Astro Boy (2009)

Film: Astro Boy
Release: 2009, theatrical
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Freddie Highmore, Donald Sutherland
Directed by: David Bowers
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Description: When his son is killed in an accident, the minister of science Doctor Tenma puts his memories into a revolutionary new robot lookalike - the powerful Astro Boy.

Hans' thoughts:

In the 1950's, a man named Osamu Tezuka created the comic series "Tetsuwan Atom", or "Strong-Armed Atom" (known as Astro Boy internationally). The series was a tremendous succes, kickstarting japanese animation and setting up a lot of the aestethic choices that we now consider "anime" and "manga". Years later, in 2009 an American adaptation was created using CG animation, that's the one we're looking at. Astro Boy is essentially a science fiction version of the classic tale of Pinnochio, the titular character Astro is built in the image of a scientists deceased son and giving all of his memories. However Astro is not a perfect clone of the child named Toby, he has his own personality and dreams so his creator decides to get rid of him. Now in the original story, Astro loses all memory of ever being called Toby and establishes his own life while becoming a powerful crime fighter in the ongoing ethical battle about the laws of robotics and the rights of robots as citizens. In the movie they decided to downplay the superhero aspect of the character, and instead focuses on his search for an identity.

If I had to be downright blunt about it I was not so fond of this movie. It feels kinda stilted, as if some of the energy of the original work has been removed in favor of misguided subtlety. The otherwise really energetic Nicolas Cage plays a very quiet, at times even awkward Doctor Tenma and the same can be said for most of the other actors. The movie also suffers from way too many secondary characters. Astro is quickly pulled from one situation to the next and in some cases we barely get to know a character before we're sent along to the next scene. In one particular example of this, a group of kids were introducing themselves and then Astro is pulled into a completely different scene for 2 minutes to be introduced to even more secondary characters. As if the writers suddenly got bored with one scene and decided to simply start writing the next one. It does the movie a giant disservice of us not really caring about when a character we've only seen for a minute or two suddenly hijacks the movie to be put into focus again. Nevermind the very blunt scene transitions that's already apparent in the product.

This lack of discipline when it comes to what exactly they wanted to do with this movie is very disheartening, and it isn't helped by the fact that the movie has a tacked on environmental message which has no grounds in the original series, nor is it used as part of the ongoing narrative at all. At one point it seems as if they also wanted to talk about class warfare but once again they bring up the subject and then drop it again as soon the next scene starts. At the very least, I liked the art-style. They took the original style and made it more culture-neutral and streamlined. Characters are still recognizable but a lot of the exaggerated features from the comics and cartoon is downplayed severely. Likewise the color scheme and environments of the movie is beautiful and I really wish that the attention to detail in that department had been carried over intro the rest of the production. It's really unfortunate that such a gorgeous looking movie ended up with such a lackluster script and direction. It seems rushed, which is weird considering that there was no large demand for a western adaptation of Astro Boy - a 50 year old series. As it stands I can really only recommend the movie to curious fans of the original series.

Justice League: War (2014)

Film: Justice League: War
Release: 2014, Video
Starring: Sean Astin, Christopher Gorham, Jason O'Mara
Directed by: Jay Oliva
IMDB page: Link opens in a new window
Description: All over the world, strange kidnappings by monstrous beings are taking place. During an investigating into the matter in Gotham City, Hal Jordan the Green Lantern of Earth meets the rumored "Bat Man".

Hans' thoughts:

Kickstarting a new DC animated universe, Justice League: War is an adaptation of the first story arc of the rebooted Justice League comic books from 2011. On planet Earth, superheroes are appearing for the very first time and brought together to fight a full scale invasion from the death lord of planet Apokolips, Darkseid. A few changes has been made to the original story for the sake of adaptation, the most notable being that Aquaman is switched out with Shazam (Captain Marvel) in the roster of the team. Why they decided to do so is anyone's guess, but it might be because Shazams origin story was retold as a subplot in the original format independent of the main story-line. 

Acting wise I have to admit I felt it in places was a bit weak. Especially the actress playing Wonder Woman had a few lines that felt way too read from the script, probably rehearsed well enough, but it's like she didn't make the dialogue her own. It's the same case in varying degrees with the other actors, however for whatever reason she was the one that stood out the most to me. Steve Blum, who's an industry veteran by this point did a good job as Darkseid however the voice-filtering on him sometimes made him nearly incomprehensible. Despite this, dialogue is actually very much on point and works well with the very uncomplicated plot - exposition is handed out quickly, "this is what's going on and why - now watch Superman punch this alien". This paves the way instead for more silly remarks and reactions between the individual heroes to the strangeness that surrounds them.

I was actually pretty thrilled by the action scenes in this, the movie does not serve as an origin story for the individual heroes (with the exception of Cyborg) so it's taken more of a "less talkie, more punchy" kind of nature. The action scenes are well edited and animated, with sound effects that really underscores the effects of the punches. The artstyle of the movie is similar to that of Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox from last year, and serves as a decent adaptation of the new costumes designed by artist Jim Lee.  Both Flashpoint and this story was written by Geoff Johns, and you can recognize his background as a writer for The Flash and Green Lantern as they've both been given extra attention. Flash was the main character in Flashpoint, and Green Lantern is the main character in this piece. Green Lantern especially ends up being a character with humorous moments and exchanges right from the get-go.

Justice League: War is by no stretch a great animated movie and it pales in comparison to some of the other DC direct-to-video releases. Despite the creators intention of making it a jumping on point for newcomers, It unfortunately also withholds one of the problems of the animated films by just leaving way too much up to the viewer. Hopefully some of the more unknown characters like Shazam will come into their own with a movie detailing their origin. That being said, for anyone who loves well-animated action scenes and the Justice League this is an entertaining piece through and through. It keeps a fast-pace, has some funny lines and a great retelling of both the origin story of Cyborg and the coming together of The World's Finest, setting up what will hopefully be a great series of movies.

Hot Fuzz (2007)

Film: Hot Fuzz
Release: 2007, theatrical
Starring: Nick Frost, Simon Pegg
Directed by: Edgar Wright
Previous in the series: Shaun of the Dead
Next in the series: The World's End
IMDB page: Link opens in a new window
Description: Ace police officer Nicholas Angel is sent to the sleepy English village of Sandford because he's so talented that he makes the other officers in London look bad by comparison. There, what should have been an uneventful stationing turns out to uncover that the village of Sandford may not be as innocent as it appears.

Hans' thoughts:

Two things that British entertainment is known for is really good comedy and really good crime stories. So obviously they will be brought together from time to time and so they have in "Hot Fuzz" - The tale of an overqualified police officer who has to deal with one of the weirdest mysteries a small town in England can offer.  Following the success of "Shaun of the Dead", writer/director Edgar Wright brings back comedy duo of Nick Frost and Simon Pegg in the second installment of what would later be called "The Cornetto trilogy". A series of film not connected by narrative but by the reference to Cornetto Ice Cream throughout all three, well that's one way to ensure a marketing deal. 

Hot Fuzz is not only a funny movie when it comes to the dialogue, tons of little snippets of information and running gags are thrown into the movie that you might not all catch up on in the first viewing, this makes the movie rewatchable i close succession without it being redundant which is something you don't see happening to a lot of movies - it's definitely not something I would call a common goal of film directors. Another thing you'll notice right away is also the editing, the film deals in very rapid editing which results in making every scene seem heart pumping - even if the main character is just doing paperwork in the police station. The movie also has that distinct Anchorman quality to it, being extremely quotable and littered with hilarious and memorable moments. I also have to commend the writing for this one, a lot of comedies relies on the excuse that something just kinda happens but in this film everything has a setup and everything is kept tabs on throughout the tale. You will definitely be missing out if you don't pay attention while watching this.

All main characters are also given their own character arcs, as well as even some of the fairly minor ones. Characters will learn to doubt everything they thought they knew and it's all delivered incredibly well by a cast that may not be starstudded but is very talented and manages to deliver even the smallest jokes with timing only backed up further by the editing. The way jokes are set up is almost reminiscent of a sketch comedy show or a really well-written sitcom. Some jokes are thrown at you in rapid succession while others are set up and very carefully executed. Hot Fuzz is in conclusion a very funny and over-the-top take on the action movie genre and the knack for mysteries. With a genuinely surprising twist as well as a great cast of actors the film is for anyone who likes a good laugh, and who doesn't?