Django Unchained- Freedom Reigns

Django Unchained is the highly charged exploitation film from director Quentin Tarantino, starring Jamie Fox, Christoph Waltz, and Leonardo DiCaprio, which pays homage to the 1966 Italian spaghetti western with the same named protagonist. Tarantino, fearlessly and unapologetic, paints a controversial time in American history to portray a heart wrenching and graphic revenge story fueled by true love while testifying to the endurance of the human spirit in the most dire of circumstances.

Tarantino takes the traditional heroes journey and sets it against a time that not many directors are willing to tackle, especially when including moments of African American slavery rife with humor and purely exploitative and often gratuitous violence. But it is all in good faith as the viewer trusts the director and actors' nervy head first dive into a project that oozes with passion.

The landscapes are beautiful, direction is motivated and stunning, the soundtrack is sublime, Christoph Waltz is a shoe in for another Oscar nomination but he'll have to wrestle Leonardo DiCaprio for the win as his portrayal of the evil plantation owner Monsieur Candie still gives me heart palpitations.

What a treat to watch a film unafraid of offending and is quite frankly one of the best of 2012 and is a project I think Quentin Tarantino should be very proud of.

Cloud Atlas- One Drop That Ripples

Cloud Atlas is the ambitious Wachowski siblings (writers of The Matrix Trilogy and V For Vendetta) film, adapted from the brilliant science fiction novel written by David Mitchell. The story travels through the intimate lives of seven seeming individuals whose journey's inevitably connect and intertwine over the span of almost 2000 years.

The movie is beautiful but the real gift that comes from this film are the actors' natural abilities (with the aid makeup and prosthetics) to take on the characters they represent in each of the separate seven stories that eventually stream together as one. The other treat is the masterful editing skills of Alexander Berner who constantly cuts between the separate story lines yet naturally brings them together as one cohesive thought that impels an audience to follow along.

Everything is connected. We are all one and even the smallest drop in an ocean significantly contributes to that ocean- thoughts we've heard before but Cloud Atlas and the Wachowski's effortlessly drive this theme home through this creative and ambitious film adaptation.

The scope of their vision is to be admired and Cloud Atlas is a must see for science fiction fans who love the journey just as much as the destination.

Argo- Nothing Fake About this Film

Argo, the latest thriller from director Ben Affleck, is a recounting of actual events surrounding the Canadian Caper- a 1979 joint rescue mission of six American diplomats in Iran by the Canadian government and the American CIA. Affleck flawlessly directs a suspenseful tale filled with engaging characters, a simple yet gripping plot, and stunning cinematography featuring barely discernible CG effects used to convincingly portray a 1970's America and Iran.

Even knowing the eventual happy ending, Argo successfully keeps it audience on the edge of their seats as it creatively takes one on the harrowing journey from beginning to end, while respectfully showing a particularly stressful period in North America's political history. It is a pleasant surprise to see such attention to detail, natural acting, and an emphasis placed on quality film directing.

Argo is a definite must see for cinema lovers everywhere who are looking for more than a sequel or remake.

Looper- A Time Bending Must See

Looper is a futuristic time travelling action film from the mind of Rian Johnson (director of Brick) and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis. The actors play one man, Joe, a "looper" who in the year 2042 begins murdering individuals that the futuristic mob deems necessary to kill from 2072. The job of a looper is clear and the retirement package is finite- when the mob is done with you, they close your loop by sending back your futuristic self along with a delicious gold payload that signifies the beginning of a looper's final 30 years.

The plot is simple enough and doesn't dare try to justify or explain the complications that such time travel would entail. The movie is filmed efficiently with style despite limitations and does its best to present a plausible looking future world, however, all is not perfect. Rian Johnson throws in some plot points that seem forced- better yet pushed in order for the audience to accept the events that have to inevitably happen (i.e. do we really need the presence of TK mutants? Well you better remember this fact, it will probably become part of the plot in 30 or so minutes when Joseph and Bruce get tired of chasing each other).

What's appreciated in this film is the dedication to the cause. It is genuinely refreshing to see a talented director/writer give their all in trying to create a new and stimulating science fiction film. Looper is ultra slick, violent, creative, and incredibly tense. There were real moments when the audience ohh'd and ahh'd together at gruesome or pleasantly surprising scenes. Furthermore, it is a delight to see a cast of well rounded and very talented actors (in particular, Joseph Gordon-Levitt who takes on Bruce Willis' mannerisms and tone with seasoned ease) present an engaging story that definitely kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end.

Resident Evil Retribution- Dangerously Cheesy

It's difficult to adjust ones mindset when beginning to enjoy a movie from the Resident Evil movie franchise. Paul WS Anderson is not a creative director and Mila Jovovich, while stunning and never aging, is not in the running for an Oscar any time soon- however, the latest installment of Resident Evil Retribution does something quite wonderful and that is revolutionizing the concept of a "video game" movie.

To be more specific, it's quite enjoyable to follow a main protagonist literally walk from level to level as a computer program dictates which bad guys or bosses they will fight and which weapons they will employ in order to make it to the end of the "game". It is also refreshing to watch a project that employs the use of RealD technology, with purpose, in every scene.

What's unfortunately disappointing in this film is watching Paul WS Anderson lose all of the minimal character development he took the time to establish in the first Resident Evil film (which personally remains my favorite in the series). It is also a bit heartbreaking to watch the opening sequence, of a gorgeous reverse slow motion action packed scene, filmed to technical perfection and then watch the quality of the acting and story slowly decline to the final frame.

But for a good time, not to be taken seriously, Resident Evil Retribution provides an audience with non stop RealD action that stays true to the creative concept of a video game film adaptation.

Expendables 2: Can't Beat The Classics

Is it going to win an Oscar? Hell No. Will Stallone get that SAG award he's been dreaming of? Not a chance. Is this an enjoyable action film that keeps the excitement moving from scene to scene while producing genuine laughs as you scream, "It's the muscles from Brussels" at the screen? You bet his sweet buns it is.

The second installment of the Expendables franchise is missing a lot- critically acclaimed actors, sweeping landscape shots, slow motion walking, meaningful soliloquies, but in what it lacks there one finds a mighty treasure... genuine nostalgia. Expendables 2 does its audience the pleasure of bringing back their favorite 80s and 90s and current action stars while placing them in impossible situations that they always manage to fight their way through.

It's oddly refreshing to watch a trailer and receive exactly what it promises to deliver. Expendables 2 isn't meant to be epic, not many films are, and nor does it try to be; however it excels at doing what most franchise reboots and sequels fail at: having fun.

Overall it's a good time played to a rocking soundtrack and where else in this time are we going to be able to say, "is that Chuck Norris coming out of the fog in this abandoned Albanian town?"...

The Bourne Legacy- Spy vs Spy?

The Bourne Legacy attempts to catch us up to six weeks after the havoc Jason Bourne stirs around in The Bourne Ultimatum, by introducing us to Aaron Cross (played by Jeremy Renner)- a slightly different kind of super spy who relies on regimented genetic drug enhancements to make him faster, stronger, and yes, even smarter. The only trouble with this is Aaron Cross has to wrestle with the ghost of Jason Bourne and the direction in this movie doesn't make it easy (it also doesn't help to mention Jason Bourne's name literally every two minutes within the first hour of the film).

Immediately, the audience is subjected to the usual tactless "Bourne" trademarks: vomit inducing hand held cameras, fast paced string music that indicates when one should become excited, constant running so that each chase scene becomes more mundane than ever thought possible, the scene in the bathroom where the hero and the damsel make meaningful eye contact, and frequent cuts back to the frantic CIA agents who always try to track their man but unfortunately fall one step behind him. 

But as long as the main protagonist has an interesting story line (i.e. forgetting ones memory and painfully coming to the realization that the patriotic work you do may not be completely on the level) then things should remain engaging right? Exactly, and that's why it's a little hard to empathize with Aaron Cross when he's crossing the country and risking his and Rachel Weisz' life to get more of drugs that make him super awesome.

All complaining aside, on it's own, The Bourne Legacy is an average to good action movie. It is proficiently filmed, has interesting locations, the fight scenes are choreographed well (when you can catch them between camera movements), and the acting is pulled off with ease. However, when attempting to expand a franchise without its most familiar face, one can't help but ask the question: what was the point?