Weekend Retreat

I took the time to watch several movies this weekend, starting with Kurt Wimmer's Equilibrium (2002). As if the world was not already filled with a plethora of dystopian societies, this Matrix-like film has a dead story. Set after World War III, the world leaders of Libria force all to take "intervals" (a small injection of a drug that stops all human emotion). There are, as always, resistors, those who refuse to take the interval and therefore commit a sense offense. This is where the law enforcers (Grammaton Clerics) come into play. They are trained to kill with the highest proficiency, and must remove all EC-10 materials (objects that promote emotion (such as memorabilia from before WWIII)). Of course one Cleric begins understand the problems with the society and begins to stop taking his Prozium (the emotion stopping drug).

Christian Bale's performance is stunningly appropriate for the film (an emotionless mess similar to many of his other films). Although the introduction of a female resistance fighter is a positive, Bale's interaction with her seems forced and unnatural. In fact, the entire inclusion of her character seems wasted. We only see her several times, even though she is integral in Bale's transformation. The stylized action is pathetic. There are some unique moments, but they are generally destroyed by lame sound effects and an overall lack of realistic parameters. Lastly, there are far too many plot twists and character twists that attempt to keep the audience guessing, but simply end up confusing. In general, the film was a disappointment from start to finish.

The second film was this year's Paul Blart: Mall Cop from director Steve Carr. This rushed story of an idiot, his family, their attempt to get him a new woman, and the woman he attempts to get, is bland and childish. As the "Mall Cop" aims to woo a beautiful mall vendor, robbers take over the mall, hoping to steal the 30,000,000 dollars at the various credit stations.
Despite the fairly simple plot, the movie a few interesting surprises. Kevin James' acting was less than exciting (he does much better in his role as Doug in King of Queens), and the supporting roles were even less amazing. The bad guys in the film remind me of a souped up version of the bad guys from Home Alone 3. With acrobatics, BMX bikes, and skateboards, these bad guys were the poorest addition to the movie next to the SWAT team leader. Also full of twists, this film came as another disappointment (even if I had low expectations to begin with) if still making me laugh quite a bit.

Finally, Henry Selick's 2009 movie Coraline filled the screen of my apartment (in HD, I might add) yesterday night. Dakota Fanning's unmistakable voice is the character of Coraline, a little girl whose parents pay less attention to her than she thinks they should. When the family rents out part of a large pink Victorian house, Coraline is less than amazed by it and her new neighbors. However, her interest is sparked when she finds a strange small door in the living room, through which she can visit a better world, with an "Other Mother" in her dreams. She falls in love with this new world until Mother forces her to stitch buttons into her eyes. Things go terribly wrong, and it is up to Coraline to save not only herself, but her friend's Grandmother's sister, two other ghosts, and eventually her parents.A lively movie, full of color, humor, and several scary sequences, Coraline is the best addition to my "viewed" collection this weekend. Fanning's voice acting is decent, but Teri Hatcher and Kieth David do exceptionally well. The movie has a decent plot, but seemed to drift toward a video game feel. Not as wonderfully made as Nightmare Before Christmas, the movie still holds it's own, and is a decent watch.