Pacific Rim

Pacific Rim (2013)

Predicted Rating: 3 Stars

Directed by Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth). Starring: Charlie Hunnam (Green Street Hooligans), Idris Elba (American Gangster) and Charlie Day (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia)

After an interdimentional rift opens up deep in the Pacific Ocean in the not to distant future, massive monsters known as Kaiju begin periodically attacking the planet. After the third attack, every nation bands together to initiate the Jaeger program, the building of giant human controlled robots to destroy the Kaiju. It was proven that one person cannot control the Jaeger by themselves, but must mind meld with another individual to control the robot simultaneously. Seven years after the rift is open, Raleigh Beckett (Hunnam) is fighting a Kaiju when his co-pilot and brother is killed, forcing him to leave the Jaeger program. Five years later, the governments of the world have decided to close the Jaeger program and focus on building a wall around the Pacific Ocean. The research department of Dr. Newton Geizler (Day) and Dr. Hermann Gottlieb (Burn Gorman) discover that the Kaiju attacks are occurring at an accelerated rate and will lead to the destruction of the human race. It is up to Beckett to return and lead the Jaeger program in order to close the rift.

The engineer in me thinks that the Jaeger program could have been done more efficiently whilst the movie critic applauds del Toro for creating a more humane side of a disaster film. I am of course referencing the need for two pilots to drive the Jaeger. As an engineer I thought the piloting system could have been done in a much more logical way by using a simple control system that completely eliminates the strain on the pilot. Hey why even have a pilot on board, you could control the Jaegers remotely. Then again do they even need to be giant robots, could we initiate some sort of air based attack or even just a giant net? Thinking from the other side, the introduction of the two pilot system adds a humane touch to what could have been, excuse the pun, a robotic movie. In the mist of dark twisted American summer movies, such as Man of Steel, needing the pilots to work together brightens the mood and adds something different to the film. Also, as the majority of the pilot combos are family members, it brings in the theme of family values and the spiritual connection between the members. A poor engineering choice in my mind but a solid film choice.

Something that is unique in this disaster film is picking it up well down the track after the initial attack. I am not sure whether I am sold on this idea. My favourite alien attack movies, such as Independance Day, are the ones that start before the beginning of the attack. This way you get to see how everyone reacts to the aliens and you live through the discovery of how to destroy them. With Pacific Rim, how to destroy the aliens has already been set and you are living the final moments of stopping the Kaiju. I think the already established attack worked for District 9 but it would have been cool to see how the Jaeger program was initiated in more detail. Maybe a prequel is on the cards... wait, was that Cloverfield?.. J.J Abrams conspiracy theories for the win!

Aside from big monsters fighting bigger monsters, my favourite aspect of the film was the performances of Charlie Day and Burn Gorman. They served as the comic relief in the film. A lot of the time in these type of films, the comic relief is annoying and you wish they weren't there so you can watch more robots fighting big monsters. However, these two, with their unnecessary conflict, add a bit of spice to the film. Also, as It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is one of my favourite TV shows, I can't help seeing Day as his character, Charlie, from the show. For any other fans of It's Always Sunny, how awesome would it be for Charlie, of all people, to save the world from aliens! I read that del Toro casted Day purely based on his "rat stick" monologue from It's Always Sunny so it was awesome to see some of Charlie come across in the Newton character.

Overall: An alien attack film with a human touch. What a Power Ranger's movie would be with a $200 million budget. 3.5 Stars

Thumbs Up: Go and watch this movie
        

Throwback Review My Top 10 Favourites

So all my readers can get to know me better, I thought I would do a short piece on my 10 favourite movies of all time. These aren’t necessarily the movies I consider the best of all time (you will see why when I explain a couple) but the ones I enjoy watching the most. They are the movies I go to when I don’t feel like watching anything new and just feel like zoning out for a couple of hours. I will start with number 10 and work my way up to number one, providing a short description on each.

Tied 10. Star Trek II Wrath of Khan

Aside from maybe The Godfather, the Wrath of Khan is the most technically sound movie ever made. Even though I am a dedicated trekky, I am the first to admit that the original series Star Trek is often clunky and seems disjointed. However, this is the exact opposite for Wrath of Khan, it runs smooth and is as near as a perfect movie as you can get. It is perfectly paced, it contains extremely solid themes including creating life from nothing and cold-hearted revenge, and it has an ending that will leave you reaching for the Kleenexes.

Above all this, it is the villain that makes this movie. For those who don’t know, Khan Noonien Singh is a genetically engineered superhuman who was outcast to the planet Seti Alpha V in the original series episode “Space Seed”. Khan then returns in this movie to seek revenge on Captain Kirk. The back story behind Khan’s lust for revenge is fairly standard, but it is the way he goes about it is what makes him special. There were numerous occasions where he could maintain dominance over the universe, but he was so infatuated with immediately finishing off Kirk, it ultimately led to his demise. He has also given us many lines that I quote on a regular basis, including revenge is a dish best served cold and of course KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!! Even if you aren’t a Star Trek fan, I strongly encourage you to watch this film.    

Tied 10. Ghostbusters

 

Everyone has one of those nostalgic movies that summarises your childhood movie experience. For me, Ghostbusters is that movie. I watched other movies such as the Labyrinth and The Never Ending Story many times when I was younger. However if I was ever stuck in the situation where I was at the video shop needing to hire a movie to complete a combo deal, I would always go to Ghostbusters to fill this need. I’m not sure what it was, maybe it was my love for the paranormal, but I enjoyed this film more each time I watched it. I still love watching it today because it is still extremely funny and always makes me happy. 

 

9. Jurassic Park

 

What makes Jurassic Park so special is the special effects. When the film was released, the special effects set the benchmark for other films. However, what makes this film so good is that, 20 years later, these special effects would not look out of place in a movie released today. Several movies, such as Tron, have special effects that whilst dazzled when first release, have quickly become outdated. Jurassic Park is one of the few special effects based movies, along with Blade Runner and Independence Day, that have stood the test of time. It is the original, and still the best, summer blockbuster

Getting past the special effects, the genius of Stephen Spielberg really shines through in Jurassic Park. Yes Schindler’s List, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Jaws are all better films, but it takes the magic of Spielberg to make Jurassic Park a truly good film. He turns (with the help of Michael Crichton) what would be a simple, implausible plot into something that is highly complex and very plausible. Hands up who doesn’t think it would be plausible to create a similar theme park. Now hands up who thinks it is a good idea. 

8. Monty Python and the Holy Grail

I was thinking the other day that it would be unbelievably cool to be able to forget that I have ever watched the Holy Grail. I would then sit down to what I expect to be a solid comedy. I would then pay anything to see my reaction to when seemingly King Arthur would come bounding over the hill on horse only to see him pretending to ride a horse with someone banging two coconuts together.  Coming to think of it, the first four scenes of this film are unbelievably stupid, but in true Monty Python style, the comedic value is unmatched. From the unnecessary in-depth discussion about the flight capabilities of swallows to the brave knight’s inability to recognise the extent of his injuries, I am on the ground in hysterics each time I watch this film. Holy Grail is so unbelievably stupid but it works on so many levels and has entrenched itself as a comedy classic.  

7. Troll 2

This movie has made it onto the list for all the wrong reasons. There is only one way to describe Troll 2, bad. But that is the whole point of this movie. It is the quintessential “so bad it’s good film.” Its status as a bad film is exemplified through the description of the plot. In an attempt to build on the “popularity” of Troll (on a side note, Troll was one of the main influences in the creation of Harry Potter, as the main character is an aspiring wizard named, you guessed it, Harry Potter) the studio decided to create Troll 2. This was their first mistake as Troll 2 coincidentally has nothing to do with Trolls. The story centres around a group of goblins who inhabit the town of Nilbog, which is revealed to be Goblin spelled backwards in a very un-suspenseful suspenseful moment. The goblins are hell bent on capturing and eating anyone who enters their town. However, there is a twist, the goblins are in fact vegetarians. A plotline conceived due to the writer’s wife becoming increasingly annoyed that her friends where becoming vegetarians as it was considered to be socially hip. In order to eat the tourists, the goblins developed something that can turn people into plants. Is that not the most ridiculous plotline for a movie you have heard?

It is not just the plot that makes this movie terrible however, viewing the movie reveals the whole package. The plot has more holes in it than a block of Swiss cheese, characters are introduced and completely forgotten about, and the dialogue is camp at best. The poor dialogue was a result of the film being written by an Italian with a limited knowledge of the English language. This problem was enhanced due to him insisting on using an entirely Italian crew (even though the film was made in the US) who spoke no English. The stubbornness of the director to change the dialogue to flow better often frustrated the cast. From the point where the young boy freezes time and urinates on everyone’s food to stop them from turning into plants to the now infamous popcorn scene when one of the “forgotten” characters is seduced by a witch, this movie is just plain ridiculous. The former scene teaches us one thing, you can’t piss on hospitality. All I can say is grab a bowl of popcorn, put your feet up and gear yourself up for one of the most entertaining 90 minutes of cinema you will ever see.

If you are still unconvinced, go to youtube and search for Troll 2 eating scene and you will be on the floor in hysterics over one of the worst line deliveries in movie history.

6. Paranormal Activity

 

There are many people who don’t like these movies, claiming that they are too boring because nothing happens. However, this is the entire point of this movie series, in particular the first instalment. It is what doesn’t happen that is truly scary. It builds up to several moments that you expect to send you running for mummy but in the end nothing happens. These decoy frights then lead to the one final scare that comes as complete surprise, making you wish you wore brown pants today.  To truly enjoy Paranormal Activity you can’t simply sit down and start watching, you must fully immerse yourself in the movie, riding each bump like you are there and engage yourself with the characters.

Currently there are four instalments in this franchise (a number that will increase due to the low budget, high return each movie has created), all of which I have thoroughly enjoyed. However, it is the first film I enjoyed the most. Paranormal Activity almost single handily ignited the “found footage” genre. Two films tried this before, Cannibal Holocaust and The Blair Witch Project, but it really took Paranormal Activity to show studios that you could make a huge profit margin on this type of film (Paranormal Activity cost $15000 to make and took $193 million at the box office). Many films have tried to emulate the success of PA, possibly tarnishing the reputation of the original, but few have been able to capture the magic. This is one you must get on blu-ray, sit down in the middle of the night, be alone, turn off all the lights and prepare to have the wits scared out of you.

5. Predator

Alright now let’s imagine that Predator is a slasher film. In some sense it is but it is essentially more of an action/sci-fi, in the same sense as Alien is classified. In most slasher films, the cast is usually quite vulnerable and can be killed off by any two-bit with relative ease. In Predator, these guys are the best we have to offer! They are a bunch of highly skilled, experienced, trained and ripped soldiers led by none other than Arnold Swarzenegger. This makes you think, if these guys can’t kill this Alien, who will? 

                As a result of the cast, Predator can be considered as the manliest movie ever made. This exemplified by the manliest handshake ever between Arnie and Carl Weathers. Not only is there the handshake, but there is a plethora of action as well as the high powered game of cat and mouse between the commandos and the predator. All in all a great movie if you want to switch off for a couple of hours and enjoy some bonafied action.

4. A Nightmare on Elm Street

 

A Nightmare on Elm Street came in right in the thick of the slasher craze of the early eighties, in fact there had already been four Friday the 13^th films and three Halloween instalments. What most of these slasher films have in common is a faceless killer mowing down popular, attractive teenagers because they did something innocuous to piss him off. What A Nightmare on Elm Street did was add a bit of substance, style and intelligence to the genre, but more importantly it gave the villain a voice. There are many defining moments that make this film stand head and shoulders above the rest in the overcrowded 80’s slasher film bonanza. Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) is more than the dumb blonde, she is the final girl who uses her brains and wit to destroy the villain. There are also some clever cinematography, including the grey streak in Nancy’s hair become more prominent as the movie goes on and the iconic image shown above. However, it is the villain, Freddy Kruger, who really steals the show. Really, for the first time, the killer is intelligent, actually speaks, and has a fairly elaborate, plausible back story. It is the mixture of his sadistic pleasure and dry wit that makes Freddy Kruger one of the best villains in movie history.

What makes A Nightmare on Elm Street so scary is that it focuses on an area where we thought we were safe and in full control, our dreams. Kruger’s ability to manipulate our dreams to suit his desires shows us we are not in control of our dreams as we once thought. This makes A Nightmare on Elm Street one of the scariest movies ever made and my favourite horror film.

3. Superbad

If you where to take my life during university and put it on the screen, Superbad would be this movie. The other members of our university social circle would agree with me. I can’t really say well this guy is exactly like Seth, or this guy is exactly like McLovin but the characters are a combination of us and we are a combination of the characters. From our sense of humour, to us getting into to ridiculous situations on the same scale as seen in the film, down to the finer details of us all being in the 8% of kids who have the necessity to draw penises (you mean like a man dick) wherever we saw fit, Superbad is me. If there is ever an occasion where I have had a tough day and needed an instant pick up, I would throw Superbad on and I would immediately feel better. As a result, Superbad is the film I would have watched the most.

Getting past the autobiographical style sense of satisfaction, Superbad is actually a great movie. It really gets away from the stereotypes that are far too overused in high school movies. Superbad focuses on your run of the mill type kids. They are not the rich kid jocks that horror movies tend to focus on and even though they can be considered nerds, they are not the ones you would see in movies such as Revenge of the Nerds. Seth, Evan and McLovin are the unpopular kids everyone loves. Not only does Superbad have original characters, but it does something that is rarely done well, two intertwining stories that meet and expand throughout the movie. These of course are the stories of Seth and Evan and their pursuit of their respective ladies and Mclovin and his escapades with the two cops. All in all Superbad is a very original movie full of quotable one-liners. It still makes me laugh each time I watch it.

2. Kill Bill Vol. 1

                Ah Uma Thurman, you are a goddess. Do I really need to explain why I like this film? It is Uma running around for 2 hours hacking people with a katana dressed in a tight yellow body suit. Do I need to say any more?

1. Pulp Fiction 

The second Tarantino film on this list but it stands head and shoulders above the rest. I know it is pretty cliché to say Pulp Fiction is my favourite movie. If you conducted a survey on everyone’s favourite movie, I would say the two most popular answers would be The Shawshank Redemption and Pulp Fiction. There is a reason for that, it is because Pulp Fiction is so cool. If you took the definition for cool and put it into movie form, you would have Pulp Fiction. From the non-linear story line to the interchanging stories that all come together in the end, this is just a fantastic film. Quentin Tarantino, I tip my hat to you. This is a unique film that is different to everything that came before it and will never be replicated.