story emerge from its lulls. After having memorably comic roles in last year's Flight and Argo, there's the upside that Goodman can make this film somewhat tolerable as viewers watch him as an unforgiving and humorous villain.
The screenplay by Todd Phillips and Craig Mazin, thankfully, spares the audience from sitting through the same formula for a third time, however, the script doesn't replace it with much. It's doesn't become much more than an average heist movie. It's difficult to duplicate the fun sense of randomness that permeated the outrageous events of the first installment. The film incorporates some elements from the original, such as the motherly stripper and escort Jade (Heather Graham), Black Doug (Mike Epps), Mr. Chow (who also appeared in the second film) and the Las Vegas setting, which all invoke a sense of nostalgia, however, not in a positive way. Rather, it just recalls how much of a good time the original offered and how this third entry doesn't reach the hilariously drunken stupor of the first outing.
Todd Phillips is a director who can make the raunchy fantasies of young-adult males come true, and the viewer can tell he has a lot of fun doing so, whether he's dealing with college road trips, frat-house mishaps or hangovers. The first Hangover was his top brain child because it presented a scenario that viewers either wished to experience or compared to with their own nights of one-too-many. The second was basically The Hangover on repeat and was needlessly darker while trying to top the original. This latest installment, without good reason, also includes its own dark factors and some strange tonal shifts that divert from the outrageously fun tone of the original.
Given that the only movie that Phillips has directed between the Hangover films was 2010's Due Date, the franchise took up much of his time and attention. Now that the series is over, Phillips can become Hollywood's worthy frat boy again and make more crazy stories outside of the Hangover party. The Wolfpack has howled for the last time, and Phillips has been right to end it, seeing as the series had two sequels too many.
Final grade: C
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Monday, May 20, 2013
The Final Frontiersmen
Four years ago, J.J. Abrams sat in the captain's chair as he rebooted the Star Trek film series, providing an action- and character-driven space epic to audiences both familiar and unfamiliar with Gene Roddenberry's mythology. Having directed two films based on the franchise and being chosen to direct the next 'Star Wars' film, Abrams can be considered a cinematic astronaut, flying through space to discover grand and dangerous new worlds that can only be found in space adventures.
His second film in his reboot series, Star Trek Into Darkness, continues his dependable delivery of thrilling special-effects sequences mixed in with adventurous and secretive stories. With the introduction of new characters and locations, Abrams brings audiences back aboard the USS Enterprise on a voyage with heightened risks, bigger sacrifices and the director's talent for rousing sci-fi.
Starfleet is in danger. Following attacks at the secret Section 31 in London and the Starfleet Command, James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto) and their crew realize that they are up against a villain named John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch), who's as mysterious as his motives. The crew's pursuit of him brings them to Kronos, where they capture and bring him on board their ship. After John is interrogated, Kirk and Spock understand that there are bigger and more threatening plans at play, and John isn't the only person they have to worry about.
While Pine and Quinto keep the wittiness of their bickering from the first film, their characters' relationship evolves significantly into that of an even stronger brotherhood than it was before. This is seen early in the movie when Kirk must choose between saving Spock from an erupting volcano and following his orders to leave. Both characters go through noticeable changes, with Kirk having matured greatly and taking on the responsibilities of someone who must make difficult moral and ethical decisions that compromise his duty as captain of the Enterprise. Meanwhile, Spock is further developed as he grapples with expressing and not expressing his feelings. Similar to the scene in the 2009 Star Trek where the viewer sees bursts of emotion in Spock when he unleashes anger on Kirk, this film has Spock reveal his reasons for choosing not to feel, following the death of a major character.
Cumberbatch is a suitably sly and cunning antagonist whose true identity is the major secret of the film. There are certain scenes where he almost seems robotic, which is effective because of how cold and unfeeling his persona is towards his victims. He has a seeming lack of emotion that's reminiscent of Michael Fassbender's role of David the android in last summer's Prometheus. The way his character is written causes the viewer to have different feelings towards him throughout the film. Before his motives are made clear, there's the obvious disliking of him. Once his reasoning behind the attacks is revealed, there is a weird sympathy projected onto him as he provides a monologue while imprisoned behind a glass barrier, wearing a ponderous expression while describing what he has lost in his life. As the film goes on, there is then the reversion back to disliking him as he plans to annihilate the crew of the Enterprise and all of Starfleet.
As in the last installment, there is some grand special-effects imagery to be admired that matches the bigness of the story. The most striking image is that of the Enterprise rising from the ocean towards the beginning. It's an image of such majesty that welcomes the audience back to the universe of this long-living franchise. Abrams provides this huge imagery throughout the film, such as showing the Enterprise going up against the significantly bigger USS Vengeance, as well as the calamity that follows as the damaged Enterprise begins to plummet to Earth.
The screenplay by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof does what the previous film did so well, which was disperse the action sequences at good intervals throughout the movie, so as to devote the time in between to the characters, both old and new. It also includes some famous elements from the television show that fans will love. The film commences with a thrilling action sequence that gets the audience excited to be with these classic characters again, and then moves into the growing relationships between said characters as their morals conflict during their manhunt for John Harrison.
In terms of the action scenes, there is a fun similarity between the two films. Compared with the dynamite "space jump" scene in the last installment, this film has a comparable scene when two characters (I can't reveal who they are without giving away other important plot points) are launched through space from the Enterprise to infiltrate the Vengeance. Being one of the film's most memorable scenes, these two characters must fly and dodge their way through a dangerous amount of floating debris to get to their destination, and it is pure J.J. Abrams exhilaration. The screenplay's only weak spots are some cliched dialogue in certain scenes, and a little too much comic relief with the character of Scotty (Simon Pegg).
Director Abrams has an apparent specialty when it comes to science fiction, seeing as his films include two Star Trek installments, Super 8, while his sci-fi television credits include Lost. When it comes to these stories, he can handle special effects and big casts with equal dexterity to weave a narrative that is both visually splendid and focused on its characters. He makes summer movies that are both fun and intelligent, just like Christopher Nolan.
If Star Trek Into Darkness is any indication of how Abrams will direct the next Star Wars film, there is every reason to be excited.
Final grade: A-
His second film in his reboot series, Star Trek Into Darkness, continues his dependable delivery of thrilling special-effects sequences mixed in with adventurous and secretive stories. With the introduction of new characters and locations, Abrams brings audiences back aboard the USS Enterprise on a voyage with heightened risks, bigger sacrifices and the director's talent for rousing sci-fi.
Starfleet is in danger. Following attacks at the secret Section 31 in London and the Starfleet Command, James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto) and their crew realize that they are up against a villain named John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch), who's as mysterious as his motives. The crew's pursuit of him brings them to Kronos, where they capture and bring him on board their ship. After John is interrogated, Kirk and Spock understand that there are bigger and more threatening plans at play, and John isn't the only person they have to worry about.
While Pine and Quinto keep the wittiness of their bickering from the first film, their characters' relationship evolves significantly into that of an even stronger brotherhood than it was before. This is seen early in the movie when Kirk must choose between saving Spock from an erupting volcano and following his orders to leave. Both characters go through noticeable changes, with Kirk having matured greatly and taking on the responsibilities of someone who must make difficult moral and ethical decisions that compromise his duty as captain of the Enterprise. Meanwhile, Spock is further developed as he grapples with expressing and not expressing his feelings. Similar to the scene in the 2009 Star Trek where the viewer sees bursts of emotion in Spock when he unleashes anger on Kirk, this film has Spock reveal his reasons for choosing not to feel, following the death of a major character.
Cumberbatch is a suitably sly and cunning antagonist whose true identity is the major secret of the film. There are certain scenes where he almost seems robotic, which is effective because of how cold and unfeeling his persona is towards his victims. He has a seeming lack of emotion that's reminiscent of Michael Fassbender's role of David the android in last summer's Prometheus. The way his character is written causes the viewer to have different feelings towards him throughout the film. Before his motives are made clear, there's the obvious disliking of him. Once his reasoning behind the attacks is revealed, there is a weird sympathy projected onto him as he provides a monologue while imprisoned behind a glass barrier, wearing a ponderous expression while describing what he has lost in his life. As the film goes on, there is then the reversion back to disliking him as he plans to annihilate the crew of the Enterprise and all of Starfleet.
As in the last installment, there is some grand special-effects imagery to be admired that matches the bigness of the story. The most striking image is that of the Enterprise rising from the ocean towards the beginning. It's an image of such majesty that welcomes the audience back to the universe of this long-living franchise. Abrams provides this huge imagery throughout the film, such as showing the Enterprise going up against the significantly bigger USS Vengeance, as well as the calamity that follows as the damaged Enterprise begins to plummet to Earth.
The screenplay by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof does what the previous film did so well, which was disperse the action sequences at good intervals throughout the movie, so as to devote the time in between to the characters, both old and new. It also includes some famous elements from the television show that fans will love. The film commences with a thrilling action sequence that gets the audience excited to be with these classic characters again, and then moves into the growing relationships between said characters as their morals conflict during their manhunt for John Harrison.
In terms of the action scenes, there is a fun similarity between the two films. Compared with the dynamite "space jump" scene in the last installment, this film has a comparable scene when two characters (I can't reveal who they are without giving away other important plot points) are launched through space from the Enterprise to infiltrate the Vengeance. Being one of the film's most memorable scenes, these two characters must fly and dodge their way through a dangerous amount of floating debris to get to their destination, and it is pure J.J. Abrams exhilaration. The screenplay's only weak spots are some cliched dialogue in certain scenes, and a little too much comic relief with the character of Scotty (Simon Pegg).
Director Abrams has an apparent specialty when it comes to science fiction, seeing as his films include two Star Trek installments, Super 8, while his sci-fi television credits include Lost. When it comes to these stories, he can handle special effects and big casts with equal dexterity to weave a narrative that is both visually splendid and focused on its characters. He makes summer movies that are both fun and intelligent, just like Christopher Nolan.
If Star Trek Into Darkness is any indication of how Abrams will direct the next Star Wars film, there is every reason to be excited.
Final grade: A-
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