Movie Preview: Repo Men

If flattery is the highest form of compliment, then Hollywood gives more compliments than a politician trying toget funds to get re-elected. But Hollywood is usually a bit less blatant in its compliments than the upcoming film Repo Men is.

Repo Men is the rip off of 2 film predominantly. Logan's Run and Repo! the Genetic Opera. You might have heard of Logan's Run but I doubt you heard of Repo!

The plot is basic. Our hero is running from the bad guys. In this case he is a former repo man - in a world where augmenting the body is a life-saving and profitable business, those that don't pay lose whatever was replaced. Repo men are the guys that collect on the bad debt. Remy (Jude Law) and his partner Jake (Forest Whitaker) are the best at collections. Remy winds up getting an augment, and failing to pay becomes next on the list for collection.

You've seen this movie in Logan's Run, as the former pair of friends now are at odds with each other. You saw a take on the idea in Running Man, as the oppressive authority forces a hero to rise up and the people to join him.

What you didn't see is how it works in a world like this. That's where Repo! comes in.



Given that Repo! had Paris Hilton in it, and it's a musical. 2 great reasons you never saw the film. But ti doesn't make Repo Men any more original. Still the question is if it is a good movie.



Well the film looks better than Repo! which says a lot. Plus it does NOT have Paris Hilton in it, which is a HUGE statement for it's quality.

Forest Whitaker is a great actor. He has been in more than a few great films. So to see him in this adds credibility to the film, and an assurance that it's not a complete waste of time.

Jude Law is also a solid actor and more than capable of a film of this nature. So again this is a plus for the film.

The fact that it copies some of the more time honored ideas in Hollywood, friends as rivals, futuristic drama, decent helpings of actions and new gadgets, helps.

This is yet another non-Oscar worthy film. Which means that someone besides the Oscar community will see it. It will likely give action and sci-fi fans what they are looking for. Some ladies (possibly men too I suppose) will get their fix of Law, and the afrocentric crowd gets Whitaker in a lead support role. It's got almost something for everyone.

I would see this in a theater. It's likely better than most of the films coming out for the 2010 summer blockbuster season. And considering the repercussions of the recession, this will be one of the few films of any note for most of the year. Though it won't be the last rip-off film, it is far from the worst.

Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes

There was a buzz among some when it was suggested that Robert Downey Jr. was going to play the classic Holmes. I and several of my friends were hopeful for a film that would honor the books, and still touch upon the proper English nature that Basil Rathbone presented so well.

Then news that Moriarity would not be in the film. Then came the movie trailers. Full of displays of fighting and raw brute strength without a hint of the supreme logic that defines Holmes. And hopes were dimmed.

The fact that the film came out in December for the holidays was an oddity. One that became clear once the film is seen. It also explains why the film was not the stellar financial success than many other films featuring Downey and Jude Law have been.

Sherlock Holmes is the intellectual, logic bound, British character brought to the screen in the modern age. The essence of the books and the Rathbone portrayal has endured, and dare I say modernized just a touch.

There is of course CGI in the film. I don't think a film today can be made without it. But unlike most films where the CGI is meant to envision the fantastical, and endeavor that if unsuccessful ruins the film, here it is meant to add to the atmosphere. How else might we get to see London Bridge as it looked while being built?

In fact the set designs are spot on. The film captures the gritty, crowded, and lesser quality of life that the masses in Old London faces so many years ago. The washed out colors and general grays, add to the feel of the film, almost giving it a Black and White film feel, a touch of the classic. Which all sets the mood in a delightful way, so that you are absorbed into the world of the film and not jarred by it.

The plot also has to be commended. There are no obvious loopholes, no unexplainable events that mystically occur - due solely to the inability of a writer to think, a director to direct, and/or the interference of studios that just want to save a buck to maximize profit while providing the least enertainment possible. This film makes sense all the way through, and clues you in just when you need it to.

They even were able to fit in some humor and fights. Nothing so gratuitous as to be a Schwarzenegger film, but enough to justify the movie trailers that mislead action fans into seeing a thinking film. They even turned the tables and provided a mostly naked Downey for the females in the audience, while only hinting at the curves of the lovely Rachel McAdams.

So we must give some credit to the director Guy Ritchie. It's been quite some time since he had a film of the enjoyment of Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. If he was looking for critical acceptance, and commercial success this film finally provides both.

The actors though are the real gems of this film. Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law mesh perfectly as the bickering, odd couple of partners that are inseperable on a case. The 2 banter and move like friends that have known each other too long. And they provide in their scenes the physical and emotional respect and admiration Holmes and Watson share.

Rachel McAdams really shines as Irene Adler. She brings as much wit as flair to the role. A woman that is instantly remarkable for her intellect as much as for her looks. McAdams strides the line as a powerful female character that never crosses into a bitchy or shrieking annoyance most mistakenly view as a powerful lead.

I really love one other thing. Professor Moriarty is not revealed, either by sight, name, or voice. He is an unknown that might, possibly, be revealed in the second film of what could become a series of films much like in the 1930's or James Bond. Which would also mean that Mycroft could also turn up at some point.

I recommend this film if you are tired of all the movies that go boom from start to end. There's nothing wrong with a good action film, but on occasion being able to engrosse the more mature and thinking parts of the mind never hurts either. This film provides that fix.

**Side note - if we must see Moriarty (which I think is best never shown fully if possible since there are liberties being taken to change aspects of the characters) who would be best? Some are whispering Brad Pitt which I think would be deadly to the series. Someone more refined, and possibly a bit older but dashing. Perhaps George Clooney (if he can do the accent). If not him then maybe John Simms.

Movie Preview: Sherlock Holmes

As is wont of so many movies these days, the film Sherlock Holmes – starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law – is a physical take on an old theme. At least that is what the trailer is displaying at this moment.



I find it odd that one of the more classic and noted intellectuals of literary work has now become a brawling less thinking more ordinary hero in the hands of Guy Ritchie. I suppose that in this “revisioning” of the character is targeted to the Hollywood mentality that explosions beat thought. Or they just want to draw more younger fans that have never seen a movie based on this character let alone ever read a book about him.

My questions about the film all lie in the depiction the trailer presents and Guy Ritchie. They seem to be emphasizing the many notable flaws that Sherlock Holmes certainly has, and downplaying the deductive reasoning that made the character a master detective. Which is a real letdown.

Of course I have to mention that the accent by Robert Downey Jr. appears to be less than convincing, which is a surprise. In the past Sherlock has always had the distinctive British accent one would expect from an Englishman. But Downey is very American, and his accent betrays a weakness in the portrayal. I would hope it was just that the scenes selected were less important and not a complete picture of the accent employed. Not that many scenes in the movie trailer are speaking scenes.

Guy Ritchie tends to focus on the physical in his movies. He likes the ferocity of combat, and the motion of chaos as I have observed (which is hardly a complete vision of all his films). Thus I expect that much of what makes Holmes indelible will be lost due to no fault of the actors. How modern movie audiences will react is hard to say.

This is a period piece film. Yet the movie trailer flows more like a Dark Knight video clip than you would imagine. You can almost feel a Batmobile ready to pop out of a street corner.

I am comparing this a lot to the latest Batman revisioning. Not because I dislike the Christian Bale version (other than the Joker) but because it too generally ignores the deductive though and detective work (basically all the thinking of the character), replacing them with action. It works well, and audiences like it, but that does not mean that the character is being given the full depth it can have.

Thus I see Sherlock Holmes in a similar manner under the guidance of Ritchie. Bravado and flash, daring do vs. understanding of the situation. It can work well, and be a good film. But somehow I see Law and Downey being under used for such a film.

This is of course the first trailers for the film. This is a tease and as such we cannot be really sure what the actual film will comprise. But we can be sure there is a bit of titillation for the ladies, and action for the guys. Lots of on location scenes, and a bit of the classic British flare. But will there be a mind to the film, a piece of the soul found in the books? Maybe the next set of trailers will tell.

So until we can see more, I think this will be a decent film. I think it will do well in the box office. It will be worth the time spent in the theater, and for many that’s all that matter in the end.