Monday, June 18, 2007

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

Flotsam and jetsam
Review by Vives Anunciacion
Inquirer Libre June 18, 2007




Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Directed by Tim Story
Based on the characters created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby
Starring Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Ioan Gruffudd, Michael Chiklis
GP / 92 minutes
Twentieth Century Fox/ Marvel Enterprises
** ½ (2 ½ stars)

There are many things to like in Rise of the Silver Surfer – the Surfer, the Torch and Jessica Alba. But there are also as many things not to like in it – Alba’s makeup, the dull action, and of all things, Galactus. Behold – a very nice bad movie.

Manhattan’s fabulous foursome reunite in a more action-oriented, plot-driven sequel to the 2005surprise hit, Fantastic Four. In Rise of the Silver Surfer, the Fantastic Four battle an intergalactic threat that is about to swallow the earth whole.

In the movie, superstar superheroes Mr. Fantastic, Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) and Susan Storm (Invisible Woman played by Jessica Alba) are about to exchange “I Do’s” when a strange being from space barrels across the sky, creating weird climate changes and electrical disruptions from Japan to London.

The US military intervenes, enlisting the aid of the Four for the being’s capture. A resurrected Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon) offers his mega-corporate help, despite the Four’s objections. The being gets captured all right, but not before Susan telepathically learns that the Silver Surfer is merely the servant of a planet-eating cosmic entity known as Galactus. At the same time, Von Doom plots to acquire the source of the Surfer’s cosmic powers for his greedy self.

Realizing that Galactus can only be stopped by its servant, the Fantastic Four rescue the Surfer from the military and battle a more powerful Von Doom just in time to convince the Silver Surfer to save Earth from his master.

Like the first movie, The Thing (Michael Chiklis) and the Human Torch (Chris Evans) are the more engaging members of the Four, despite an uneven share of screen time mostly devoted to the Surfer and the Torch. The Silver Surfer steals the show outright thanks to a good mix of CG and performance capture from Doug Jones and Laurence Fishburne’s voice.

Featuring an opening sequence straight out of Superman Returns, a surfing Von Doom that resembles the Green Goblin and a Silver Surfer that is only marginally different from the Terminator’s T1000, Rise of the Silver Surfer is an action flick for toddlers, a simplified superhero story meant to condescend to its audience in the firm deceit that comic book movies need not be “layered” to make bankable money. And oh, the brand placements.

What is disappointing about Rise of the Silver Surfer is not Jessica Alba’s atrocious makeup, not Gruffudd’s reed-thin acting nor the insufficient story on why, where and how the Surfer came to be. It is the sense of the perfunctory, a sense of the superficially naive that director Tim Story has consistently played since the first movie even with the introduction of a morally ambiguous character as the Silver Surfer. I sense a separate spin-off movie for the Surfer, and another for the Torch to explain the origins of Galactus and the Surfer.

The most annoying thing, really, from someone familiar to the comics, is how the mighty Galactus – Devourer of Worlds, third force of the universe aside Eternity and Death, wielder of the Power Cosmic, the very entity which granted the Surfer a mere fraction of its powers – was defeated by the help?

Ocean’s Thirteen

Oh the charm
Review by Vives Anunciacion

Ocean’s Thirteen
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Al Pacino
PG 13/ 122 minutes
Warner Brothers
*** (3 stars)

They should be put behind bars, for what they are really is a merry band of slick thieves. Somebody tried to do so in Ocean’s Twelve, but Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and his merry band are way too fashionable for the slammer. Third time’s the charm for the new rat pack in Ocean’s Thirteen.

In the movie, hotel czar Willie Bank (Al Pacino) defrauds one of the original Eleven, Reuben (Elliott Gould) from ownership of a new hotel casino in Las Vegas. Danny Ocean gathers the entire gang, including Rusty (Brad Pitt) and Linus (Matt Damon), to exact revenge against greedy Willie.

Their plan is to bankrupt Willie’s new casino on its opening night to the tune of $500 million by staking their most elaborate heist as thieves. To do so, as Danny and Rusty so intricately explain to a prospective partner, they must rig all the tables and machines on the gambling floor; tamper with the dice used in the new casino by infiltrating the factory that makes them in Mexico, sabotage the hotel’s review by giving a specific hotel critic the worst experiences of his life, outsmart the hotel’s ultra-high tech computerized security system; and lastly, artificially generate an earthquake to shake the hotel towers.

When the cost of disrupting Willie’s hotel casino runs higher than what Danny and the gang can handle, they forge an unlikely partnership with erstwhile nemesis Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia). With the grand plan in motion, Ocean’s thirteen accomplices will do what they can to make sure that on its opening day, Willie Bank’s new hotel casino will shut down.

Featuring a parade of A-list Hollywood stars visibly enjoying their smart witty characters, Ocean’s Thirteen is a glamorous, sometimes very funny caper on how to beat the casino. This is not a character driven movie and it’s not about their romances (which were what Twelve was all about, unsuccessfully). Thirteen is a jazzed up rundown about the process and not the end product. It is sleek entertainment, like watching a real Vegas show, and is meant to be enjoyed to look at than thought about.

George Clooney and Brad Pitt are wonderful making a fool of themselves while looking very dapper in tailored suits. The best part of Ocean’s Thirteen is when Danny delivers his reply to Willie’s mega-threat near the end of the show, plus a surprise cameo by Oprah Winfrey which will definitely bring the house down.

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Also showing until June 17th is the 12th French Film Festival at the Shangri-La Cineplex Cinema 3, featuring a very interesting mix of French-produced movies, shown for free. The festival opened last June 7 with the hit James Bond parody, OSS 117. Call 6332227 for inquiries.