Battle: Los Angeles

by Steve Kochems

For all they cynics out there who thought I'd just come out here and blast this movie for being superfluous action schlock, well, I think you underestimated the popcorner in me here. With a cast of no-names and Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight, Thank You for Smoking) driving off aliens invading Los Angeles as a plot and Jonathan Liebesman (Darkness Falls, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning) at the helm, I was as surprised as you.

The film begins with Staff Sergeant Nantz getting ready to turn in his papers and retire from the Marines. The obvious action move here would be to open up with Nantz on his final mission (which proves to be critical to those under his command later) and how it goes wrong, but Liebesman takes his first big chance here and uses this time to introduce over a dozen Marines living their lives on the home front, some returning and some preparing for an upcoming deployment. No explosions or bullets (yet), which might bore many average movie goers but it's those first ten minutes that give this film what many action films (see; GI Joe) lack: heart.

Life goes on as usual while almost nobody except NASA seems to care that meteor's are heading for Earth. Before I get too far into that, I should mention what I thought to be the strongest quality in the movie. Because of the shaky camera work and drowned out dialogue from explosions and gunfire, this movie really came off as pretty realistic. It felt like a cross between Independence Day and Saving Private Ryan, two films that are about as high as one could be compared to when it comes to an action movie.

Now, some reviews I've read have complained about these aspects, the drown out, incoherent dialogue within war zones. I've also seen a few people complaining that for the most part, the alien's intent is barely explained. I can't deny these facts, but ultimately I think it just plays into the realism of the film. Aliens invade and start blowing us up, I don't think they're going to send us a letter of intent. The film does a good job of inter-cutting a few news clips where analysts and scientists speculate as to why this is happening. It also helps that each battle scene is shown as a tactical one, a battle of positioning and wits, not just firepower. Real wars are not always about who has the bigger gun but who can out think their enemy.

Another plus to this film is that the aliens are never really portrayed as indestructible or untouchable. Their ships explode when flying to close to a gas station or hit with a grenade launcher, and their foot soldiers are just as armored and formidable as a Kevlar coated Marine. This really makes the losses of battles, positions, and more importantly soldiers and civilians much more difficult to bare. Even the ones only mentioned in passing, whole squadrons being obliterated in the crossfire, really makes this difficult to watch (in a good way).

This brings me back to my original point, heart. Because the film emphasizes such realism, it hits so much closer to home when characters die. To me, that scores big points. To others, it might just make it boring until more things go boom.

I won't say this film isn't without its flaws though, the biggest being a technical choice. While the gritty camera work and lighting adds to the film, it's score takes away. Some music simply seems out of place or too quiet, like Liebesman wasn't sure if he should leave it in or not so he just turned it down. I would've much preferred no score at all, make it a straight war-picture and fill it with ambient sounds, people screaming, dying, explosions, the whole lot, but this would've probably upped the MPA Rating to R and possibly drove away casual fans.

All in all, I was quite surprised with how good this film was and would recommend anyone that likes action movies to give this a chance. Forget the absurd premise for a second and treat it like you treated Cloverfield. You might find it to be better than you'd think.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Cyrus

by Steve Kochems

Hey Folks! I know, it's the slow season for movies and, as you can tell, Mike and I have been a little tied up. But I was able to head out the other night and redbox a flick I heard a lot about this past year, Cyrus. For $1, why not try it out?

The film follows John (John C. Reilly), a bum who's circling the drain years after his divorce, with his only real friend being his ex-wife Jamie (Catherine Keener) who's planning to get married (to a well-played asshole, Matt Walsh). After some nagging by his ex and her fiance, John agrees to go out to a party with them.

After many drinks and many failed attempts to talk to any woman, he has one of the most awkward and funny meetings with Molly (Marisa Tomei). After a few dates, John thinks this relationship could be the one, but little does he know, at home Molly has an overly (and somewhat Oedipal) son who isn't quite yet ready to yield his mother away, Cyrus (Jonah Hill).

Honestly, I would've paid more than a dollar for this flick. While advertised as this quirky, Step Brothers-esk comedy, Cyrus is certainly not that. The humor isn't dependent on two actors and a sloppy script. Instead, we have a sleek and crisp story that, while lacking in laughs, actually has a surprising amount of heart to it.

I knew Reilly could act, and even lead (see: Chicago, Walk Hard), but the biggest surprises were Hill and Tomei. Their chemistry onscreen is really a sight and refreshing when it comes to a movie like this. That being said, Hill and Reilly still bring a lot of comedy and awkwardness to their scenes and are a tandem worth watching again (though, their few scenes together in Walk Hard are just as good).

I think this is a film I've gotta take a second look at though, since I went in under the impression it was less on heart and more on comedy. That's the best thing I can say to anyone who watches this movie- go in with an open mind and don't expect anything, good or bad. I bet you'll be presently surprised.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Ravenous

The house next door to my house burned down today. It happened pretty early, around 7 in the morning; firetrucks blocked my driveway until about 10:30. As a result of the barricade, I couldn't go to work until around 11... which was just enough time to watch one of the coolest movies I've seen in recent memory.

The dark-comedy, cannibalistic horror-thriller I'm referring to is Ravenous, a 1999 Antonia Bird flick starring Guy Pearce (The Kings Speech, The Count of Monte Cristo). Opposite Pearce is an awesome cast, led by the always great Robert Carlyle (28 Weeks Later, The Full Monty). Fun Fact: Carlyle played the role of Hitler in a 2003 tv movie; his role in Ravenous was just as demented.

Get ready for spoilers, even though I highly suggest going out and watching this bitch as soon as possible- it fucking rules.

The flick starts off with a bit of murky back-story. It's the 1840s and Captain John Boyd (Pearce) is being recognized for courage in the line of duty (similar to the Call of Duty: Black Ops). He went behind enemy lines and killed a shit load of Mexicans during his stint with the Army in the Mexican-American war. In actuality, he choked up and wasn't very courageous at all; he simply played dead while his men were being cut down around him and then killed his enemies after they brought the dead back to their fort (why they brought the dead back to their hide-out is unclear... and totally fucking stupid).

His commanding officers realize how much of a coward he is and, instead of demoting him (which would have looked bad due to his recent rank award), Boyd is sent to Fort Spencer in the remote Sierra Nevada mountains.

Once in exile, or at least the closest thing to it, Boyd meets the rag-tag skeleton crew manning the fort. Colonel Hart (Jeffery Jones) is the commanding officer, with Knox (Stephen Spinella) the alcoholic second in command. Along for the ride is the always high (he loves the peace pipe) Private Cleaves (David Arquette), Private Toffler (Jeremy Davies, aka Daniel Faraday from LOST), Private Reich (Neal McDonough) and an couple of Indians because why the fuck not, right?

So Boyd is kind of pissed and still confused about his earlier awards ceremony and even more confused about what led to his sudden courageousness at the enemy fort. After he played dead, he was thrown into a heap along with his dead comrades- as a result, he was covered in his fellow patriots' blood, some of which inevitably went down his throat. It was this unexpected and accidental consumption of blood that rejuvenated Boyd and led to his rampage.

He doesn't have much time at the fort to think ponder this discovery, as late one night a half dead guy stumbles into his camp. After saving the mans life, the stranger, who reveals himself to be an F.W. Colhoun, tells his tale. He was part of a west bound party that hit rough times. The group started off fine, but bad weather forced them into a cave. There, they quickly ran out of food and had to turn on their oxen and horses for sustenance- the eventually turned on each other. Colhoun barely escaped from the lead cannibal in the group, Colonel Ives. Ives killed four people total before Colhoun was able to escape.

As you can imagine, the group at Fort Spencer are collectively shocked by this mans claims and immediately set out to investigate. It's right around here where the story gets predictable. Colhoun leads them to the cave, where Reich and Boyd go in to investigate. While they're inside, Colhoun picks the rest of the men off one by one- the entire story was a trap and it's Colhoun who is actually the crazed cannibal killer.

After a crazy fight scene in the woods where everyone but Boyd dies (he only lives because he eats most of a very dead Reich), Boyd returns to camp to tell his tale. General Slauson is in charge now, taking over for Hart. When Boyd tells his story, no one really believes him, especially after Colhoun, now being refereed to by his real name Colonel Ives. Boyd flips a shit when he sees him and this only makes him look even more insane.

Ives starts fucking with Boyd immediately, playing dumb when Boyd accuses him around others, but revealing that he is actually a cannibal when they're alone. It all comes to a head when Ives tells Boyd about how the consumption of human flesh and blood causes the canibal to grow stronger and more healthy, kind of like getting 100 coins or a mushroom in Super Mario.

I'm going to fast forward to a bunch more crazy shit including a drunken chess game, a stew being made out of people meat, murdered horses, a murdered Arquette and a whole lot of facial hair.

There's a great shot near the end of the movie, when Boyd and Col. Hart are talking about cannibalism. Hart is arguing that all Boyd has to do is kill, "Kill to live," he yells right before stabbing a dagger into a table. The next shot is from behind the table, with the dagger dividing the screen, with Hart on one side and Boyd on the other. This is an awesome shot and drives home the point that Hart is on one side (cannibalism) and Boyd is on the other (the side of not being fucking crazy)- good vs evil, if you will.

A pretty epic final battle between Ives and Boyd ends the movie, with each stabbing/beating/maiming/bear-trapping ("That was really sneaky") each other a shit ton of times- maybe not that realistic but definitely awesome. I won't say who wins- consider this a cliff hanger until you go and watch the movie.

One of the only issues I had with this movie, the only one I can really think of besides a few rough cuts in the action sequences, was the soundtrack. In some scenes, it was great- it set the mood perfectly with a blend of tribal tunes and suspense driven strings. But in other parts it was pretty distracting and it made me wonder just who the hell decided to put certain songs in these otherwise great scenes.

In the end, this was a terribly interesting and entertaining film that caught me totally off guard. I loved it and can't help but think that the guys behind the Red Dead Redemption video game were fans of this movie as well (especially the American Appetite mini-stories). Catch this movie the next time you get a chance, I guarantee it will leave you hungry for more.