In Review: The Muppets

The Gist

Magical may be the only fitting way to describe this Disney triumph. Truly a must-see not only for the nostalgia, but also for the joy you can derive from its simplistic approach to life and laughter, The Muppets has a heart beneath all that layers of felt and fabric.

The Good

• grandly clever and traditionally Muppet nonsense sense
• nostalgia level over 9000
• the amount of laughs in this movie equals its amount of heart
• great music

The Bad

• It's not 4 hours long, for the time they've been gone, we need more

Synopsis

Walter (a born muppet) and his older brother Gary (a human) grew up together in Smalltown. Together, they grew up watching The Muppet Show and Walter dreamt of becoming part of The Muppet Show, while Gary grew up to have a relationship with Mary, a school teacher. On their 10th year anniversary, Mary and Gary are going to Los Angeles to celebrate; Gary adds Walter to the entourage to surprise him with a visit to The Muppets studios. However, what they arrive to in Los Angeles was the condemned Muppet Studios, every attraction closed, every part close to falling apart. Walter wanders inside the abandoned Kermit's office and overhears a plan between Mr. Richman, his henchmen, and Statler and Waldorf to take over the Muppet Studios and turn it into a museum. After Statler and Waldorf have gone, Richman and his gang revealed that they will tear down the Muppet Studios and drill oil, all while laughing maniacally. Walter heard all these and ran out screaming until he got home. Together, he, Gary, and Mary gather the Muppets so they can raise the money and save the studio.

Life's a Happy Song

Like in TV, The Muppets is filled with musical numbers, most of them contribute to the overall humor of the film. Most of the songs are touching or silly or both, and are at times sing-able. In fact, Bret McKenzie's Man or Muppet won the Academy Award for Best Song. As with most comedy musicals, this film is filled with silly dance numbers that adds to the movies light-hearted feel.

Bret McKenzie, with Kermit, performs one of the songs he
wrote for the Muppet movie via Youtube

The Rainbow Connection

I was 5 when I discovered The Muppets. Initially, I watched Sesame Street only and slowly graduated to The Muppet Show after watching their Music videos. I kept looking for Big Bird, Ernie and Bert, Oscar, etc. in The Muppet Show. Eventually, I got used to the humor of The Muppets. Then I grew up, the re-runs stop airing, and I forgot them. I forgot how fun they were. So when I found out that they have a movie coming up, I was like, "Meh. Probably boring." It's been more than a decade since the last Muppet movie and at this rate, they were easy to dismiss as has-beens.

As this was shown around December 2011 last year in the United States, I was fortunate enough to get knowledge of this film being a surprise treat. Without nothing much to work on other than it is a "surprise treat," I dove in to discover how true that description is.

How I Met Your Mother star, Jason Segel, co-wrote
The Muppets

Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller (who Segel worked with in Forgetting Sarah Marshall) co-wrote the Muppet movie, and the result of this cooperation is an extremely fun and rare fourth-wall breaking / absurdly funny movie filled with nostalgia and heart. The extensive use of absurd jokes such as "travel by map," "maniacal laugh," and "that was an expensive-looking explosion, I didn't know we have that in our budget" greatly surprises audiences who think that the Muppets will take itself seriously and come out cheesy. In fact, that was the last thing it did, and these absurd jokes took the movie to a level of light not achievable by real people.

But it's not all about laughs and music, The Muppets have internal conflicts, too, that showcase the heart beneath the fabric. In a way, these conflicts further gave the Muppets character and made them grow. For instance, if before we just knew Kermit as the Muppet leader and the voice of reason and order among the gang, the movie shows him also as reluctant, proud, and regretful--things you would not have known about him if he was trapped inside the TV--in fact, this approach help introduce the Muppets to a wider audience who don't have knowledge of them. Their struggle to put up a telethon with very little progress or interest from the current world (and a realization that they are has beens) shows a conflict that is, albeit light, crucial, rending, and engaging. The telethon itself is a clever depiction of a returning audience's reaction to the movie. Initially, a moviegoer may start doubtful and faithless that the movie will be good, just like the telethon where initially only hobos were watching, but as the movie progresses, you would be completely absorbed and rooting that The Muppets succeed, just like the entertained audiences in the telethon who came in flocks, eventually.

The movie's nostalgic scenes (such as the Muppets' opening sequence) and the Mahna Mahna number bring back so much memories that may be enough to make you forget that you are a grown man and cry your eyes out, and with its proper pacing, the moviegoers are guided very well, whether they are new to the Muppets or are age-old fans.

In the end, it's hard to describe exactly what happened in the Muppets. All I know is that it's nothing short of magic.

My verdict:

Not much more can be said about a movie that brings back the joy of being a child. A passing and recommended mark of 4.75/5.

In Review: The Hunger Games

The Gist

Armed with a good material, The Hunger Games manages to keep itself tense and entertaining throughout its whole running time, with notes of cleverness here and there. And though not without a few minor niggles (particularly its inability to go darker given its nature), it manages to avoid entering soppy territory and holds the audience's interest for a sequel.

The Good

• interestingly dark premise that works
• intended for younger teen audiences, but with enough grit and lack of cheesiness found in its contemporaries that make it work for a wider audience
• thrilling and tightly plot; tackles political and emotional issues, too

The Bad

• needs more grit and gore for the topic it deals with
• may not be so suitable to the younger audience it originally targets

Synopsis

The story is centered around Panem (once North America) and its 13 districts that revolt against its capitol some 74 years ago (the 13th district was destroyed during the war). After the districts were defeated, as punishment, the capitol stages an annual death match competition comprised of 2 representatives (1 boy and 1 girl aged 12 to 16) from the different districts that survived the war. During the day of the "Reaping," a day where representatives are randomly chosen, Katniss, a girl from District 12, volunteered to be a tribute after her younger sister "Primrose" was randomly picked. Chosen along with her was a baker's son, Peeta. Together, they are thrust into the death ring with only advises from a District 12 champion Haymich to save them from imminent death in the competition.

Catching Fire

I cannot state how much I do not like Jennifer Lawrence, how unenamored I am by her presence. In the two movies I've seen her appeared on (X-Men: First Class and Like Crazy), she played villain which did not help. Her catty demeanor on-screen, cold facial features, and her lack of overall appeal made me disheartened that she was picked for this movie to play lead. It however works at some level. Given that Katniss was not very likeable in the story. And that she did try her best to be, though you can see through it. That's Jennifer Lawrence through and through and she nails that part. The anti-hero. But here she was softened. She was cunning, but a little less cunning than necessary. There's a certain innocence and lack of commitment to murder that made her perfect-imperfect for the role, and as usual that angst / ferocity that make her scary to pick a fight with. Unfortunately, the story says that people liked her well enough to root for her and her young love with Peeta. As a blonde, Lawrence is likable, a bombshell, but when she goes brunette and tomboyish, all that likability is thrown out the window. The overall effect: to me, when the credits rolled, I still could not like her nor Peeta. I wanted her and Peeta to live, but I could not see any reason why I wanted to root for them other than the fact that if they die, then there's no sequel to an interesting story. I like the idea and the personality of the characters (how they both schemed to get support from the audiences), I just am not sure they were properly cast.

Swapping blonde for brown, Lawrence dwarfs her age, and her
likability as well.

Live Fast, Die Young, Make a Pretty Corpse

Director Gary Ross (who directed Pleasantville and Seabiscuit) has crafted a taut and intense thriller here. What he ended up ultimately is a product with enough depth but not not enough teeth. It doesn't go soppy and soap operatic and it does have enough heart, but it lacks that shock required from a theme as dark as throwing teenagers in a death match. What happened to mental and emotional torture? It seems as if Peeta was the only one affected by this and that no one in the battlefield seems to be affected. No one cried because they know death is imminent. Just Peeta. All the time. So does that mean Peeta is the coward of the bunch or has their lives gone so warped forward into the future that kids are not afraid of death, and, in fact, excited to kill.

The supporting cast was good. Elizabeth Banks cast as Effie Trinket was a delight, while Woody Harrelsen as Haymitch seems like a spot-on slacker who does not want to show how much he cares for his countrymen, children, who would die very soon. Josh Hutcherson who played Peeta Mellark did very well, in my opinion and is the figure of human frailty and suffering throughout the movie, the perfect underdog. Former Legend of the Seeker star Alexander Ludwig did well as support rather than lead as he played Cato. Again, my complain here was how Lawrence's character of Katniss was written. She needs to show strength, cunning, and perseverance because she is highly outclassed and outnumbered by her competition. But instead, she was depicted more as lucky, which is not someone who'd root for in a society where strentgh is a value. I am not sure, I have not read the books, but something tells me they softened Katniss for the younger audiences.

Pacing was done well and the set design was elaborate. The dialogues were pretty good and the adaptation was fine and easily digestible. The cinematography is also grand to say the least. Plot is tense and tight, the storytelling enjoyable and entertaining, but ultimately failed to evoke further depth and human pathos. It could have been the best movie, but somewhat, I felt there was some Hollywood hesitation here and there, wanting to make a more rating-acceptable adaptation, for which I wish they get over with the next installment.

My verdict:

Like Katniss's arrows, there were a lot of good hits, and a lot of misses and opportunities past. It could easily have been the movie of the year, but instead we are assured that the series is in good hands. I am staying tuned for more. A passing and recommended mark of 4/5.

In Review: My Week with Marilyn

The Gist

Williams' glowing transfiguration to Monroe will leave spell-bound throughout the whole movie and that alone is enough reason to watch and recommend the movie.

The Good

• spell-binding performance by Michelle Williams
• perfectly cast, with Redmayne, Caine, Brannagh, Dench, and Watson doing solid work all the while allowing Williams to completely shine

The Bad

• would need you to suspend your disbelief in the events that happens (as this is a memoir of Colin Clark), lest, take it as a fan fiction of sorts.
• though is pleasurable to watch, does not completely achieve a climax

Synopsis

Colin Clark, 23, applies to be a production assistant in Olivier's production of The Prince and the Showgirl. During the course of things, Olivier and Monroe's professional relationship are marred by Monroe's stage-fright and Olivier's impatience. Feeling a need to help Monroe, Clark "takes sides" with Monroe and in the process, spends a flirtatious week with her. The movie recounts that week.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

My reaction when Williams was cast as Monroe was apprehensive. Sure she's blonde, American, a female, and has full lips, but that's about it. Williams is a good actress, but a bit too far from looking like Monroe, much more carrying her charm and allure. This is me coming from watching her in "Blue Valentine" where she played a sappy housewife who couldn't seem to attract even the flies. And remember how pathetic the housewife she played in Brokeback Mountain was? That, plus the fact that if anything, Williams does not in any bit look like Monroe. But alas! Williams manages the impossible: she recalls Monroe from the dead and becomes her! Complete from accent, diction, speech, gait, and allure. She even managed to be really sexy, though not Monroe-sexy. That transformation alone got me hooked throughout the movie's 1 hour and 40 running time. I believed it was Monroe I was watching the while time.

Seems legit

Whose Side are You On?

Marilyn explains the kind of behavior that Monroe brings to the set, which is consistent with the literature written about it: habitually late, difficult to work with, struck with stage-fright; albeit, I find it all too condensed that one will have to imagine how she became lovable, how she became the most famous woman on Earth. The movie does not bother to explain it in length, but assumes you have a basic knowledge about Monroe before you jumped in to watch the movie.

The script is fair enough, with Williams squeezing the most potential out of it. Some may bemoan the lack of depth, but it didn't really bother me as I am taking this as a biopic for which witty dialog do not really suffice or happen often, but when they do, they do. What really brings the work to life is Williams' channeling Monroe into being. It is impossible to imagine anyone playing the role. As mentioned above, she got everything spot-on, from the raspy, breathy speech pattern to the flirtatious gestures. She brings Monroe to full life when she performs a dance routine number that Monroe played on The Prince and the Showgirl. Branagh's and Dench's performance of Olivier and Thorndike were laudable, too, while Redmayne, albeit outshone by Williams, did relatively well, too.

Costume and set design were also great and add to authenticity of the movie, while the pacing is fluid and simple, which helps a lot to enjoy the movie. There are great sparks of comedy in the movie and like most of Marilyn movies, this one is light, with the darker areas mostly reflecting on Monroe's inability to cope up with her stage-fright and being near impossible to work with. It is however impossible to decide which part of the film is the climax. For most of it, the film goes on to become delightful that there is no discernible climax, but rather a series of playful scenes during the whole filming, guided by Curtis' tight direction.

My verdict:

A biopic, albeit dubious but a really enjoyable one, powered by a glowing transfiguration of Williams into Monroe is not something you'd like to miss. A passing and recommended mark of 4.5/5.