MOVIE GRADES

The Raven  (2012)  C-
This Gothic fiction film is a serial killer/love story hybrid set during the last few days in the life of Edgar Allan Poe, as played by John Cusack.  When a madman begins committing horrific murders inspired by Poe’s darkest works, a young Baltimore detective (Luke Evans) joins forces with Poe to stop the killer from making each of the author’s brutal stories a blood-chilling reality.  A deadly game of cat and mouse ensues and escalates.  It’s too bad the same can’t be said for The Raven’s flightless drama, as it lingers on non-essential scenes, rushes through pivotal sequences, and fails to provide any motivation for the film’s rogue love story or villain.  Thinly scripted and unevenly acted, the movie disgraces the legacy of Poe with a routine murder mystery that isn’t scary, thrilling, or involving.  It has some nicely staged and atmospheric scenes, but the lack of a compelling resolution makes it an anemic effort, crippling The Raven’s ability to soar.  John Cusack hasn’t really shined on screen in almost a decade (since 2003’s Runaway Jury, 2000’s High Fidelity, or 1999’s Being John Malkovich), and that trend continues here…as does a growing indifference toward the actor who viewers can only hope will eventually enjoy a return to form.  Here he is, in a potentially revitalizing role, playing history’s most darkly iconic poet, whom he physically resembles.  Yet, his portrayal of Edgar Allan Poe is merely fine, and unfortunately supported by even less successful performances, writing, and directing.  Cusack’s Poe is engaging and textured in the very early part of the film when he’s boozing and pestilent.  But, once his character becomes confronted with a copycat killer on the loose, Poe turns into a wooden cutout.  The Raven never explores Poe’s feeling towards his most enthusiastic admirer, content to remain shallow in going through the motions of its whodunit script.  The film aims for a murder mystery along the lines of Se7en, but uses a man of cultish intrigue as substitute for intriguing plot content.  The Raven’s love story is too lightweight and cardboard-like, with no trace of chemistry between Cusack and Alice Eve, who is painfully out of her league even here.  Luke Evans’ detective is a sorry surrogate for a tagalong audience, and Brendan Gleeson adds less than expected to the dull proceedings.  The story is not overly light fare, but director James McTeigue neglects The Raven’s call, which begs to be colored more darkly overall.  One of several terribly executed scenes involves a masquerade ball, which should be pivotal to the escalating mystery, and propulsive to the blooming romance, but ends up diminishing the credibility of all parties in attendance.  The subsequent search for clues and answers features only a few instances of bloody gruesomeness, and some momentarily decent dialog.  But the cliched copycat serial killer storyline, and actors who aren’t believable in their 19th century characterizations are a real disappointment.  The letdown culminates in the killer being presented like the culprit at the end of a bad CSI episode, with no realistic reason for us to believe they are truly capable of these crimes or what mindset lead them to these acts.  Poe was a macabre figure and remains the object of dark devotion, deserving of better than this made-for-TV-drama treatment.  It’s a shame that the storytelling of potentially interesting subject matter remains so bland for 80 percent of its duration.  Only the first and final ten minutes are thought provoking and somewhat mysterious, as Poe becomes depressive and slightly poetic.  The final push down the home stretch helps to redeem the film’s likability somewhat, but it also makes for an uneven movie that frustrates until eking out some slight substance at the last chance.  The killer remarks to Poe, “Rather disappointing denouement, I must say. But life is so much less satisfying than fiction.”  In the case of The Raven, Poe’s life was much more satisfying than this flimsy piece of fiction.   71  C-

 
Acting  D+
Directing  D+
Cinematography  C+
Music & Sound  C
Story  C

In Class With:  Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Se7en, and Copycat

The Avengers  (2012)  A-
When the Avengers movie was announced, it was met with some fanatical excitement and logical skepticism about the amount of screen time available for each character when assembling an all-star group of superheroes, especially with the addition of multiple S.H.I.E.L.D agents.  Thankfully, venerated director and screenwriter Joss Whedon totally pulls off the seemingly impossible task.  This is a major feat of narrative efficiency, delivering explosive action without sacrificing solid character development.  Not only is each Avenger given ample room to establish themselves and inflict some major damage, but we also know what the fight means to them, and that gives the big action even more impact.  After an oddly lackluster opening sequence, we catch up with each member of the yet-to-be-assembled team, and Whedon launches us into a story arc that maintains almost constant forward momentum, plus some beautiful special effects, and pitch-perfect humor.  The Avengers is an awesomely fun movie, and the real thrill is seeing the heroes pitted against eachother in heated exchanges of action (Thor going toe-to-toe with the Hulk is great) and arguments (Tony Stark poking fun at…well, everyone).  Some of the best scenes don’t involve the superheroes’ super powers at all, wisely content to revel in the oil and vinegar mixture of their super egos.  The fan service here is excellent, with sky-high entertainment value that surpasses genre expectations of sophisticated escapism.  Despite recent cinematic evidence, The Hulk steals the show and electrifies the already-charged action on screen.  Mark Ruffalo is excellent in his depiction of repressed rage and uneasy compliance, before unleashing his inner Hulk, of course.  However, Robert Downey Jr. is still the biggest movie star here and completely owns any scene that he’s in.  As the genius/billionaire/playboy/philanthropist Stark, Downey Jr. delivers the film’s funniest lines and receives ample laughter from the audience following his witty one-liners.  But the theater erupts when Hulk starts rag-dolling people around in funny ways, as physical humor wins the day.  Chris Evans as Captain America is tasked with leading from the middle of the crowd, rather than the front of the pack.  And in true Cap style, he rises to the occasion by shirking the limelight and earning honor over glory.  Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) are helped by not having to carry this film, and the gist of their last film (Thor) is addressed and encapsulated via a couple of short arguments between the two (again, supremely efficient storytelling).  The previous Marvel movie (Thor) provided the extended backstory, now being carried over, but is not required viewing in order to enjoy this showdown of superheroes.  As The Avengers’ primary villain, Loki is an adequately motivated miscreant, but he’s not particularly fearsome.  We don’t see him inflicting much damage, but we know he has evil intentions for the power that has fallen into his vengeful hands.  Hiddleston gives a solid performance and we get a good sense of his character’s cunning mindset, but he doesn’t get to kick much ass; Instead deferring combat duties to an obliquely revealed and exclusively rowdy alien race.  The Avengers’ action is always very big, building to a Transformers-style final sequence featuring epic mayhem in midtown Manhattan.  The beautiful exception to the outrageous action rule is Scarlett Johansson, as the Black Widow, who engages in a more involving style of hand-to-hand combat.  Hawkeye, played by Jeremy Renner, enters the fray without any previous exposure in the series, and manages to play a pivotal role in the story.  If you can take a guy with some pretty pedestrian powers like Hawkeye and his bow, and turn him into the most ass-kicking archery expert in film memory, you’ve done something very right and embodied the film’s penchant for pleasant surprises.  Covert S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is the team’s one-eyed wrangler of resources, of which The Avengers are his first line of defense against the aliens’ assault on Earth.  The plotline also briefly touches on a “Stage 2” scenario regarding the merit of developing weapons of mass destruction for peacekeeping on a universal scale.  It’s an interesting digression on the alternative to superheroes, and ends up leading to some added drama that the heroes must avenge.  The fantastic mix of larger-than-life elements and propulsive story makes for a fairly dynamic, if not very suspenseful film.  Likewise, when we watched the original “Dream Team” play basketball for the USA at the Barcelona Olympics, fans have long awaited this indulgence of sensory overload and big fun, without any serious threat of defeat.  The Avengers pays off big time as a spectacle movie, perhaps surpassing the original Matrix in terms of a perfect popcorn movie.  The Hulk going all “Hulk” on people is priceless, and that alone justifies the cost of admission for the most expansive, explosive, humorous, and downright marvelous Marvel movie yet.   90  A-

Acting  B+
Directing  A
Cinematography  B+
Music & Sound  B
Story  B+

In Class With:  Iron Man, Watchmen, X2: X-Men United, Ghostbusters, and Green Lantern

The Raid: Redemption (2012)  B+
This Indonesian film with a Welsh director and hard-hitting premise is the best thing to happen to action movies in a very long time.  It also might just be one of the best martial arts films you’ll ever see.  This is ultraviolent action confined to a small piece of dangerous real estate and unleashed over 15 floors of a tenement building that houses an extremely powerful, desperately wanted, and viciously protected crime boss.  A SWAT team has assembled to take the bad man down, at the orders of another bad man.  The police taskforce’s plan quickly comes off the track when the loyal residents of the tower prove to be more-than-capable obstructions.  The simultaneously feared and beloved crime lord announces rent-free residency to anyone willing to exterminate the police invaders.  Once the SWAT team injects itself into this buzzing criminal hive, it’s like bees swarming into a hornets’ nest…or like army ants outnumbered by agitated fire ants.  This is the cinematic equivalent of dropping Mentos into a bottle of Coca-Cola.  Shake it up and watch it explode.  Not only is there some serious ass kicking in this movie, but the incredible violence is infused with awesome choreography, fantastic camerawork, and a very good score from Mike Shinoda and Joseph Trapanese.  The Raid can get monotonous at times, as it affords only brief respites from its intensity and deploys lethal action in unrelenting waves.  The story places us alongside the cops from the very beginning.  The audience roots for some of them, and against others, knowing the same will be true for the tower dwellers, as we spend time with a few characters from each group.  While Gareth Evans competently directs this cool action flick that embraces its primary mission to kick ass, he also fortifies the story with adequate depth, exploring the characters’ relationships, integrity, corruption, and determination.  These two warring factions are more alike than we (or they) initially realize.  The film’s seemingly simple premise expands beyond sheer action ecstasy, and is able to hold viewers’ attention through the escalating plot and capable acting.  The Raid is not a one man show, but a stunning and kinetic barrage of brutal martial arts, swordplay, firefights, and acrobatic battles that never jump into the realm of total impossibility, and each fight somehow outdoes the last.  Like an overconfident job applicant who lists his weakness as “working too hard” or “caring too much,” The Raid’s weakness is that there are too many cool moves and slick, subtitled dialog to catch upon first viewing.  As a shining example of a “humblebrag,” this volatile action flick may kick too much ass for its own good, thus deceiving viewers who are prejudiced against the genre.  But for those open to a martial arts-induced adrenaline rush, this swift kick to the chest manages to breathe new life  into the action film industry.   89  B+

Acting  B-
Directing  A-
Cinematography  A-
Music & Sound  B+
Story  B

In Class With:  Smokin’ Aces, Ong-Bak, Assault on Precinct 13, and The Good, the Bad, the Weird

Chimpanzee  (2012)  C+
Spinning documentary footage into storybook content, this Disneynature film takes a not-always-light-hearted look at the early life of a chimp in the jungle, where danger is inevitable.  Chimpanzee features dubious narration by the familiar voice of Tim Allen, in a cutesy and kid-friendly sort of way, as his attempts at humor mostly fall flat.  This is a fairly educational and insightful look inside the lives of a wild chimp group.  An über-adorable baby chimp named Oscar is cast as the ever-curious protagonist in the jungle along the Ivory Coast.  The playful portions of this documentary focus on young Oscar as he learns to use tools, mimic his elders, and form bonds in a group lead by the alpha male, Freddie.  The constant search for food and companionship requires most of Oscar’s energy and the film’s running time.  But the jungle is a hostile place for a young chimpanzee.  Leopards, army ants, and scarce resources all pose threats to a precocious primate…perhaps none more so than troops of rival chimps.  Seeking to build some relatable drama, the film attempts to counterbalance the heroic Freddie with a combatant chimpanzee named Scar, overtly labeled as the villain and leader of a neighboring army of brutes.  The movie is obliquely honest about confrontation, and it intimates violence, but not vividly so.  Still, it probably deserves a “PG” rating (rather than its “G”) due to a few intense scenes and sometimes depressing storyline.  Chimpanzee succeeds with some key elements of a good documentary: Its subjects are infinitely watchable, and it is heartbreaking at times, while heartwarming at others.  Unfortunately, the filmmakers overplay their heavy hand when anthropomorphizing its subjects in a warlike way that overtly manipulates an emotional reaction from the audience.  The movie benefits from impressive visuals and intimate access, allowing us to witness amazing primate ingenuity, yet proceeds to squander its insight on a one-sided depiction of a totally interdependent ecosystem.  If this was a documentary focused on a young human boy orphaned by human war, it would be labeled as propaganda for its alternately saccharine and hyperbolic approach, its generic depiction of archetypes, and heavily biased outlook.  That’s a big “if,” but not such a cynical stretch considering the way Chimpanzee frames itself in dumbed-down human terms.  Granted, these may be the closest relatives to mankind, but telling their story as we would our own, while failing to illuminate the supporting and opposing forces, is laying the rhetoric on too thick, even for a film of such narrow focus.  This brief Disney doc spends a relatively short time with its irresistible protagonist, and effectively presents examples of cooperation, competition, learning, suffering, and surrogation.  Viewers happily absorb the experience of spending quality time in chimpland, likely provoking a few biological questions from audience members of all ages.  Sadly, the feeling of footage being molded into a formulaic narrative can be a bit insulting, as the lackluster ending leads to a less-than-compelling behind-the-scenes epilogue.  Much like Oscar, the film is engaging, familiar, and easy on the eyes.  But unlike its star, Chimpanzee suffers from overbearing guidance, preventing it from reaching its full potential.   77  C+

Acting  —
Directing  D+
Cinematography  B+
Music & Sound  C
Story  C

In Class With:  Benji the Hunted, Bambi, To the Arctic, and Earth

Silent House  (2012)  B-
This taut thriller follows Sarah (Elizabeth Olsen) as she finds herself trapped in her family’s secluded vacation home.  Soon enough, things start to come unraveled, both in her mind and around the not-so-silent house.  Who is tormenting her?  Why can’t the house doors be unlocked from the inside without a key?  Why can’t she remember vacationing there as a child?  Don’t ask so many questions.  Just take your seat and brace yourself for the descent into madness.  The movie unfolds in real time, experienced in one seemingly continuous and unblinking take.  There’s no escaping the high tension that it builds with each unsettling moment.  It’s impressively staged and filmed, as the agile cinematographer must mirror Olsen’s mad scramble through the home’s labyrinthine living quarters.  The camera constantly tracks Olsen’s luminescent face as it bounces through the dark house, like a manic full moon darting across the pitch black sky.  The audience plays passenger as our frantic protagonist veers into and out of danger, revealing suppressed memories, secret photos, and a disturbing domestic background along the way.  This little novelty flick delivers its fair share of suspense, chills, and a few scares, while effectively getting on viewers’ nerves.  It’s like watching a psychotic episode up close…often too close for any semblance of comfort.  This is another vehicle for Olsen’s clear and promising talent.  Here, she’s mostly convincing in her completely terrified performance.  She possesses one of the most expressive faces of any young actor, and her screen presence is commanding and compelling, even when she is paralyzed with fear and the film begins to feel gratingly monotonous.  Silent House isn’t the type of horror flick that revels in violence or excessive gore, instead relying on a more psychological brand of frightening atmosphere and startling confrontations.  Viewers instinctively try to piece together what’s happening during most of the story’s 88 nail-biting minutes.  Granted, it’s not wholly logical and allows a bit too much cliche horror movie hokiness to creep in towards the end.  Still, the audience roots for Olsen’s escape, becoming only momentarily frustrated by her ineffective tactics to do so, as we remain trapped inside the house along with her.  Unfortunately, the handheld camerawork, somewhat flawed storyline, and uninventive conclusion are sure to cause this terror trope to fall out of favor with a portion of its audience.  Even so, these perceived drawbacks achieve the effect of agitating an already pressurized extrasensory experience.  A good scary movie constructs a foundation of fear for its audience and the characters residing within.  In terms of uneasy terror, this house of horror is well-furnished and built to unhinge its visitors.   81  B-

Acting  B
Directing  B-
Cinematography  B+
Music & Sound  B-
Story  C

In Class With:  High Tension, The Strangers, and La Casa Muda

The Mist (2007)  C+
Once again, director Frank Darabont tries his steady hand at filming a Stephen King story.  But unlike the previous adaptive accomplishments (The Green Mile, and The Shawshank Redemption), this is a genre marriage in horror, the median comfort zone for both storytellers.  Thomas Jane stars, and Andre Braugher, Toby Jones, and Marcia Gay Harden co-star as residents of a small town that is struck by a violent, but seemingly random lightning storm.  But viewers soon join a large group of townspeople who hole-up inside a grocery store, cowering in fear of a dense and encroaching mist, which is harboring monsters and taking lives as it engulfs the town.  Darabont’s future collaborators on The Walking Dead, Laurie Holden, Jeffrey DeMunn, and Melissa Suzanne McBride all play terrified individuals in this creepy creature movie that comes perilously close to campiness before finding its footing.  Set in rural Maine, the movie alludes to secretive military operations in the nearby mountains that have fostered a ongoing culture of conspiracy theories that the townspeople alternately circulate and shrug off.  They’re accustomed to doubting far-fetched stories and weird events.  Only this time, the crazy occurrences are too strange to believe, before hitting too hard and too close to ignore.  The Mist is a suspense film in the style of haunted house movies that are confined to a small and scary space for most of its duration.  This plot convenience aids tension and builds conflict amongst the restricted and agitated characters.  It also limits a director’s landscape with which to tell the story.  Darabont manages to execute the pessimistic narrative from the supermarket’s consolidated space, but the strained characters’ interactions should be more robust.  When people are worked into a frenzy, they can escalate already chaotic situations with frightening consequences.  This is an above average horror movie…more thoughtful than most, but not without its faults.  The script’s sociological discourse is beneficial to rounding out the story, but remains a bit shallow, and the protagonist’s illogical actions can be frustrating.  Visually, The Mist has an appropriately muted, grainy feel and mixed-era aesthetic, but the CGI tentacles that emerge from the foreboding fog are only slightly convincing.  Thankfully, the other lurking and ungodly monstrosities are much more believable.  The mist creeps in like another world seeping into our own.  Whether it’s the beast from within or from another dimension, when it comes knocking at your door, you can only keep it out for so long, as you struggle to make sense of its fearsome arrival.  This horror flick is acutely encapsulated by its audacious ending.  It’s not quite a classic, but it’s certainly memorable.    79  C+

Acting  C+
Directing  B-
Cinematography  B
Music & Sound  C+
Story  C+

In Class With:  The Walking Dead, The Reaping, Monsters, Lifeboat, and Lord of the Flies

Hunger Games  (2012)  B-
This highly anticipated adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ popular book prevails as an event movie that blends sci-fi, action, romance, fascism, and repressed adolescence.  The Hunger Games is set in a future where the Capitol mandates a boy and girl from each of the twelve exceedingly controlled districts to fight to the death on live television, as a yearly reminder of the state’s authority.The resulting drama is engrossing and epic, if not especially electric.  Jennifer Lawrence is convincing in her portrayal of the capable, yet understandably frightened heroine, Katniss Everdeen.  Lawrence is solid as the film’s competitive and sentimental centerpiece, with Josh Hutcherson showing occasional evidence of craft in his supporting role as Peeta.  Woody Harrelson is good as usual, playing Haymitch, Katniss and Peeta’s survival mentor and previous winner of these Hunger Games.  Stanley Tucci, Elizabeth Banks, and Lenny Kravitz also lend some idiosyncratic talent to their peripheral performances.  These core, sure-to-return pieces are adequate, but only Lawrence and Harrelson impress, with the remaining competitors, Capitol elitists, and Katniss supporters being paper thin characterizations.  The Hunger Games is a tough-spirited and thought-provoking film, pausing to ask, “What if nobody watched?” and answering decisively, “That will never happen.”  The state’s propaganda machine denounces the past uprisings against the Capitol, while the oppressed population responds with a three-fingered salute of solidarity.  From the outlying District 12, Katniss enters the manipulated competition in a literal blaze of glory, as the beautiful archery expert aims to leave her mark on the Games’ sponsors, spectators and proletariat.  The pomp and circumstance is given adequate coverage, but the selection process and the arena games themselves feel too rushed to justify their implied significance.  Announcers and characters overtly guide moviegoers through the whole outrageous process.  Katniss is dubbed “The Girl on Fire,” as the ceremonies build up to the cruel competition like a deadly olympiad, commencing in bloodbath.  Except, it’s filmed like a prudish sponge bath, because the camera swiftly shies away from almost all violent impacts in this flinching PG-13 flick.  The evasive camerawork limits the audience’s full immersion and lessens the visceral effects of what is actually playing out on giant television screens throughout the districts for the citizenry of forced voyeurs.  This is a savage sport that keeps viewers attuned to the game at hand, as well as the overarching puppetmaster production of the fascist government-controlled media, and resulting in a sort of March Madness fervor melded with Survivor on steroids.  The plot is a fascinating idea, if not necessarily a new one.  Director Gary Ross has both slick successes and missed opportunities in The Hunger Games.  He manages to pique our interest and insert viewers into the hunt and its mass media fray, covering a broad scope of imaginative storytelling over the film’s forward-moving duration.  Yet, the audience is asked to overlook the undercooked development of some people, places, and ideas.  But those are the pitfalls of adapting a giant, futuristic fantasy novel.  One can’t help but wonder what could’ve been if the movie had been taken in a more daring, poetic, and shocking direction.  Then again, one could always read Collins’ darker and deeper source material, or view the more audacious Japanese film Battle Royale (2000), which opts to confront the bloodlust through a much smaller narrative scope.  The Hunger Games isn’t exactly meek, but remains PG-13 through-and-through, as a faithful depiction of the novel’s key ideas.  It’s a movie deserving of the massive success it has enjoyed because The Hunger Games is occasionally thrilling and certainly filling entertainment, providing viewers with a seat at a grand and fantastical feast.  But some of the dishes Ross executes aren’t fully realized and taste only as satisfying as buffet fare, leaving some hungry diners looking for the artisanal sustenance.  Still, we can look forward to what the ambitious franchise might serve up, perhaps with Ross developing the flavors as a more seasoned cinematic chef.   83  B-

Acting  B
Directing  C+
Cinematography  B
Music & Sound  B
Story  B

In Class With:  Battle Royale, Surviving the Game, The Running Man, The Condemned, and The Truman Show

Hugo  (2011)  B
Tragically orphaned 12-year-old, Hugo (Asa Butterfield), takes up residence behind the walls of a Paris train station circa 1930.  Before his clockmaker father (Jude Law) is killed in a burst of fire, he teaches young Hugo how to fix things and see details that most people overlook.  Hugo is something of a prodigy, constantly tinkering with clocks and anything with gears.  In the bustling train terminal, he meets a curmudgeonly shopkeeper, Georges (Ben Kingsley), who becomes the central cog in Hugo’s youthful curiosity.  Seeking to learn more from his departed dad, our pint-sized protagonist begins examining keepsakes that could unlock secrets of the past.  Chloe Moretz plays Isabelle, who offers to help Hugo connect the dots, in hopes of embarking on the type of adventure she’s only read about in books.  Legendary director Martin Scorsese depicts the dualities of the central characters, who are brought together in the transitional space of a transit hub, which transports people from one platform or circumstance to the next.  Sacha Baron Cohen is the station agent, and comic relief, who causes more disruption than he prevents.  Butterfield and Cohen achieve fairly remarkable performances that outshine the surrounding cast.  Masterfully staged and photographed, Hugo uses the foreground more than most films, lending itself perfectly to the 3D format.  This picturesque addition to Scorsese’s diverse catalog makes extensive use of his signature elongated tracking shots and one-takes galore.  However, the film is slowly paced at times, and relies too heavily on coincidence to propel the story toward unforeseen territory.  It becomes progressively more interesting as it eventually converges with a vivid cinematic history lesson of sorts.  Yet, taken as a whole, the movie is uneven and not as clever as it aspires to be.  Scorsese weaves fact into fiction, but the facts are better on their own.  The secondary subject of the film, Georges Méliès, actually was a magician of cinematic storytelling…one of the very first, in fact.  Scorsese may be the most studious of directors, and his love of early movie making is evident here, but not unbridled.  Watching Isabelle and Hugo learn about film is nice, but Scorsese somehow falls short of capturing the pure fun of falling in love with the movies.  With its swooping perspectives, Hugo is absolutely engrossing, visually.  Unfortunately, its narrative is not quite as absorbing.  The unbalanced hybrid structure aside, this is a beautiful display of movie magic and worlds of imagination, and definitely a film delivered from the heart.  Themes of duality and dedication abound, but it’s hard for viewers to get swept up in two worlds at once, no matter how worthwhile each one may be.   84  B

Acting  B-
Directing  B
Cinematography  A
Music & Sound  B-
Story  B

In Class With:  Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Matilda, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and Finding Nemo

Your Highness  (2011)  C-
Your Highness fails royally in its quest for comedy gold in the perilous realm of unrated medieval fantasy satire.  Danny McBride plays the foul-mouthed younger brother of Prince Fabious (James Franco), heir to their father’s throne.  Zooey Deschanel is Fabious’s virgin bride-to-be, a character of stunning ignorance who is kidnapped by a deranged wizard in order to give birth to a dragon. The film’s plot centers on a deadbeat’s hijacking of a hero’s journey to save the damsel in distress.  Thadeous (McBride) rises above his own legend as a “great cocksmith, master pintsman, and stunningly handsome prince of light in these dark ages.”   The recently prolific Natalie Portman is along for the ride as an ass-kicking and alluring warrior.  It’s an impressive cast featuring marquee actors who proceed with less-than-convincing English accents while play-acting against special effects of varying quality.  The incessantly juvenile script is powered by passable action sequences and plenty of dick jokes.  There are some funny lines and humorous situations, but the movie never quite achieves the comedic tone it seeks.  This is dismally under-inspired movie making from director David Gordon Green and company.  The film stumbles as it tries to take a step in the direction of Monty Python and the Holy Grail and another step toward Superbad, but ends up knee deep in schlock.  While it’s certainly not unwatchable, it is definitely not recommendable.  Your Highness succeeds at being silly, but accomplishes little else.  At least we can tell they had fun making it.   72  C-

Acting  C-
Directing  C-
Cinematography  C
Music & Sound  C
Story  C-

In Class With:  Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, Year One, Robin Hood: Men in Tights

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows  (2011)  B-
Other detectives merely solve cases, Sherlock Holmes has adventures.  The most prolific detective in film history returns for a satisfactory sequel in his most recent franchise.  In the lead role, Robert Downey Jr. is his typically charming self, but not quite to the same degree as his previous Sherlock performance or as Tony Stark in the Iron Man movies.  He chooses to accentuate Holmes’ sometimes manic persona here.  It’s a fairly cynical interpretation of the detective, which focuses on the anti-social personality traits of an unkempt, eccentric man-child.  Like Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow, his behavior is often so overt that he’s deceivingly covert.Downey deftly displays Sherlock’s brilliant analytical mind and witty verbal barbs, as well as a renewed and formidable martial arts ability.  As Doctor Watson, Jude Law returns volley in the playful banter of their disagreeable partnership, until marrying his fiancee and threatening to divorce himself from Holmes and their increasingly dangerous liaisons.  Alas, Watson can can only distance himself briefly, before Holmes interjects himself into the newlywed’s getaway.  Amid the movie’s several threatened departures, only Rachel McAdams’ character is able to follow through.  Once again, Law and Downey share a splendid, acidic chemistry as Watson and Holmes.  Unfortunately, their codependency isn’t given the focus it deserves, instead receiving an occasional highlighting.  A Game of Shadows under-utilizes the talents of both Law and Swedish actress Noomi Rapace, who each have a potentially powerful presence in the story.  Guy Ritchie directs Arthur Conan Doyle’s creation again, confidently providing palpable and atmospheric backdrops for jaunty, 19th century sleuthing and lots of overly stylized action.  The steampunk aesthetic of the last Sherlock Holmes film is mostly absent, replaced by gypsy sensibilities and militaristic weaponry.  This is a popcorn movie based on fun fight sequences featuring inventive choreography and micro-magnified cinematography, slowed to aid appreciation of the cinematic allure.  The camerawork is also used to depict the detective’s hyper-awareness of minute details.  Jared Harris is tasked with playing Professor Moriarty, longtime nemesis to Holmes, and provides a weighty adversary who is given more depth than most cinematic villains.  Sherlock theorizes that an occult is somehow linked to Moriarty’s scheme.  This second act of the film revolves around more serious implications than the first, yet fails to hold interest throughout, due to gaps between captivating action scenes and few conversations that provoke viewers’ thoughts.  A Game of Shadows milks its visual high points, slipping into detrimental repetition as it tries to find the right blend of action and detective work.  But it redeems itself adequately in the third act, as the mystery plays out like a chess match between rival masters.  Viewers are treated to some grand settings, with an explosive standoff at a military fort, and a gorgeously shot chase scene and gun battle through the moonlit forest.  Capping-off the race to solve the case is the well-orchestrated soiree scene of powerful men, with an abundance of facial hair, gathering at Moriarty’s mountainside estate.  The resolution is a vital and pleasant reminder of why we love it when Holmes finally assembles the scattered puzzle pieces for us, to illuminate the twisted conspiracy and his own gumshoe genius.  A Game of Shadows succeeds as an action-first detective movie that reveals itself to be as deceivingly clever as its quirky protagonist.   82  B-

Acting  B-
Directing  B-
Cinematography  B+
Music & Sound  B
Story  C+

In Class With:  Revolver, The Adventures of Tin Tin, and Pirates of the Caribbean