Snap Reviews: World War Z, This Is the End, The Avengers, & Spring Breakers.
World War Z (2013)
Serving its purpose as a summer tentpole for Paramount, Z came through in terms of providing a thrilling escapist production. Although, some, including myself, were anticipating a much more sophisticated storyline from Z than what became of this film. I expected and hoped for a zombie film that separated itself from past clichés of the zombie genre. Instead, Z clings, at times desperately, to the conventional scare tactics and portrayal of an apocalypse. Large portions of the film end up standing nearly unrelated to the rest of the film. The whole ordeal that takes place in the rainy South Korean airbase is acutely self-aware and purposeless. Riding bikes in the middle of the night as rain pours to escape a stampede of zombies seems like the last thing any intelligent military commander would command of his troops. Furthermore, there is no inner turmoil or conflict occurring within Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) or between any characters. The romanticism between Gerry and Karen Lane (Mireille Enos) can only be sympathetic for so long without anything else at play. That's what makes Shaun of the Dead (albeit a film of a different nature) or I Am Legend better pictures; there are many stories within the bigger concept at work. For Z, the idea is all it has to offer.
Grade: Hard 4
This Is the End (2013)
It has already been established that Seth Rogen knows how to write. This Is the End is his greatest work since he struck gold with Superbad. An absolute genius foundation is set in place by having celebrities all playing themselves, providing an automatic source of intrigue for the audience. Storyline aside, as the characters banter back and forth and reveal hidden traits, you find yourself wondering, "Is that what Jonah Hill (or Franco, or Rogen, or McBride) is really like!?" Of course, it's not, but the personality twists and Jay Baruchel's conflict with the rest of the crew still comes off as insight into Hollywood culture. This sort of dynamic alone is a comedic instrument that has never been employed on such a large scale, and it crushes all doubts. Well-placed cameos, allusions (Freaks and Geeks, 127 Hours, The Green Hornet, etc.), and McBride's mid-film introduction instills a persistent energy in the story. Franco and McBride steal the show.
Grade: Hard 7
The Avengers (2012)
This film came and went, leaving me completely unscathed. As much as I wanted to let The Avengers wash over me and force me to take the bait, I felt nothing. Too long for its own good, the film spends too much time giving expositions of the technological implications of the "tesseract" and trying to sustain a tension amongst the crew, that in the end, never amounts to any significance. The clashing personas of Captain American and Iron Man is a fleeting attempt to develop a side story with no payoff. More screen time should have been devoted to personal anecdotes of the Avengers. Until the final act, even the visual effects and fight scenes where underwhelming.
Grad: Flat 3
Spring Breakers (2012)
Harmony Korine is a voice that needs to be heard more often. With all the promising buzz surrounding his budding career as a twenty-year-old, I'm sure some feel relieved to see him direct and write another feature (watch Gummo at your own risk). Until the arrival of Alien (James Franco), the overload of montage sequences, prior and during the girls' arrival to their destination was a little superfluous. Nonetheless, a consistent aesthetic tone of the movie, shot in great fashion by DP Benoît Debie, matched well the dark downward spiral of the girls' circumstances. When Alien does show up, the movie takes off. Franco kills this role, and I applaud him, for without his star status and acting chops, this movie would not have received the attention, although small, that it did. I was disappointed to see Candy's (Selena Gomez) abrupt departure from the trip. Up to that point, she was wrestling a provocative moral dilemma, balancing her long ingrained devotion to Christianity with the sinful nature of the spring break culture. The movie carries on just fine, but I think Korine may have missed the opportunity to further capitalize on the commentary he was constructing. Yet, strongly felt tone and message, with heavy significane to contemporary party culture, still makes Breakers a film capable of lasting. Furthermore, the Disney-duo of Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens was completely satisfactory. Who would have thought?
Grade: Light 7
