Doom - Ray's Review

Doom (2005)
100 min

Directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak (Exit Wounds, Romeo Must Die)

Written by Dave Callaham and Wesley Strick (The Saint, Wolf)

Starring:

Karl Urban - John Grimm
Rosamund Pike - Samantha Grimm
The Rock - Sarge

Official Plot Synopsis:

"...The action takes place at Olduvai Research Station, a remote scientific facility on Mars, where something has gone terribly wrong. All experiments have ceased, and communication has failed. The few messages that do get through are less than comforting. It's Level 5 Quarantine, and the only souls allowed in or out are the Rapid Response Tactical Squad (RRTS) - hardened Marines armed to the teeth with enough firepower to neutralize any enemy...or so they think.

The researchers at this Red Planet station have unwittingly opened a door, and all hell has broken loose. A legion of nightmarish creatures of unknown origin lurks in every corner and stalks the countless rooms and tunnels of the facility, killing what few people remain. A hellish zoo of demons, Imps, Barons and Hell Knights has taken over Olduvai. And they're not giving it back without a fight.

Sealing off the portal to Earth, Sarge (THE ROCK), Reaper (The Lord of the Rings' KARL URBAN) and their mercenary team must use every weapon at their disposal - and some they find along the way - to carry out their orders: nothing gets out alive. Unfortunately, these things never go as planned."

Ray's Opinion:

Doom the film turned out exactly as I expected. Having read that it was to be directed by the mediocre action director who's-name-is-impossible-to-pronounce: Andrzej Bartkowiak, my hopes were fairly low (but I'll admit to being surprised by Bartkowiak's Segal film Exit Wounds managing to make the pudgy Segal seem vaguely cool again after so many STD - straight to DVD - disasters). I'd heard that ID Software were very reluctant to go ahead with a film unless all the stars aligned to make it as good as it could possibly be, so I thought maybe - regardless of the horrible MTV type director on board - they might surprise me with a good script. This is not the case. However, the plot is serviceable.

Here's how it works. Take a set of cliche soldiers with names like Sarge, Destroyer, Reaper and The Kid, give them all big guns and put them in a bunch of grimy corridors and get them to spout crappy dialogue that we've all heard before in better films and occasionally let them actually shoot something, which - until about halfway through - you only see in glimpses. Throw in a stupid sub-plot about the almost-main-character Reaper (Karl Urban) and his sister in the hope to add dimension to your characters... and fail. Get people to unnecessarily say "Fuck" so that you get an R rating and hope people will mistake constant crude language for genuine toughness. I guess I should be thankful that they didn't pussy out and make Doom PG-13; it's full of extreme violence and gore which at least entertains on a visceral level.

"Umm, what's the plot about again?"
I'm being harsh on Doom, but all the elements are so weak, the characters so cliche and the action so poorly executed that it just feels like one big missed opportunity. Though I have to hand it to them for the overall construction of the plot, it was pretty good given the material, which essentially boils down to walking down corridors and shooting stuff; but an O.K. plot poorly executed does not make a good film. I guess I'd hoped for a decent Aliens clone, but feared another useless game adaptation like Resident Evil. Doom is far better than the embarrassingly awful Resident Evil but it's miles from being Aliens' brother in law - it's more like Aliens' mutant twin who suffers from ADD and likes to bang its head repeatedly against brick walls.

Speaking of head banging that brings me to another aspect which is appalling: a horrible "heavy" metal soundtrack. It never complements the on-screen action and if anything detracts from the already weak atmosphere. Another negative aspect is the miscasting of The Rock. I love the guy and usually enjoy his charming performances, but here he is essentially playing a heartless marine and it just doesn't come naturally to him. Every time he said "fuck" (which is almost every line) I cringed, it just didn't sound right coming out of his mouth. He tried his best to look menacing, but I never bought it. The few parts where he lightned up were a welcome breath of fresh air, particularly when he gets his hands on the BFG.

"Big Fucking Gun." - One of the few laughs you'll get during Doom.

Having read this far you'll be thinking this is a film to skip, right? Wrong! All is redeemed in the awesome first-person-shooter scene where we see out of Reaper's eyes as he goes on a killing rampage. If only the rest of the film had been this much fun! It's a truly cool scene and totally captures the game in a way that no other game-to-film adaptation has ever managed. This alone made it all worth it for me, this and another scene about mid-way through where Destroyer (who must have the worst name out of the team) goes one-on-one with a huge mutant beast. It's an incredibly brutal fight and it makes the final climatic battle pale in comparison - which outlines Bartkowiak's lack of skill in making action films, one of the golden rules is to spread out your action scenes and always save the best for last, he may have saved the FPS scene till near the end, but he follows that up with a totally lame fist-fight... a big mistake that undermines the ending and leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

Overall - even with all these bad points - I still enjoyed Doom. It's loud, trashy, violent and dumb, but it knows it. If you set your brain on cruise control, you'll have a blast, however, engage your brain at any point and suffer the consequences! This is the kind of film that would probably be best after a beer... or ten.

6/10

Cinderella Man - Ray's Review

Cinderella Man (2005)
144 min

Directed by Ron Howard

Written by Cliff Hollingsworth and Akiva Goldsman

Starring:
Russell Crowe .... Jim Braddock
Renée Zellweger .... Mae Braddock
Paul Giamatti .... Joe Gould
Craig Bierko .... Max Baer
Paddy Considine .... Mike Wilson
Bruce McGill .... Jimmy Johnston

Official Synopsis:

"Crowe stars in the story inspired by the life of legendary athlete Jim Braddock, a once-promising light heavyweight boxer forced into retirement after a string of losses in the ring. As the nation enters the darkest years of the Great Depression, Braddock accepts a string of dead-end jobs to support his wife, Mae (Renée Zellweger), and their children, while never totally abandoning his dream of boxing again.

Thanks to a last minute cancellation, Braddock finds himself back in the ring against the second-ranked world contender - and to everyone's amazement, Braddock wins in the third round. Despite being pounds lighter than his opponents and repeated injuries to his hands, Braddock continues to fight against challengers and win. Carrying on his shoulders the hopes and dreams of the disenfranchised masses, Braddock, dubbed the "Cinderella Man," faces his toughest challenger in Max Baer (Craig Bierko), the heavyweight champion of the world, renowned for having killed two men in the ring."

Ray's Opinion:

I went into Cinderella Man expecting a "hero" film similar in vein to Gladiator and Master and Commander... I couldn't have been more wrong. Cinderella Man shares nothing in common with them other than its period setting, and Russell Crowe turning in another highly controlled and fascinating performance. What makes Cinderella Man so different to his past heroic roles is that Jim Braddock doesn't see himself as a hero at all, he merely fights "for milk" as he puts it. So don't go into this expecting big, dramatic speeches from Crowe and you will be pleasantly surprised by his complex portrayal of a man who is essentially good. Like Roger Ebert said in his review; playing a man who is basically a really good guy is a hard thing to do without making him sentimental and uninteresting, but Crowe pulls it off and reminds one of past "nice guys" like James Stewart and Cary Grant.

This is a rich looking film, beautifully shot, with every object and room telling its own story. I'm not usually a huge fan of Ron Howard's style, but this time he finally managed to connect with me emotionally. This would easily be my favourite Ron Howard film because I didn't feel as manipulated as I did in A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13. Cinderella Man feels honest, and was carried by Crowe's believable performance, ably supported by the always reliable character actor Paul Giamatti and the pursed lipped Renée Zellweger - whom I enjoyed in this, after having only recently warmed to her persona in Down With Love.

I can't stress enough how simple this film is. In fact, it almost felt too simple when the credits rolled and I felt a little underwhelmed with the whole thing. But a few days later a funny thing happened; the film lingered in my mind and the mood stayed with me. As I thought back through it I realised I could remember it all, every single scene was there in my mind, ready to be plucked out. I think this is testament to its strong atmosphere and striking imagery. Perhaps it's the straight forwardness of the story telling that enabled its images to be burned into my consciousness so clearly? Whatever the case, I like it when the scenes play out in my head.

The boxing is well done and somehow managed to not feel generic, which could easily be the case with so many Rocky films having played out almost all possible boxing scenarios. The 30's setting helped to make it unique, but primarily it was Ron Howard's approach to it all. It's hard for me to pin down exactly what he did differently to other boxing films and for once I am lost for descriptive reasons as to its success in this area. Maybe it was because I cared for Jim Braddock more than I ever did for Rocky? One thing that I think works against it is that it goes to so much trouble making us care for Jim and his wife and three children, that when the violence kicks in it may alienate some people - particularly females - who up until the brutal boxing scenes were more invested in the emotional aspects of the story. I like boxing so this wasn't an issue, but I did notice some women sitting near me became agitated when the fights went on too long. Also I felt the portrayal of the heavyweight champion - the main antagonist - was a little too comical and detracted from all the hard work they had put into making Jim Braddock a realistic character.

Overall, Cinderella Man is a highly atmospheric film that not only gave me a look into the life of a sports hero I'd never heard of, but also illustrated the tragedy of the depression era in vivid and moving detail. The family scenes are will done and fairly believable - this is Hollywood after all - and the relationship between Jim and his trainer (Paul Giamatti) is a joy to watch. The boxing scenes are incredibly involving and you will be rooting for Jim right up to the bitter end. I find it surprising that Cinderella Man wasn't successful commercially, when it was so well received critically.

8/10

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney) - Ray's Review

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
91 min

Directed by:
Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise (Beauty and the Beast)

Based on the book by:
Victor Hugo

Starring the Voices of:
Tom Hulce as Quasimodo
Demi Moore as Esmeralda
Tony Jay as Frollo
Kevin Kline as Phoebus

Plot Synopsis from Amazon.com:

"Quasimodo, the ward of repressive monk Frollo, falls for a gypsy girl named Esmerelda (Demi Moore)--though she loves one of the king's guards (Kevin Kline). But they are all put in jeopardy by the wicked Frollo, whose secret passion for Esmerelda leads him to seek her death."

Ray's Opinion:

Until now, I never bothered seeing The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It looked too similar to Beauty and the Beast (which is no surprise considering the same directing team are behind it), a film which is widely loved by the public, but not by me - I usually prefer my Disney films with less romance.

After re-watching and thoroughly enjoying many animated films in the past few weeks, I have been on a search to discover other animated films I may have missed. After checking out several positive reviews I decided to give Hunchback a shot - "Who knows?" I thought, "Maybe I'll like it?". I was surprised to find a deceptively dark and personal tale, about a troubled youth who feels like an outsider (sounds like someone I know), and finding the strength to see beyond simple preconceptions of others.

What I most liked about Hunchback - other than the gorgeous animation and sound - was how insular the story was. A lot of the film is set at the top of the Church, where Quasimodo lives in isolation, and I just loved spending time there (I guess I'm a sucker for lonely guy tales). It actually reminded me of the scenes in Blade Runner where Deckard is out on his balcony, sipping a whisky and watching the world roll by below him. Any film that reminds me of Blade Runner is doing well for itself!

I was impressed by how dark Disney went and was even vaguely disturbed in places, particularly by Frollo's awesome song "Hellfire" - a song, essentially about his repressed lust towards Esmeralda (hardly the usual theme of Disney songs). It's an incredibly well staged number and has to be one of the most intense - if not the most intense - Disney song of all time.

Regarding my worries that Hunchback would be too similar to Beauty and the Beast... I need not have worried, Hunchback is far less romanticised and has a much stronger female lead. Unlike Dreamwork's Sinbad - where they tried desperately to make their heroine sassy and strong willed - Esmeralda is genuinely strong and Demi's voicework is surprisingly good.

I'm not going to rant on about the melding of computer graphics and traditional animation (I've done that in every other animated film review here), but I will say that, once again, Disney have produced an amazing looking (and sounding) film that will show off your home cinema nicely.

Disney's Quasimodo is another character that could only ever be realised with animation. Much like Tarzan, he moves around with an acrobatic skill that no real human possesses and which would be extremely difficult to accomplish in a live action film, even with the aid of CG. I loved watching him get around and actually wished there were more scenes of his acrobatic prowess (another "bell ringing" scene would have been nice).

On the negative side, I did not like the stone gargoyles much and I think they were unnecessary. None of their jokes clicked. I can understand the necessity of them for the kiddies, but it's still no excuse for how weak the writing was for them. When sidekicks are an organic result of story development they work well - such as the monkey in Aladdin - but when they have been "inserted" you can tell. Also, I would have loved to have seen more room for Kevin Kline to have fun with his character Phoebus - Kevin Kline did hilarious voice work in The Road to El Dorado, but he had very little to do here in Hunchback (but I'll take what I can get). Often in animation the antagonist can seem uninspired and simplistically evil, but I found Frollo genuinely intimidating, and I think his repressed lust towards Esmeralda made him unique among Disney's fiendish characters.

I was surprised to find myself absorbed from start to finish. It's darker than most Disney films, has strong central characters and looks beautiful (does the camera ever stop moving?). Basically, The Hunchback of Notre Dame was better than I ever thought it would be and I'm glad I discovered it after all this time! I will definitely watch it again, sometime in the near future.

8/10

Check out my other animated film reviews:

Atlantis: The Lost Empire/Treasure Planet

Tarzan

The Prince of Egypt

The Road to El Dorado

Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas

Interstate 60 - Ray's Review

Interstate 60 (2002)
116 min

Written and Directed by:
Bob Gale

Starring:
James Marsden as Neal Oliver
Gary Oldman as O.W. Grant
Christopher Lloyd as Ray
Amy Smart as Lynn Linden
Chris Cooper as Bob Cody


Synopsis:

"James Marsden stars as Neal, a young man freshly graduated from high school and unsure of what to do with his life. Torn between his father's vision of himself and his own budding dreams, Neal gets a push in a strange direction when he suffers a blow to the head and begins hallucinating. Sent on a journey by a mysterious man named Ray, Neal drives down a nonexistent highway to deliver a package, only to have his ideas of reality turned inside out."

Ray's Opinion:

I love Back to the Future - it's probably my favourite film of all time. I have often wondered if another film would come along that would capture the magic that Back to the Future did. Interstate 60 doesn't measure up to Back to the Future - which would be impossible on an obviously small budget - but it is the closest thing in terms of tone, humour and style that I've seen and that's no surprise considering the co-writer (Bob Gale) of Back to the Future is behind it. Of course, comparing this to Back to the Future is unfair because Bob Gale is not trying to repeat his previous success. Interstate 60 is more fantasy than sci/fi adventure.

Michael J. Fox. Christopher Lloyd. Kurt Russell. Yes, you heard me! Three actors - all close to my heart - are in this film. For that alone I am glad to have seen this film. But guest stars are not enough to sustain a film, for that, you need a good story. Thankfully, Interstate 60 is an inventive fantasy story, where reality is challenged and things are not what they seem. At times it feels a little predictable, but overall there are enough interesting ideas - like the city where everyone is a Lawyer or a defendant - that I was consistently "thinking" while I watched... not an entirely common thing these days.

James Marsden (Cyclops from X-Men) is Neal Oliver. A young man who is struggling to find meaning and direction in his life. Neal's father wants him to follow in his footsteps and become a lawyer, which is in direct conflict with Neal's desire to make a living as an artist. At his birthday, Neal makes a wish to "find answers" which is overheard by O.W. Grant (played with glee by Gary Oldman). Neal gets his wish in the form of a road trip across the non-existent Interstate 60 and along the way meets all sorts of strange people who challenge his perception of reality - and of himself. There are lots of cool ideas in here and a surprising amount of laughs too.

Interstate 60 is a road-movie-meets-fantasy film, with a bit of the Back to the Future feel, rounded out by charming and intriguing characters and performed by some of the most endearing actors around (Chris Cooper can do no wrong). It's a film that isn't afraid to ask questions and probe the human condition with honesty and curiosity, yet it does this within a fun - and mostly light hearted - adventure film. If you enjoyed fantasy films like Back to the Future (and "what-if" films like Mr Destiny and The Family Man) you should find something that appeals to you here. Just keep in mind this is a low budget, plot driven film, with no action scenes!

7/10