The Green Lantern

A Certain Shade of Green

Remember The Green Lantern? Sure you do! He's the guy with a.... magic ring... or something? Part of a space police squad? Anyway, he's green. And so are a lot of other people. Aliens, in fact. And they can fly, breathe in outer space and create whatever they want just by thinking it. Cool, right? I mean, why not?

Yeah, I hadn't really heard of him before the trailer was released. But I wasn't the only one, as I had quite a few conversations of people confusing him with The Green Arrow, The Green Hornet and The Jolly Green Giant, so at least I knew a bit about him.

Since Lantern isn't as famous as his DC brothers Superman and Batman, a quick Wikipedia research session provided me with the background. Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) is a cocky and arrogant fighter pilot who is chosen to become a Green Lantern. The Green Lanterns are fearless universal peace-keepers who use the power of might and will to protect justice in the Universe. They use Power Rings to manifest their imagination and can create anything if their ring is charged by their Lantern. However, they don't take kindly to Jordan, the first human Green Lantern. His first task puts him against the world-devouring 'fear entity', Parallax.

That mouthful should give you the hint of how much this film tries to pack into itself, quickly skipping over important plot points to the integral back-story. The entire film seems to be based around the graphics, trying to create an spectacular world of the countless Green Lanterns throughout the Universe, however coming across as a less-impressive Mos Eisley cantina. A classic case of style over substance.

The film's storyline merely feels flimsy due to the lack of depth to Hal Jordan. Unlike the impressive Thor, the cocky and arrogant titular hero doesn't learn the error of his ways and become humbled by his status. He starts off a dick, and ends up a dick with unlimited power. A potential storyline exploring Hal's relationship with his deceased father and surviving family begins the film but is quickly overtaken by the more explosive storyline of the Lanterns and their fight with Parallax.

Despite Reynolds failing to impress, both supporting actors Blake Lively and Peter Sarsgaard do their best with incredibly camp and outrageous situations as well as body modifications. Actors who have starred in fantastic films such as The Town and Jarhead deserve better than this though, and the hints of trilogy depress me even more. They do need a paycheck I suppose.

With lots of blockbuster films coming out this summer, I am disappointed by DC's attempt at adapting a lesser-known comic-book superhero, as if they were attempting to match Marvel's success with Thor. It definitely could have learnt a few lessons from the Norse God of Thunder. With a character not as famous as others, more information must be given, for us to become acquainted and to understand his values and beliefs, rather than shoving Joe Nobody onto an alien home-world and expecting the audience to care about his adventures.

Must try harder DC.

Rating - 4/10

Sucker Punch

You Will Be Uninterested

A bleached blonde and porcelain-like Emily Browning fires a gun at her abusive stepfather to protect herself, whilst a haunting version of 'Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of These)' is quietly surrounding the ensuing drama.

This is how another Zack Snyder film begins; an impressive opening montage. Things seem to be going very smoothly; I'm sat in the cinema with my sweets and drink, waiting to be blown away.

Babydoll gets institutionalised and meets a bunch of other girls at the asylum. She is told she is to have a lobotomy and *SNAP*, suddenly they're in a brothel.

Huh? Sorry? Weren't they just in an asylum? Why are these young girls suddenly in corsets and fishnet tights?

Babydoll slowly walks down the steps of the Japanese garden and begins fighting the huge zombie Samurai warriors?

What? I'm all for surreal, but really? And that's just the introduction. To escape the asylum/brothel, Babydoll and her friends spend the rest of the film trying to acquire certain objects and enter different alternate realities to acheive their dream of freedom.

Boy, did I get my hopes up for Sucker Punch. Not following my own advice, I got swept up by the breath-taking trailers, intriguing posters, and impressive cast and crew. It looked like the film was going to be epic. When I sat in my seat, waiting for the film to start, it reminded me of how I felt going to watch 300 back in 2006, and similarly Watchmen in 2009, which were also directed by Zack Snyder. And the result?

It kinda bored me. Don't get me wrong, the situations were very exciting and energetic, but I just didn't care what happened to the characters or their struggle. There was no personalisation to the five main girls. They just seemed like 2D characters, dressed in provocative outfits, made to jump about, swing swords, shoot guns and be every 14-year old boy's dream. It all looks fantastic, but I just did not care. Am I just getting older? Would Teenage-Mike have forgiven this sporadic jumping from reality to reality with no real backbone to the film?

The films that Zack Snyder has directed in the past (the Dawn of the Dead remake, 300, Watchmen, Legend of the Guardians) all seem to share some characteristics, such as numerous fight sequences featuring instances of slow-motion, and Snyder directs them very passionately and precisely. However the films are assisted due to each film's script being unique and interesting in each instance. Perhaps this is the problem with Sucker Punch. Snyder is a very exciting young director, but as a scriptwriter, I believe he has a long way to go. He seems to have merely thought of what a teenage boy loves, and stuck in all together in one messy story. Only a couple of characters are given the smallest of backgrounds, whilst most are just left unexplained and uninteresting.

Whilst having no point to them, the battle scenes are incredibly well done, with the budget seemingly being spent entirely on the grand special effects. The five girls do well with what they're given, but talents such as Jena Malone and Emily Browning deserve much more.

Additionally, I feel that the film was restricted by studio interference. Before watching the film, I had heard that Warner Brothers had told Snyder to amend a scene so the film could be given a '12A' instead of a '15' certificate. I believe this not only affected this particular scene but the film in general, as the girls couldn't be as violent as the film required, or the poor condition in the asylum/brothel to be shown to it's full extent.

Either way, I'd recommend waiting for the 'Unrated Director's Cut' of the film to be released on DVD to see this film, so we can actually see what Snyder wanted to show. It surely couldn't be worse than the film he decided to release.

Rating - 3/10

Limitless

Behind Blue Eyes

I've been a fan of Bradley Cooper, ever since he starred in a low-profile American comedy called Kitchen Confidential. On Confidential, Cooper played a chef at a high-quality restaurant who often got into hijinks through his good looks and charm; a role that he seems to have made his own since the show was cancelled and Cooper became a film star, starring in films such as The A-Team and The Hangover. Since I saw Brad (we're on first-name terms) start off in the business, I am glad to see his name appear in more films and become increasingly widely known in Hollywood.

In Cooper's latest, Limitless, he plays Eddie Mora, an aspiring writer who can't seem to get a grip on his wasteful life, as well as an irritating case of writer's block. When a friend offers him a pill that allows him to use the full potential of his brain power*, Eddie becomes incredibly smart, resourceful and efficient. The pill leads Eddie to a high-paying job and the life that he wants, but with the fantastic benefits, the pill starts to take over Eddie's life, making life insufferable without the miraculous pill.

(*Despite this, research has said that we humans do use 100% of our brain power sometimes, and that the whole 20% thing is just a myth)

I left the screen showing Limitless with a very big smile on my face. The film's premise is incredibly intriguing and like the title suggest, has limitless amounts of potential to access. was surprisingly artistic and well-crafted, with some of the visual set-pieces actually blowing me away, all twinned with an appropriate pounding soundtrack. The storyline does get a bit lazy in parts, with the typical Russian gangsters and scary, all-powerful men-in-suits trying to find out Eddie's secret for themselves but it stays as overall good fun.

Shia LeBeouf was originally cast as Eddie, but then replaced by Cooper, and I can't help feel that the film wouldn't have been as good with the annoying gormless wonder-of-tomorrow as the main star. Cooper does an impressive job as the down-and-out writer, and the make-up department did a very good job at making the normally 'breath-taking' Cooper look like this:

Pretty sure all the girls reading this still would though, right?

Bobby deNiro co-stars as Eddie's Big Boss, and seems a bit wasted, as he occassionally gets to impose his screen presense but is mainly in the background, watching Eddie weave his magic. He could have been used more, but then again, it's good to see him in a role that doesn't involve prancing around in drag or starring in a film without the word "Fockers" in the name.

Overall, Limitless was quite inspiring, I left the theatre full of new ideas to try out for this site, as well as numerous ideas for articles, all of which have drifted into obscurity. Perhaps Limitless is my pill of choice, that will constantly awaken my imagination every time I watch. With the amount of time I've spent on these reviews recently, we can only hope so.

Rating - 8/10

The Lincoln Lawyer

In Need Of A Service

Usually, it only takes one word to put me off watching a film: McConaughy. My dislike for this man borders on Nicolas Cage territory, but his association with the film Frailty won some points with this reviewer, but only because he was barely in it. I mean look at his smug face. Don't you just want to punch it?

Sigh. Anyway, weirdly enough, he suits the role he plays in this film and I was surprised by how settled he seemed in the role of professional defence lawyer, showing the pieces of talent lying underneath the stoner/surfer/idiot surface. Please understand how hard that is for me to say.

The Lincoln Lawyer tells the story of Mickey Haller, a Defence Lawyer who operates out of his Lincoln Continental car. He inherits a high-profile case, defending the privileged son of a wealthy family accused of rape, played by Ryan Philippe. As Haller begins investigating the case with the help of his friend played by William H. Macy, he finds that his client might not be as innocent as he once thought.

Sounds intriguing right? The only problem is that the interesting storyline only kicks in halfway through the film. Sixty minutes in, the film becomes exciting. The first half is simply there to set up McConaughy's character and his history with his father, which is only necessary for a single part of the second half. The instant the catalyst hits, the film kick-starts into an intriguing crime thriller which includes some interesting plot points, fantastic performances and a nice game of cat and mouse between McConaughy and Philippe. However, the case gets resolved and the film reaches a point where it would naturally end, but the film continues. For another twenty minutes or so. I was fidgeting in my seat, wanting the film to finish, but they insisted on wrapping up the countless pointless story-lines that ran parallel to the interesting one. It's a shame that an interesting thirty minutes is surrounded by an hour and a half of dross.

Ryan Philippe returns from the mist to deliver a solid performance, at first whiny and innocent, and then delivering quite a powerful character further into the film. However, both William H. Macy and Marisa Tomei are underused and deserve better from just fleeting interactions with McConaughy. To give credit where it's due, McConaughy gives a performance I haven't seen him give before and I came out thinking he was one of the best parts of the film, which has never happened.

The Lincoln Lawyer deserves plaudits for having a good cast deliver convincing performances and it is an solid attempt at being inventive, but it's a shame that it's inconsistency lets it down. Hope to see more serious roles for McConaughy in the future too, if this is how he reacts to them.

Rating - 4/10