The Rush Blog: noah ringer

Wednesday, June 14, 2017

"THE LAST AIRBENDER" (2010) Review

"THE LAST AIRBENDER" (2010) Review

Seven years ago, director M. Night Shyamalan decided to explore the world of fantasy-adventure by filming an adaptation of an animated television series called ”AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER”. This movie is a fantasy-adventure tale set in a fictional, Asian-influenced world with Chinese martial arts and elemental manipulation.

"THE LAST AIRBENDER" told the story of a young monk and the only surviving airbender (one with the psi ability to manipulate air) named Aang, who is believed by others to be the future Avatar – one who can manipulate all four elements of air, water, fire and earth. With his two new friends from the Southern Water Tribe, Aang seeks to learn to manipulate three other elements – water, earth and fire.

In this movie, he journeys with his friends Katara (a waterbender) and her brother Sokka to the Northern Water Tribe, where he can learn how to master the waterbending skill from a master. Tracking Aang, Katara and Sokka is Prince Zuko, the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation; who has been exiled by his evil father, Fire Lord Ozai and sent to capture the future Avatar. With the Avatar’s capture, Zuko’s honor and right to the throne will be restored.

I would have never bothered to see this movie. But an office colleague of mine had really enjoyed the movie and recommended that I go see it. Needless to say, I do not regret following her advice. Mind you, ”THE LAST AIRBENDER” was not perfect. The movie’s first five to ten minutes failed to kick start my interest. It bored me so much that I found myself on the verge of falling asleep. Most of the cast members gave performances that ranged from mediocrity to sheer boredom. And a good deal of the movie’s dialogue seemed extremely cheesy to me – the kind of dialogue one would find in the "STAR WARS" and "LORD OF THE RINGS" franchises.

However, "THE LAST AIRBENDER" definitely had its virtues. I was impressed by the performances of the movie's two leads, Noah Ringer and Dev Patel, who portrayed Aang and Zuko respectively. Those two literally kept this movie together. It also helped that both had genuine martial arts experience. I was also impressed by Shaun Toub, who portrayed Zuko’s wise uncle, Iroh; Aasif Mandvi, who played the Fire Nation’s cold-blooded military commander, Zhao; and Cliff Curtis, who portrayed the ruthless leader of the Fire Nation, Fire Lord Ozai. Andrew Lesnie’s photography, Philip Messina’s production designs and the art directions supervised by Richard L. Johnson were very impressive, if not mind blowing. However, I did find Judianna Makovsky’s costume designs to be very beautiful and memorable.

From what I understand, "THE LAST AIRBENDER" was not exactly a hit. It had failed to fully earn back the money spent on its production. Well . . . what can I say? Regardless of whether it was a hit or not, I found it an entertaining movie to watch and had no problems viewing it again on DVD.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

"COWBOYS AND ALIENS" (2011) Review

Below is my review of the Science-Fiction/Western movie, "COWBOYS AND ALIENS":

"COWBOYS AND ALIENS" (2011) Review

Ever since its release during the last month of July, many have been contemplating on the box office failure of the highly anticipated movie, "COWBOYS AND ALIENS". I could go over the many theories spouted about its failure, but I would find that boring. I am simply aware that the movie only earned $34 million dollars short of its budget. And all I can say is that I find this a damn pity.

"COWBOYS AND ALIENS" had some big names participating in its production. Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford were the movie's stars. The cast also included well known names such as Sam Rockwell, Adam Beach, Keith Carradine, Paul Dano and Clancy Brown. Jon Farveau, the director of the two successful "IRON MAN" movies, helmed the director's chair. At least five of the screenwriters - Damon Lindelof, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Mark Fergus, and Hawk Ostby - have been associated with projects like "LOST" and the "STAR TREK". And big names in the film industry such as Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Steven Spielberg acted as some of the producers. But despite all of this "COWBOYS AND ALIENS" remained one of the flops of this summer. Again, pity. I realize that I keep using the word "pity" as a response to the movie's failure. But I cannot help it. I really enjoyed "COWBOYS AND ALIENS". In fact, I enjoyed it so much that it has become one of my favorite movies from the summer of 2011.

The movie was based upon the 2006 graphic novel by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg. It told the story of an alien invasion that occurred in the New Mexico Territory in 1873. The story focused upon a mysterious loner that awakens in the desert, injured and wearing a strange bracelet shackled to his wrist. He wanders into the town of Absolution, where the local preacher, Meacham treats his wound. After the stranger subdues Percy Dolarhyde, who has been terrorizing the populace, Sheriff Taggart recognizes the loner as Jake Lonergan, a wanted outlaw, and tries to arrest him. Jake nearly escapes, but a mysterious woman named Ella Swenson knocks him out. Percy's father, Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde, a rich and influential cattleman, arrives with his men and demands that Percy be released to him. He also wants Jake, who had stolen Dolarhyde's gold. During the standoff, alien spaceships begin attacking the town. Percy, Sheriff Taggart and many townsfolk are abducted. Jake shoots down one ship with a device concealed in his wrist band, ending the attack. Realizing that the bracelet that Jake wears stands between them and the aliens, Colonel Dolarhyde, Meacham and Ella convinces Jake to help them find the aliens and the kidnapped townspeople, despite the fact that he has no memory of his own identity, let alone of any previous encounters with the aliens. Their expedition leads them Jake's former gang and a band of Chiricahua Apaches, who have also been victims of the aliens.

"COWBOYS AND ALIENS" is not perfect. It has its flaws. To be honest, I can think of one or two flaws. Perhaps one. Although I understood that the aliens were taking the gold found near Absolution to power their starship, the script never made it clear on why they were taking the populace, as well. The only thing that the script made clear was that the kidnapped populace were being experimented upon. When it comes to human experimentation of reasons behind an invasions, many plots for alien invasion movies and television series tend to be rather weak in this area, including some of the best in this genre. And my other problem was that the script failed to reveal how Ella, who turned out to be another alien whose people had been destroyed by the invaders, ended up on Earth.

But despite these flaws, "COWBOYS AND ALIENS" really impressed me. I thought that Jon Favreau did an excellent job in combining action with the film's dramatic moments. And his eye for location, greatly assisted by Matthew Libatique's photography of the New Mexican countryside, gave the movie's visuals a natural grandeur. In my review of "SUPER 8", I had commented that it reminded me of an old "STAR TREK VOYAGER" episode. I cannot say the same for "COWBOYS AND ALIENS". But it did remind me of a "STAR TREK VOYAGER" fanfiction story called "Ashes to Ashes". At least Jake's experiences with the aliens before the movie began. And "COWBOYS AND ALIENS" must be the only alien invasion movie I can think of that was set before the 20th century. It occurred to me that if the two most famous adaptations of H.G. Wells' novel, "War of the Worlds" had been given its original setting, this would not have been the case. Unless someone knows of another alien invasion movie with a pre-20th century setting. Ever since I first saw the trailers for "COWBOYS AND ALIENS", I wondered how the screenwriters would combine the two genres of Science-Fiction and Westerns. Hell, I wondered if they could. Mixing Jake's history as an outlaw with his experiences with the aliens did the trick. At least I believe so. More importantly, "COWBOYS AND ALIENS" provided plenty of opportunities for character development - and that includes the supporting cast.

The cast certainly proved to be first-rate. There have been British actors who have appeared in Westerns before. Come to think of it, Daniel Craig is not even the first James Bond actor who has appeared in a Western. But he is the only one I can recall who appeared in a Western as an American-born character. And if I must be blunt, the man takes to Westerns like a duck to water. More importantly, both Craig's super performance and the screenwriters made certain that his Jake Lonergran did not come off as some cliché of the "Man With No Name" character from Sergio Leone's DOLLAR TRILOGY". Craig made him a man determined to learn of his past, while dealing with the sketchy memories of a past love and his attraction toward Ella.

The character of Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde seems like a far cry from Harrison Ford's usual roles. His Colonel Dolarhyde was not the solid Jack Ryan type or the rough, yet dashing Indiana Jones persona. In one of his rare, offbeat roles, Ford's Colonel Dolarhyde was a ruthless, no-nonsense man who ruled his ranch and the town of Absolution with an iron fist. And Ford did a first-rate job of diluting Dolarhyde's distasteful ruthlessness into something more . . . human and warm. I wondered how I would take Olivia Wilde's performance as the mysterious Ella Swenson, who seemed determined to get Jake to help the rest of Absolution's citizens find the aliens. After seeing the movie, I enjoyed her performance very much. She had a strong chemistry with Craig. More importantly, she gave a solid performance and possessed a strong screen presence. But I really enjoyed about Wilde's performance was that she conveyed an other world quality about Ella that strongly hinted her role as an alien who landed on Earth to find the invaders who had destroyed most of her race.

The supporting cast was led by the likes of Sam Rockwell, who competently portrayed Absolution's insecure saloon keeper, Doc; and Adam Beach, who gave a deliciously complex performance as Dolarhyde's right-hand man, Nat Colorado. And actors such as Paul Dano as Dolarhyde's s raucous son, a serene Clancy Brown, Noah Ringer (from "THE LAST AIRBENDER"), who portrayed the sheriff's grandson, and a solid Keith Carradine gave firm support.

I do not know what else I could say about "COWBOYS AND ALIENS". I find it a pity that it failed to become a box office hit. Because I really enjoyed it. The screenwriters, along with cinematographer Matthew Libatique, a first-rate cast led by Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford and fine direction by Jon Favreau made it one of my favorite films of this summer. I cannot wait for the DVD release.