Ultraviolet = Mirror's Edge: The Movie?

I re-watched Ultraviolet the other night. I know, I know. "It's a forgettable action film," you're poised to write. "Why re-watch it?" Well, I had just re-watched another Milla Jovovich action-er, the fifth Resident Evil, and I remembered that I still had my DVD of Ultraviolet and that it was pretty fun when I watched it back in ... November 2010? Yikes! Time flies, doesn't it?

Anyway, it was a fun, mostly forgettable action film that was hated far more than I thought it deserved. Reminds me of pretty much every other female-led action film post-2000. Think about it. All of these did really poorly with critics: Underworld, Elektra, Ultraviolet, Resident Evil, BloodRayne, Doomsday, DOA: Dead or Alive, etc. I had fun with all of those. Regardless, seeing Ultraviolet another time reminded me of one of my favorite video games of all time, Mirror's Edge. I'm not going to go so far as to say that Ultraviolet is exactly what a Mirror's Edge movie should look like, but I think, at times, it's pretty close. About as much as the reboot of the Mummy franchise works as an Uncharted film.

(Spoiler alert for both Ultraviolet and Mirror's Edge, not that the plot matters much in either.)

The basic premise is almost exactly the same. It's the future, and a group of people are hunted by the government because of reasons that aren't really clear and don't matter a whole lot. In Mirror's Edge, it's the
Runners; Ultraviolet has hemophages, or "vampires." Both of these groups are persecuted because of a controlling body that wants to make society some sort of dystopia. Ultraviolet opens with Violet (Milla Jovovich) doing exactly what a Runner does: acquiring some sort of package and delivering it to someone else, all while being chased by armed/armored guards and a helicopter. She's also moving through a computer generated city.

Much of Ultraviolet has Violet running through areas of the city while avoiding the enemies, regardless of who they may be. Faith, the lead character of Mirror's Edge, does the same thing. Eventually, both characters are betrayed by more than one body. The running scenes in Ultraviolet make more use of vehicles than in Mirror's Edge, which is straight parkour, but the basic idea is the same. Violet does find herself on her feet more often than not.

The similarities continue. The depictions of the future are similar. Both are exceptionally clean and crisp. While Ultraviolet's is darker, that's the only real difference. If someone told me that in 2006, someone developed the city most of Ultraviolet takes place in, and then in 2008, that city was ported and had its brightness ramped up to 10 for Mirror's Edge, I would believe it. Some of the tougher enemies found in later levels of Mirror's Edge look just like the majority of the enemies in Ultraviolet: head-to-toe black armor and wielding machine guns that never run out of bullets.

Both the film and the game have comic book elements, despite neither being a previously established franchise. Ultraviolet's opening credits show multiple comic book covers and some pages, too. Mirror's Edge has its between-chapter cutscenes look as if they're a comic book brought to life. The main character in both is female, too, someone who only gets an emotional attachment to one other character. In Ultraviolet, it's Six (Cameron Bright), the young boy who, like Violet, is soon going to die. In Mirror's Edge, it's Kate, Faith's sister. By the end of each story, that is the only emotional connection the main character gets to another.

The plots wind up having betrayal take place. Early on in Ultraviolet, Violet gets betrayed by her fellow hemophages, much like Faith is betrayed by Celeste, who functions as one of the bosses. However, neither of these wind up being the main enemy. In both Mirror's Edge and Ultraviolet, there is a bigger plot to eliminate -- or have the potential to eliminate -- a certain group of individuals. "Project Icarus" in Mirror's Edge will allow for the destruction of the Runners, while the antigen contained in Six's blood will (spoiler alert) be able to infect all humans, even though most of the film makes us think that it's really the hemophages who will be destroyed. The lead characters trying to stop these plans from coming to fruition is what drives them forward. Structurally, the two are nearly identical: (1) Acquire thing, (2) run from stuff for a while, (3) storm the castle in a rescue mission.

Speaking of these characters, they're also not exactly dissimilar from one another. They're both females with naturally black hair who have isolated themselves from much of the world. They have meaningful tattoos -- the one on Faith's shoulder and the ones on Violet's fingers -- the ability to take a hit and regenerate damage. They talk to people with a radio clip in their ear, and they both know how to fire a gun. Combat plays more of a role in Ultraviolet, as its lead character can take out hundreds of men in a matter of minutes, but, then, wasn't that one of the things people disliked about Mirror's Edge? The combat? When you think about it, Faith can take out as many people in Mirror's Edge, if they were to keep coming, thanks to her regenerating health; she just can't dispatch them as quickly as Violet.

Am I stretching just to make this idea somewhat believable? Probably, but I think most of those similarities are there. Both the film and the game are highly stylized, have a similar vision of the future, contain a lot of running from place to place, feature betrayal from a trustworthy body, have a near-identical plot structure, and possess similar protagonists. I couldn't help but think of Mirror's Edge when I re-watched Ultraviolet.

American Psycho -- A Second Viewing

I re-watched American Psycho, which was the review that got me the most disagreement from the people. I didn't "get" it, they claimed, and because of that, disliking it wasn't allowed. So I re-watched it with two years of perspective. And it was better. I still don't believe it to be a good movie, but the first time I watched it I was bored; this time I was more engaged.

I also don't think it's as clever or satirical as many claim. Sure, there are elements of satire, but if you have to read the book (which I was told to do, immediately, because it reveals all) in order to understand the movie, then the movie doesn't hold up. But I'll admit to not having completely understood it the first time. The comments, condescending as many of them were -- the worst comment I've ever gotten was one that essentially just quoted the dictionary definition of the word "satire" -- wound up being helpful. I missed the joke and the point over the first watch because of a complete lack of interest in the proceedings. This time, it was better.

I think it was the repetition that initially got to me. We see the same type of thing over and over again that I had trouble staying awake. You miss things when movies permit you to nap. It wasn't so much that the satire went over my head; it's that I wasn't awake to bear witness to it. Or I wasn't paying attention. This was two years ago. Do you really expect me to remember if I actually stayed conscious for its entirety? Anyway, that element was clear as day this time around.

Still, I can't get past the idea that the movie can't be disliked because it's "about something." When I got comments on my review, it wasn't that they were defending the filmmaking; they were defending the film's point. Sure, I found the film pointless -- and in retrospect, opening with that was likely a mistake -- but none of the other reasons I hated American Psycho didn't matter after that. It was all "you didn't get it and because it has a purpose it's a good movie." You look deep enough and anything has a point. Even the sequel, which is a more conventional slasher film, has a point. That in and of itself is not a defense. That the Defoe storyline is dropped for no reason, that it's repetitive, a lack of insight into the head of the main character -- even despite the voiceover narration (which itself is dropped for most of the film after being established as a key technique). That it's about something does not mean it is successful.

I dunno here, guys. Is it as bad as I initially said? No, but I'd be willing to bet that nothing is as good or bad as I initially say. You watch something for a second time and it rarely holds the same place that it once did. You work through the plot on a first viewing -- which is why my reviews often focus so heavily on the plot; that's what matters the most when you first see it -- and on a second you can pay more attention to other aspects. I do my reviews, 99% of the time, after a single watch. It's probably not for the best, but that's how it works when seeing something in the theater, so I've adapted it to DVD screenings. Maybe I'm a bad critic. I stick by this process. It is how the majority of the audience (both mine and that of the films I review) will watch something. For the few who want something deeper, they will see it again and discover that. So will I, eventually, as I have done tonight with American Psycho. Even the most boring of films can change your mind, ever so slightly, by being seen again.

This is a scrambled piece. I have a lot of thoughts and a lot of pent-up anger, some of which I recognize was likely misguided. I'll get mad, too, at people missing the point regarding something I really enjoy. I suppose I get it. Both the film and the comments.

Ciao for now.

70th Golden Globes Predictions/Hopes

Since it's award season, and the Golden Globes are happening tonight, I figured I should try to weigh in before the ceremony, so I can make predictions and stuff. Somehow, the Globes have managed to be far more relevant to my interests than this year's Oscars, which is the first time in several years that this has happened. Will the show be better? I don't know, although Tina Fey and Amy Poehler can be funny, so there's that possibility. Anyway, here are my picks and predictions. There is a difference. My pick is what/who I want to win, while my prediction is who/what I think will win. I think a good way to go about this would be to list all of the nominees and then use some sort of font effect to show my choices. Bold picks will be my prediction, while underlined nominations will be the one I think should win. Also, I'm skipping the two musical categories, as I know nothing about them, as well as the Best Foreign Film slot, because I've yet to see any of them and Amour is going to win anyway.

Best Motion Picture -- Drama

Argo

Django Unchained

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Zero Dark Thirty

The momentum that Lincoln is getting coming out of the Oscar nominations means that it's definitely the favorite going into the Globes. However, Argo was the strongest coming out of the Critics' Choice Awards, and is also my favorite out of these choices. It comes down to these two and possibly Zero Dark Thirty, and thankfully the Globes like Bigelow and her film enough that it makes this a three-film race.

Best Motion Picture -- Musical or Comedy

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Les Misérables

Moonrise Kingdom

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Silver Linings Playbook

Silver Linings Playbook is the frontrunner. It's also the only one I've seen from this list, so it gets my vote. It was adored by pretty much everyone, and has lots of momentum following the Oscar nominations. The people love it, the critics love it, and its only competition was Les Misérables, which was not adored by everyone. Also, I have to point out that Salmon Fishing in the Yemen being in this list and Pitch Perfect being snubbed is a travesty.

Best Performance in a Motion Picture -- Drama (Actor)

Daniel Day-Lewis -- Lincoln as Abraham Lincoln

Richard Gere -- Arbitrage as Robert Miller

John Hawkes -- The Sessions as Mark O'Brien

Joaquin Phoenix -- The Master as Freddie Quell

Denzel Washington -- Flight as William "Whip" Whitaker

Daniel Day-Lewis is loved by a lot of people, and for good reason. With Lincoln coming out as strong as it is, there's a good chance that its lead -- and the main reason the film worked -- will take this category. Phoenix and Washington might each have a slight chance, but I don't see this going to anyone but Day-Lewis.

Best Performance in a Motion Picture -- Drama (Actress)

Jessica Chastain -- Zero Dark Thirty as Maya

Marion Cotillard -- Rust and Bone as Stéphanie

Helen Mirren -- Hitchcock as Alma Reville

Naomi Watts -- The Impossible as Maria Bennett

Rachel Weisz -- The Deep Blue Sea as Hester Collyer

It's a little silly that The Deep Blue Sea is even here, considering it was a 2011 release, but I suppose the Globes are just going based on American release dates. Does that mean Cloud Atlas will have a shot at next year's BAFTAs? Anyway, Chastain looks to be the frontrunner here, until I remember that Mama is coming out shortly and I don't know if anyone is going to want to associate themselves with that movie. Watts is the one I hope to win, if only because she deserves to win some awards at some point, and winning the Globes might increase her chance to get the Oscar she deserves.

Best Performance in a Motion Picture -- Musical or Comedy (Actor)

Jack Black -- Bernie as Bernie Tiede

Bradley Cooper -- Silver Linings Playbook as Pat Solitano

Hugh Jackman -- Les Misérables as Jean Valjean

Ewan McGregor -- Salmon Fishing in the Yemen as Alfred "Fred" Jones

Bill Murray -- Hyde Park on Hudson as Franklin D. Roosevelt

With how beloved Silver Linings Playbook is, and that Cooper and Jackman are the only actors in the category to have gotten an Oscar nomination, I have to think Cooper will take it. It was really nice to see Jack Black on here, which is a sentence I never thought I'd say. Bernie was a really good role for him, and it really made me see him as a different actor.

Best Performance in a Motion Picture -- Musical or Comedy (Actress)

Emily Blunt -- Salmon Fishing in the Yemen as Harriet Chetwode-Talbot

Judi Dench -- The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel as Evelyn Greenslade

Jennifer Lawrence -- Silver Linings Playbook as Tiffany Maxwell

Maggie Smith -- Quartet as Jean Horton

Meryl Streep -- Hope Springs as Kay Soames

This is Jennifer Lawrence's award. I can't conceivably see anyone else taking it from her.

Best Supporting Actor

Alan Arkin -- Argo as Lester Siegel

Leonardo DiCaprio -- Django Unchained as Calvin J. Candie

Phillip Seymour Hoffman -- The Master as Lancaster Dodd

Tommy Lee Jones -- Lincoln as Thaddeus Stevens

Christoph Waltz -- Django Unchained as Dr. King Schultz

The awards love the characters that Christoph Waltz plays in Quentin Tarantino movies. However, as much as I love Waltz, I don't think he did anything much different from what he did in Inglourious Basterds. The characters were really similar, and that seems to be Waltz's range. I picked Tommy Lee Jones to possibly win it all back when Lincoln came out, and I'm going to stick with that hope, even though Waltz probably has a better chance at taking it. Hoffman also has a good chance, while I don't see DiCaprio or Arkin making a dent.

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams -- The Master as Peggy Dodd

Sally Field -- Lincoln as Mary Todd Lincoln

Anne Hathaway -- Les Misérables as Fantine

Helen Hunt -- The Sessions as Cheryl Cohen Greene

Nicole Kidman -- The Paperboy as Charlotte Bless

From all reports, Hathaway will win this and the Oscar. It's as simple as that. Her performance in the trailer for Les Misérables was enough to bring tears to some people. I don't see any way she loses it.

Best Director

Ben Affleck -- Argo

Kathryn Bigelow -- Zero Dark Thirty

Ang Lee -- Life of Pi

Steven Spielberg -- Lincoln

Quentin Tarantino -- Django Unchained

This comes down to the same sort of race as the Best Picture slot. This is also one the categories that makes the Globes better than the Oscars this year. Both Tarantino and Bigelow were left off the Best Director list for the Oscars. They're both here. I see Bigelow as a potential to win, which would be an even bigger shot to the Oscars, but with Lincoln, I think Spielberg has the best shot, even though I liked Argo more.

Best Screenplay

Chris Terrio -- Argo

Quentin Tarantino -- Django Unchained

Tony Kushner -- Lincoln

David O. Russell -- Silver Linings Playbook

Mark Boal -- Zero Dark Thirty

If there's one category I can see Lincoln not winning, it's Best Screenplay. Does that mean it won't win? Absolutely not. In fact, it might be the frontrunner. But I see Silver Linings Playbook taking it. Lincoln was too simple-minded in my mind. And with Silver Linings being one of the two most loved films, it could win. Of course, I found Argo more interesting and funnier, but I start to feel like the only one with every category.

Best Animated Feature Film

Brave

Frankenweenie

Hotel Transylvania

Rise of the Guardians

Wreck-It Ralph

How did Rise of the Guardians and Hotel Transylvania get in over ParaNorman? Someone please explain that to me, as I don't understand it. Anyway, this is still an interesting category. Brave was Pixar's weakest non-sequel, but it's still Pixar which means it has a good chance. Frankenweenie has gotten a surprisingly good reception, although it's Tim Burton and awards shows don't like him. Wreck-It Ralph will likely not win considering Scott Pilgrim also failed to get many awards -- video game movies just can't do well given the average age of the voters. My money is on Brave taking it, although I'll hope for Wreck-It Ralph.

That's all from me. Fingers crossed that it's a good show!

Ciao for now.

People's Choice Awards 2013

Right. I have a blog. I kinda forgot that I did. That's fine. Here are the people and movies that I think should have won this year's People's Choice Awards.

Favorite Movie: The Avengers, although The Hunger Games is a fine choice.
Favorite Action Movie: The Avengers. I disagree with The Hunger Games here because its action was the worst part about it. Ergo, it shouldn't be called the best action movie of the year.
Favorite Comedy Movie: Pitch Perfect. Must have been a week year for comedy if What to Expect When You're Expecting got a nomination (no Cabin in the Woods?), but Pitch Perfect was by far the funniest movie of the year for me. So it gets it. 21 Jump Street was better than Ted, too, I think. I never saw Dark Shadows or What to Expect When You're Expecting (though I'll see the latter in a few weeks' time).
Favorite Drama Movie: Argo. Easily. Although it was more of a thriller, it's far and away better than at least two of these (The Lucky One and The Vow) and I never saw Perks of Being a Wallflower, so I can't pick it. Magic Mike was quite good, too.
Favorite Movie Franchise: The Dark Knight. The Avengers had some weak links (Thor and The Incredible Hulk), The Hunger Games isn't yet a "movie franchise," and Spider-Man no longer counts because it was just rebooted. So, it's between The Dark Knight and Madagascar. Tough choice.
Favorite Movie Actor: Robert Downey, Jr. Sure. I'll agree on this one. If only because it's "favorite" and not "best."
Favorite Movie Actress: Jennifer Lawrence. Gave two great performances this year, which means she has at least one more than everyone else on the list.
Favorite Dramatic Actor: Bradley Cooper. Call me a Silver Linings fanboy, but he did a great job in that, and from all accounts was good in The Words and Hit and Run, too.
Favorite Dramatic Actress: Keira Knightley. She kinda wins this one by default, because I didn't see Streep's or Watson's film, or anything Theron was in, and McAdam's film was awful. At least I could tolerate Anna Karenina.
Favorite Action Movie Star: Robert Downey, Jr. If Iron Man wasn't in The Avengers, it wouldn't have been nearly as good a movie as it turned out to be. Can't really say that about anyone else (except Batman, but as an "action star," Batman kind of sucks).
Favorite Movie Superhero: Christian Bale as Batman, Dark Knight Rises. Despite not being the best action star, as a superhero, I've always loved Batman. I like Bale's performance as him, too, raspy voice and all.
Favorite Comedic Movie Actor: Adam Sandler. I agree. That's My Boy was really funny to me. I realize I'm in the minority here. I don't care. It's the first Sandler-led film I've liked since Click.
Favorite Comedic Movie Actress: Mila Kunis. So, Anna Kendrick gets two films in the best comedy category, one of which she led, and doesn't get a nomination? Fine. Uh ... I like Kunis more than the others, and she was fine in Ted. So that's that.
Favorite On-Screen Chemistry: Can I abstain from this one? None of these were very good.
Favorite Movie Icon: Maggie Smith. She doesn't get enough credit. And I've heard really good things about Quartet. So there.
Favorite Face of Heroism: Jennifer Lawrence. Her face was the entire poster for The Hunger Games. And she was also one of only two leads, the other of which being Kristen Stewart, whose face does not get to be the symbol for anything. It can't move enough.

And we're done. I don't watch enough television to make a choice for those awards. Movies are my specialty anyway, right? I like to think so. I might use this blog for the next awards shows, or perhaps just if I feel the need to vent. I keep forgetting I have one, so it doesn't get used. Anyway, these are my picks and reasons for them.

Ciao for now.

Reasons to be excited for "Lockout"

So, if you don't pay attention, you're probably not even aware that it exists, but a little sci-fi thriller by the name of "Lockout" is coming out in just a couple of weeks. Yeah, it really hasn't had a marketing push, and most people don't even know it's a thing, but I still figured I'd let you know why you should probably at least pay attention to the reviews it gets.

And before anyone mentions it: No, I don't think that Lockout is going to be a great film. I think it'll be a fun B-movie that probably will be enjoyable because it won't take itself too seriously. A good popcorn flick that's too cheap to afford good special effects that has the potential to wind up as a cult classic.

1) The Cast

Okay, so while these actors aren't exactly A-listers, they're still fairly big names, especially if you pay attention. Guy Pearce has the lead, having previously starred in movies like Memento and The King's Speech. Okay, there are a couple of dozen others, but those are the ones you'll probably recognize. The romantic lead/MacGuffin that needs to be rescued is Maggie Grace, the daughter in Taken. The supporting roles go to veteran actors Peter Stormare (Minority Report), and Lennie James (Columbiana and TV's underrated Jericho).

2) The Producer/Writer

Now, Luc Besson might not be a household name, but he's done some good work on films like The Fifth Element, Leon: The Professional, and Nikita, among many others. While he doesn't direct as often as he used to, he produces a ton, and he's one of the more hands-on producers from the accounts I've read. If you're watching a film produced by Luc Besson, he'll have been involved more than your average producer. He does good work, and if nothing else, you won't be bored while watching a film he's been attached to.

3) The Trailer

That's all I have to say about that.

Ciao,

Marter

Another Year

Like a baseball player considering retirement, the last couple of days have led me to thinking about leaving The Escapist. There are a lot of reasons to, not the least of which being the slander that occurs in the backrooms/off-site, but I've decided to give it another year of time. That means that my reviews will continue to be posted daily, that I will continue moderating, and that I'll probably post some amount as well.

I know that the fact that I got this close to leaving might actually be a surprise to some people, but considering I thought about it just about a year ago as well leads me to believe that this might end up being a early occurrence.

Anyway, I've decided to give the site at least another year, so let's strap on the party hats and get ready for a bumpy road.

Ciao,
Marter

Soccer Inter-Cities

We finished 3rd.

That's a lot better than I thought we'd do, considering I didn't see us winning a single game. We ended up beating Forza, which makes them fourth place. They were the other Calgary team, so we're actually the top Calgary team in our group.

Unfortunately, with three minutes left in the final game, my sister, our goalie, broke her wrist. Really too bad.

And now the season is over, and I'm really upset about that. I'll miss these players, and the few parents that I got to know.

Ciao,
Marter