Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Star Trek Into Darkness is director/producer J.J. Abrams sequel to his enormously successful 2009 film Star Trek, which successfully rebooted Paramount Studio's ailing sci-fi franchise of the same name. In the 2009 film we were reintroduced to the original characters who filled the bridge of the starship Enterprise from the 1960's TV series. Star Trek brilliantly united both the old and the new in a thrillingly fun outing that set the stage for a Trek comeback.

Star Trek Into Darkness is the fulfillment of that comeback.

The plot is simple. When a mysterious terrorist (played ruthlessly by Sherlock's Benedict Cumberbatch) begins attacking Starfleet targets, Captain James T Kirk (Chris Pine) leads his crew on a mission to bring the man to justice.

The execution of that plot is far more layered and engrossing than one simple sentence conveys.

There's action a-plenty. And it's edge of your seat, pulse pounding sequences of complex scenarios. And there's effects. We're talking top-tier realistic effects that suck you into the picture, and wash you over with awe. But the core of the thrill in this film is the story. The story of relationships.

The driving force behind the movie is the relationship between Kirk, and his friend, the Vulcan science officer Spock (Zachary Quinto). Their character traits at once play perfectly against each other, and in harmony at the same time. And when crises moments arise you find yourself caring more about their friendship than any action occurring around them.

Thrown into the mix are communications officer Uhura (Zoe Saldana) whose relationship with Spock and longstanding friendship with Kirk is another driving force. Simon Pegg's Scotty has a vital role in this film as does Bruce Greenwood's Captain Pike from the previous film.

The rest of the crew is there, and all play important parts in the film. But there's some fascinating guest stars as well, including Robocop's Peter Weller as a no-nonsense Starfleet Admiral.

Into Darkness also deftly incorporates aspects of previous Trek films and story lines to keep the die hard fans not only satisfied, but happy with the twists and turns this film takes on those previous events.

All in all, a well acted, fantastically shot, energetically written story that will keep you enthralled and focused entirely on what happens next in the film. And you will find yourself gasping and cheering all along the way of this thrilling ride.

10/10.

Elysium (2013)

Elysium was not quite as good as District 9. District 9 was wholly original and unique, full of fresh ideas and moral narrative. Elysium while full of similar moral narrative, also had the misfortune of having the Hollywood gloss applied to its story. Cheap manipulations of emotion via climax and score, not to mention unambiguous victims and oppressors. Good vs. Evil is ok (in this case the Good being the poor and the Evil being the wealthy), but I would have liked to have seen further elucidation on the character and motives of the inhabitants of Elysium. A good morality tale overall, but not as nuanced and detailed as District 9 was. It wrapped up too nicely, too happily, too Hollywood.

My other beef was the use of my old nemesis the shaky-cam. I don't recall such blur in District 9. Only the shaky-cam can take intense action and turn it into a frustrating episode of vertigo, and unfortunately it was on high display in Elysium.

Other than those two beefs, it was a good film. Neil Blomkamp has made another quality entry into the science-fiction pantheon.

8/10.

Pacific Rim (2013)

One of the worst movies I've seen in the theater in a while. I almost got up and left, but I paid ten bucks to see it. I wouldn't have missed much if I had. The acting was the only decent thing about the film. The visual effects were muddy, and for some reason every battle scene was blurred by rain. The respect of the laws of physics was non-existent. And the story, ho-boy the story. While there were a couple of original touches, for the most part it was rehashed cliches. Del Toro even went so far as to steal plot points from not only Independence Day, but also the dreadful Emmerich remake of Godzilla from the 1990's. The rousing speeches all sounded familiar. The conflicts between characters had been done before in every other movie in history. It was overall a very dumb, very boring, very noisy rehash of pretty much every other film of it's genre. I'm only giving it as high a rating as I am because the actors were all quite exceptional in working with what they were given. 3/10.

The X-Files: Jose Chung's "From Outer Space"

I finished rewatching season five of the X-Files last weekend which allowed me to rewatch the film for the first time since it was in theaters. In honor of that, I'm posting a five photo album from my favorite episode that I had posted on my old deleted reddit account.

Writer Darin Morgan again proves he's brilliant by stitching together a plethora of neat references and deadpan humor into a seamlessly entertaining story that respectfully pokes fun at the series itself. Here are some of my favorite moments.

"You ever flown a flying saucer? Afterwords, sex seems trite."

Notice the mashed potato homage to Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. 

"I didn't spend all those years playing Dungeons and Dragons

and not learn a little something about courage."

Notice the "I Want To Believe" poster in Blaine's room. 

Conspiracy hound Jesse Ventura as a Man In Black 

Ventura performs a Pendulum Backbreaker on Blaine 

"As for Reynard Muldrake, a ticking timebomb of insanity, 

his quest into the unknown has so warped his psyche one 

shudders to think how he receives any pleasures from life."

Easy. By masturbating while watching the Patterson-Gimlin film.

Man Of Steel (2013)

I quite liked Man Of Steel. Mostly because of the story, which I thought was the film's strongest feature. I will reveal no spoilers here, but I will say I found no fault with the story or script. Goyer and Nolan are quite brilliant.

The casting was an accomplishment as well. Everyone except for Amy Adam's timid Lois Lane seems perfectly chosen for the part. I mean Kevin Costner as Pa Kent? Come on now, that's a match made in heaven. And Fishburne as Daily Planet editor Perry White was a nice choice too. Just the right amount of gruffness for his brief parts. I also enjoyed seeing Henry Lennox again for the first time personally since The Matrix sequels. I only wished there was a scene involving him barking orders at Fishburne, that would've made me squeal with delight. Russel Crowe, Michael Shannon, Diane Lane, and of course Henry Cavill all seemed like the only logical choices for their respective parts as well.

If it were up to the work of the screenwriters and actors alone, I would've rated this film a 9/10. I firmly expected the action and effects to send it into the 10 range. Oh how disappointed I was in that respect.

Goddamn the "shaky cam" and the effing "snap pan and zoom"! Those two overused and unnecessarily relied on techniques have ruined more movies for me than I can count. Now I don't fault Joss Whedon for developing the snap-pan and the snap-zoom. His use of them in Firefly was done with restraint and logic: only in action scenes and only for a purpose, not just for effect. I do however fault everyone else in Hollywood for not knowing how to use them correctly.

I also fault Paul Greengrass for bringing the shaky-cam to the blockbuster movies. Starting with his overuse of it in The Bourne Supremacy in 2004, Hollywood seems to be using it in action films (and even some dramas) almost as much as they jerk off! (I'll leave alone the plain implication of what they're up to behind the camera to get the effect.) The only director I'm aware of who can get away with the shaky-cam technique is J.J. Abrams. But he does the camera work himself, and he although he does it stylistically, he doesn't overdo it.

All that said, Snyder needs to leave these two techniques alone. He hasn't even used the shaky-cam before to my memory, and his inexperience shows plainly here. And while the comics are full of Sups and his enemy of the month smashing eachother through buildings and generally causing havoc, I was greatly disappointed with the overuse of the aforementioned camera techniques in those scenes. Because, while I was pleased to see those sequences included in the film, the only practical result was I couldn't really tell what the fuck was going on.

Also of note, my viewing of the film resulted in hearing loss. It was so loud in the action parts that not only couldn't I see what was going on, but I couldn't make out what they were saying either. Now, I'm not sure if that was due to The Warren's sound settings or due to the film's sound designer/editor being a deaf fuckass. I'll have to withhold this mark-up or mark-down until a subsequent viewing, a viewing wherein I will be bringing earplugs... just in case.

Overall, I'm going to rate this film an 8/10. A point lower solely due to the shitty camera work. When I see this movie again, should the sound also prove to be as shitty as it was this time. That rating is going down to a 7/10. You cant have an action movie that's just a blur of motion and a blare of noise, that's just fucking stupid.

8/10.

Argo (2012)

Argo was awesome. Intense and suspenseful to the end. It illustrates how the power of film crosses all boundaries, particularly in the interrogation scene. And in spite of it's historical inaccuracies present in the movie, Affleck's choice to have the players and scenery physically resemble the real thing was a nice touch that few movies portray. 8/10.

Fast & Furious 6 (2012)

Fast & Furious 6 was a lot of fun. It was dumb, cliched, and unrealistic. But as long as you suspend your disbelief, suspend it waaaayy up there, your gonna have a good time. 6/10.

Also, thanks to reddit I found a picture that sums up the whole movie nicely...

Donovan's Atlantis in Goodfellas

Scorsese is the master of the soundtrack. How anyone would think to match Donovan's Atlantis to a scene involving Joe Pesci and Robert Deniro beating Frank Vincent to a pulp is a mystery, but it works magically: Here's the song. Here's the scene.

Mazes and Monsters (TV 1982)

Mazes and Monsters is one terrible made for TV movie. Supposedly about Tom Hanks going crazy while playing Dungeons and Dragons (though they couldn't use the copyrighted name cause its basically one of those "D&D is the devil" stories), its terribly written, cornily acted, and the visual quality is basically shit. Tom Hanks is his usual genial self, but he doesn't have much to work with. I cant believe I used to think this movie was good... of course I was 9 last time I saw it. But it still holds a special place in my heart, so I can't give it too low a rating. 5/10.

The villainous Stephen from Django Unchained

Django Unchained was a painfully/joyously cathartic film. A true masterpiece. But I would like to take a moment to comment as to why I feel Samuel L. Jackson's Stephen was a truly villainous villain, brilliantly written by Tarantino and utterly inhabited by Jackson.

To start with, DiCaprio's Calvin Candie was utterly villainous himself, but he's your standard "petulant child emperor" character. Like Commodus from Gladiator he is bored with his existence and only cruelty and domineering over others brings him pleasure. This kind of sadism, while utterly villainous, is a different flavor from Stephen's twisted villainy.

Stephen was utterly villainous for the following reasons:

One, he was a conniving, plotting, Shylock-like weasel of a simpering villain. Devising and sneaking around doing his evil masters bidding. The only character that comes to mind for true comparison is Shakespearian courtier Iago from Othello, or Iago the parrot from Alladin for the pop culture referral.

Two, he is a manipulative villain, always putting ideas of cruelty in Candie's head. When Candie admonishes him or dismisses his intentions, he makes them even sweeter with his devil's tongue to the point that he has become the master of this household of horror.

Three, and this is most prescient, he is a traitor. A traitor to his race. Candie was evil, but his evil was aligned with the one systemic norm of the time, racism. I don't believe Stephen even identifies himself as black anymore. He goes so far as to maintain the brutal household's financial affairs, to personally oversee the torture of his fellow slaves in far crueler methods and durations than his master, and upon identifying opportunities overlooked by his master to practice cruelty upon his brothers and sisters, he happily guides Candie's hand to the literal whip.

Lastly, he's a player hater, plain and simple, through and through. Taking joy in the cutting down of others to or below his level is his sustenance. Take Clifton Powell's Chauncy from Menace II Society. Multiply it times 9,999, you're getting closer to Steven.

So it is with all these villainous traits in mind that we experience the utter jumping-up-and-down-hand-clapping joy in witnessing that side of violence that Tarantino calls "the cathartic fun of violence"

Assault Girls (2009)

Assault Girls was lame. I was expecting a live action anime full of stylized action and cool visuals. Instead I got a weakly made art film involving cheap CGI and almost no plot. Do not rent. 3/10.

Serenity (2005)

Watched Serenity for the second time. Last I saw it was... 7 years ago (?) when it came out on DVD. Liked it better this time around, maybe cause I was more invested having watched part of the series now. I always liked Wash and Jayne, probably because Tudyk and Baldwin are two of my favorite character actors. But I appreciated Mal much more this time around knowing more of his backstory. I still hold that Nathan Fillion is too likable a person to convincingly play the tough as nails take no shit captain he did through most of the series without coming off like an irredeemably dislikable character. He just doesn't have it in him to convincingly be that kind of character. But I think he and Whedon found the right balance in Serenity to pull off the gruff captain with the heart of gold. And Chiwetel Ejiofor is awesome as always. Quite enjoyable outing this time around. 7/10.

One thing though. What is Joss Whedon's fetish with killer-tough bad girls all about? Buffy, River, Echo, Akima, it's like I can hear his eyes rolling into the back of his head writing these chicks. lol.

More DC Comics Animated One-offs

All-Star Superman (2011) starts with Superman trapped into being poisoned by Lex Luthor. His final days involve super-battles with a number of super-foes, finally revealing himself to Lois, and Luthor gaining Superman's powers for a day. Good animation and quality voice work in this one. The relationship with Lois was fleshed out nicely, but I really liked the scenes between Luthor and Clark Kent where Lex discusses his antagonism with Sups. 8/10.

Superman/Doomsday (2007) was just OK nothing more. I remember getting the graphic novel of this story back in the 90's when it first came out, and newspapers were running articles titled "The Death Of Superman". It ended up being a weak comic writing wise, and this movie is even weaker. Choppy, relatively cheap looking animation, with the storyline thinned out to the point of being melodramatic and anti-climactic. 5/10.

Justice League: The New Frontier (2008). This was a pretty fascinating concept. Basically a Watchmen like origin story of the League set at the height of the Cold War circa 1960, with an H.P. Lovecraftian enemy bringing the heroes and the world together. Neat animation style with character designs following the golden age comics' look and feel. Unfortunately it included the jingoism of the era. Not to mention a horribly miscast Jeremy Sisto as a gravelly Batman. All in all a pretty neat concept, but not done as well as it could have been. 6/10.

Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths (2010) has the Justice League going to a parallel dimension to battle evil versions of themselves alongside a good Lex Luthor. It felt kind of long, but the battles were above average. Some nice character touches on Bats and J'onn J'onnz, with the latter even getting his Martian freak-on with the parallel president's daughter. Having the parallel superbeings "Crime Syindicate" being modeled after and talking like the New York mob was a nice touch too. However, the voice casting was abhorrent. William Baldwin as a wispy voiced Batman? Mark Harmon as a stiff throated, slightly nasally Superman? Ugh! Good thing there were quality fights where not much talking was done. Plus the whole parallel Superwoman trying to make Bats her boy-toy thing was pretty cute. I liked it as a whole, but would've rated it higher with better voice work. 7/10.

The Devil's Rock (2011)

Watched The Devil's Rock on Netflix. A New Zealand horror film set in WWII on one of the channel islands off the coast of France. It takes place on the eve of D-Day and involves a Kiwi SAS officer, a Nazi SS occult officer and a succubus from hell. Very well done for a low budget horror film. Wonderfully atmospheric and occult accurate. Well acted with good make up effects by WETA. I really enjoyed it all around. 8/10.

R.I.P. Roger Ebert (1942 - 1913)

At The Movies With Siskel & Ebert, and later Ebert & Roeper, fanned my fire for the medium of cinema as a youth. Later his solo writings did the same. His output of quality literate film reviews is stunning in its number. I imagine he was able to do this because he was so passionate about film that the words simply flowed like butter. The man was a humorous and brilliant critic, well versed in film and a cadre of other subjects. And he was a person generous of heart. Without any restraint or falsehood, I can say the man was a real american treasure. God bless Roger Ebert.

"Roger Ebert dies at 70 after battle with cancer" - Chicago Sun-Times

The Elephant Man (1980)

This morning I watched David Lynch's The Elephant Man for only the second time in my life. I clearly remember watching it when I was 8 or 9, and it was such a powerful experience that the emotions it evoked have staid with me all these years. It is perhaps the saddest movie ever made, yet vividly illustrates the beauty of human compassion. I think that schools should show children this Academy Award nominated film. Every human being should see it. 10/10.

The Ice Storm (1997)

The Ice Storm is one of those films like American Beauty that's so deep and nuanced on so many levels that you feel swamped by all the meaning and hidden truths and you're sure you'll never be able to decipher it all... but you're wiser for the experience. 8/10.

DC Comics Animated One-offs

Last week I watched five of Warner Brothers Animation Studio's releases of DC Comics based stand-alone films, that is, storylines independant of any WB/DC television series.

Batman: Under The Red Hood (2010), based on the Batman comics storyline of the same name, was about as good as any live action movie. Well animated with a killer script, with top notch voice acting to boot. I remember when Batman: The Animated Series changed the game of cartoons. Nice to see the franchise still hasn't lost it's touch. 9/10.

Justice League: Doom (2012) was enjoyable as well. Batman is one wary dude. Also, Batman is correct. When Superman says "Maybe I can move the Earth's orbit out of the path of the flare." The right reply is "Even if I had a week I couldn't explain all the reasons that wouldn't work." 7/10.

Superman Batman: Apocalypse (2010). I ended up quite liking this in spite of Kara Zor-El's annoying affect in the first half. Character introduction and development, cartoon babes, Batman being a cold badass. Plus, it had some of the best animated fight choreography I've seen in an American release. 7/10.

Superman vs. The Elite (2012). Was worth watching for the sole purpose of witnessing Superman's defense of why he never kills anyone. His illustrative example at the climax of the movie is well worth beholding. As a friend of mine said, "It... it's somethin'!" 6/10.

Batman: Year One (2011). The animated version of Frank Miller's graphic novel of the same name was top notch. Briskly paced, fabulously voice-acted, and an animation style that remained true to the source. However, as an aside, I kept comparing it to the Nolan films, to which there's really no equal. In my opinion Nolan took the best parts from all of the Batman storylines and added his own genius touches and ideas to make The Dark Knight trilogy the ultimate Batman story. Regardless, as a stand alone or in that context, I happily give Batman: Year One 8/10.

Summer Blockbuster Season 2013

I basically go to the theaters to see movies that are big, action/effects filled and exciting. Movies that would loose alot of their punch viewed on my home theater as opposed to The Warren Theater's cutting edge equipment. I figure regular dramas and comedies are more acting and dialogue oriented as opposed to the visual/audio feast that is a big budget action/adventure flick. I can pretty much enjoy dramas and indie fare on DVD or Blu-ray just fine. That being said, each year I make a list of movies I plan on seeing during the Summer Blockbuster season. Here's this years list:

  4/5  JURASSIC PARK IMAX 3D
4/12  OBLIVION
  5/3  IRON MAN
5/17  STAR TREK 12
5/24  FAST & FURIOUS 6
  6/7  AFTER EARTH
6/14  MAN OF STEEL
6/21  WORLD WAR Z
6/28  WHITE HOUSE DOWN
  7/5  THE LONE RANGER
7/26  THE WOLVERINE
  8/2  300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE
  8/9  ELYSIUM
8/16  KICK ASS 2
8/23  THE WORLD'S END
  9/6  RIDDICK
9/13  MACHETE KILLS
9/20  RUSH
10/4  SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR

Final trailer for Star Trek: Into Darkness

For those frustrated that Abrams films are too action oriented, not enough diplomacy and exploration, please read this.

Basically it works as follows. Star Trek was Paramount's golden goose for twenty years until Brannon Braga killed off the franchise. Paramount misses that dearly. Abrams has succeeded in restoring public interest in Star Trek. He did this by making a widely accessible action movie. Paramount saw great profits with the reboot, and if they see enough of the same with this one, I'm willing to bet the title to the Enterprise that they will put a series on the air. Then you will get lots of diplomacy, exploratory story arcs and philosophical heaviness, simply because there's not enough budget in a TV series to sustain constant sci-fi action. They've got to fill the time with other stuff, like quality story.

So if you want to see Star Trek like it used to be, your best bet is to buy a ticket to this movie. Paramount is just as greedy as every other studio. And if these films make enough money, the studio will likely produce a series to capitalize on them.

Also, I can't wait till May!

Die Hard (1988)

So I watched Die Hard for the first time in years in preparation for going to see the new one on Tuesday. Man, it seems pretty dated now. Compared to the action films of today it's paced pretty slow and is awful quiet in a lot of parts. Still a classic though. 8/10.

The Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada (2005)

Tommy Lee Jones' directorial pacing was a little terse, and the non-linear narrative of the first half was pointless. But he sure coached some damn fine performances out of his cast. Barry Pepper was phenomenal, and even the usually dead January Jones emoted well. 7/10.

Sling Blade (1996)

This was only the second time I've seen this movie... I think. The first being in the theater in 1997. It made such an impact on me from the first viewing that I remembered everything in the movie pretty accurately. It's still unique in it's force.

Also, I don't think I've ever seen the part of the abusive white trash boyfriend/stepfather character written and portrayed as accurately as Dwight Yoakam's Doyle.

9/10.

Predator (1987)

So it had been years since I actually sat and watched PREDATOR. At least five years or more. For some reason I was inclined to rent it on Blu-ray today at Hastings.

It was awesome.

I remember first seeing this movie when I was like 9 or 10 years old. I was over at a friends house one night and his dad had rented it on VHS (this was like 88 or 89). I was terrified. It was the first bloody action/horror movie I'd seen. And it was the first one I'd seen with a scary alien. Basically I lost my R rated movie virginity to this flick. I had nightmares for days afterwords. But it was totally worth it.

And it still stands the test of time. I think largely because it's such a basic, primal story: hunters must survive being the prey of a monster. It goes way back to caveman times. And it's all put together in a way that's visceral and terrifying.

Now I'll admit that it's impact has been tamed by too many syndicated viewings on Saturday afternoon TV, complete with commercial interruptions. I'm sure many of you are like me and probably quit changing the channels when it comes on, cause it's always good to watch. So I suggest you try this. Get your copy off the shelf, or rent it, wait till dark and watch it alone, with no lights and with no interruptions. It's like seeing a totally different and far better film than the one they play on TV. Even if you don't get nostalgic terrors like I did, you'll treat yourself to one of the greatest action movies ever made.

10/10.

P.S. To wet your appetite, here's Alan Silvestri's theme from the movie. There's no mistaking it for any other piece of music.

Up In The Air (2009)

This is a practically perfect film. George Clooney doesn't act condescendingly didactic, Jason Reitman isn't chained to a set of irritatingly affected Diablo Cody characters and is able to set just the right airy tone, and Sam Elliot makes a cameo appearance. Touching script too. Wonderful! 10/10.

Robin Hood (2010)

I have no idea why this bombed in the theaters. It was fantastic! I love Medieval settings and this had the perfect mix of adventure and history. So much fun to watch. 8/10.

House Of Cards (2013) [TV Series]

I don't write about television on my blog, but I'm making an exception.

House Of Cards is now available on Netflix to stream. It's their self produced series starring Kevin Spacey, part of their foray into original content. It's Amazing! Spacey plays Congressman Francis Underwood, and the series is about sausage making... or rather the inner workings of our federal government's leadership. I'm talking Congress, The Executive Branch; likely the Judicial Branch will even come into play at some point. It's dark, it's gritty, and it relishes the sadism of power. This is how DC works. The backstabbing, the power plays, the vengeance. It's the government as rotting corpse, draped with the American flag.

Cleverly written with subtle double meanings, foreshadowing, and character revelations, not to mention Kevin Spacey occasionally breaking the fourth wall to great effect. And that's just the pilot episode! David Fincher's black eye truly lends itself to the subject matter. Old Monk hand Jeff Beal turns in a perfectly toned score. The acting? Unspeakably good. They even threw in a reference to Alfred Hitchcock's Witness For The Prosecution, simply to allude to .

Brilliant. Watch it. Now. 10/10.

Dredd (2012)

Dredd was awesome but I didn't like it. Let me elaborate.

Awesome: The most honest single comic book adaptation I've ever seen. This film was completely accurate to the source material. Unlike the 90's Stallone adaptation where Hollywoodization abounded, I couldn't pinpoint a single thing in this film that wouldn't have happened in the comics. It was dark, ultraviolent, and unapologetic. We never see Dredd's face. His dialogue is to-the-point, almost monosyllabic. The sets, the non-distracting camera work. I could go on.

I didn't like: The ultraviolence. A sure sign I'm getting old is I just can't stomach the unrelenting violence in action and emotion abounding in this film. This is a personal taste, a subjective one. The only thing is, that's the essence of the comics. The unapologetic, impersonal, unrelenting execution of the law of Mega-City One. So bravo for the filmmakers in their unflinching translation.

Now for the sake of disclosure, while I am logging this in my list as 4/10 for personal subjective reasons. In an objective light, such as when discussing the merits or demerits of a work of adaptation, I will give it a resounding 10/10. If you read the Judge Dredd comics and recall wondering what it would be like to actually see it? You're in luck.

The fact that someone finally made a movie based on a comic book and yet restrained themselves from changing whatever they damn well pleased... it pleases me.

Cosmopolis (2012)

Based on a novel by Don Delillo concerning a billionaire businessman's trek through New York City in a limousine, this David Cronenberg adaptation was very good. I liked what I could grasp of it. However, all the existential stream-of-consciousness metaphors would have been easier to take with more Cronenbergian body horror involved. I guess he's graduated from that side of his filmmaking. Too bad, as it was my favorite aspect of his auterism.

I could decipher some of the dialogue and actions of the characters, but I'm afraid I'm too often lost with these kinds of writings. As far as film adaptations of idealistic novels go, I prefer non-figurative styles like Cloud Atlas. Nothing preachy, just a series of events and interactions that have higher related meaning. Too often novels/films like Cosmopolis simply seem pretentiously didactic. However I did finish the film feeling mentally stimulated.

Robert Pattinson surprised me by proving he's not a totally awful actor. He managed to not look completely out of his league with the other heavy hitters, though he still seemed to struggle on occasion.

Overall I liked it, which I primarily credit to Cronenberg.

 7/10.