One of the best films that I saw this summer was a film called Aloha. This film, while it did not get great critical reviews, and had some very mixed reviews among my friends and other people I talked to that saw it, was still one of my favorites of the summer. The film is set in Hawaii and stars Bradley Cooper as an ex-army turned private contractor who goes back to his old army base to take care of some deals for his boss, Bill Murray. This film does a great job combining the mythology of Hawaiian culture and the current day issues revolving the military's occupation of Hawaii as well as the race to weaponize the sky.

This film also stars Rachel McAdams as Cooper's ex, and Emma Stone as a firecracker Air Force Pilot. 

Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp

So late summer nights are usually the time to catch up on the ever growing backlog of shows and movies to watch, and one night I decided to try out a movie that I kept hearing the name of. Wet Hot American Summer. I kept hearing the name because not only is the movie on Netflix, but so is the newly released mini series as well as a making of documentary for the movie, so between all three I was a little bit curious. I'd previously heard that the movie was pretty funny so I gave it a go.

And to be honest, I didn't think it was especially great. Don't get me wrong, I did like the movie, but at the same time it is really apparent that they didn't succeed with everything they wanted to do. Some of the jokes fell flat, the pacing was a little off and it lacked a suitable budget which left everything feeling a little cheap. BUT, with that said, if you can put aside all gripes with some of the humor and technical aspects, it is certainly possible to enjoy this movie, with all its lovably dumb characters and cheesy satire of teen comedies of the 80's.

When the movie came out in 2001, it absolutely bombed, both commercially and critically. The movie was torn apart by almost everyone. Though over time, some people found the remains and managed to enjoy what was there, a movie not meant to be taken seriously at all. It went on to achieve cult status along with movies like The Big Lebowski. When Netflix announced the mini series, I'm sure that most people had no idea what it even was, while people who liked the movie rejoiced. The mere fact that it could be created it honestly astounding, all things considered. The cast in the movie was absolutely stacked, as many of the stars hadn't hit it big yet. There's Bradley Cooper, Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Amy Poehler, among others, and all of them were slated to return with new additions in tow. After finishing the movie I went on to start the mini series.

I can say whole heartedly that the mini series improved on the movie in every way, clearing up some backstory, expanding on some jokes and preserving the essence of the movie perfectly. The whole concept is silly, taking place on the first day of camp in 1981, while the movie took place on the last day of camp in 1981, so all the characters look much older while actually being younger. Every episode was packed with jokes that, unlike the movie, are mostly solid.

In a time when most shows or movies take themselves so seriously, it's refreshing to see something so delightfully uncaring about logic. There was one particular part where there was a trial and a verdict for something that all happened within the same day, because who has time for the legal system? At any rate, I highly recommend Wet Hot American Summer: First Day at Camp as well as the movie, cause even though it might not be for everyone, knowing the jokes in the movie makes the series even better.

The Place Beyond the Pines

A few days ago I was finally able to see The Place Beyond The Pines, a movie I had been trying to watch all summer. While the movie was visually stunning, well-written, and above all else beautifully shot, other aspects, such as how the film was marketed and how the themes were presented, are what really took me by surprise. I was expecting the whole movie to revolve around Ryan Gosling, a red herring presented to anyone who had seen the preview. The film's depth ended up spanning over three generations with Gosling killed within the first third of the total running time, something I found to be rather unexpected. But it was a smart move if you ask me. Over two thirds of the film are about something related but completely different than Ryan Gosling's character. I can only imagine how many teen girls were distraught after finding this out. The movie contained three mini plots within the main plot, each one with a beginning and end, and each one expressing a totally different theme about life, vengeance and passion. In an era of witless hollywood movies, it was quite refreshing to see a storyline as complex and unique as this one. However, I do have an issue with how in-your-face the themes were presented. For example, it was quite obvious that Bradley Cooper's character had to deal with a looming cloud of regretfulness after murdering Luke, which will most likely never be eradicated by his success, yet there was a fifteen minute scene of him describing his feelings to a psychiatrist. It was both boring and redundant. There are other examples of this throughout the film both big and small, but overall the film was one of my favorites this year, and it is without a doubt one of my favorites in the father/son genre.

Limitless's Ground Breaking Title Sequence

When I clicked Netflix on Friday, I was ecstatic to find that the movie Limitless was finally on instant streaming. What I didn't realize that the movie would have something in it that I had never seen before. While the movie itself was quite good, what really caught my eye was the opening title sequence.

The movie starts with an unmotivated and unsuccessful writer, Bradley Cooper, who is in a rut and can't seem to get his new book started. His relationship has come to an end and his life seems to be spiraling out of control. I don't want to give the movie away so I will just say that he finds someone with this magic pill that activates a humans entire brain and allows them to access every part of it. The movie travels through the complicated rise of Bradley Cooper and the problems that follow him because of the pill.



Now for the most amazing part of the film, the opening title sequence. I had to do a little research to figure out how they were able to create such an effect.


I had posted earlier in the year about the amazing Red camera systems that have infiltrated movie sets all over Hollywood and I found that they were also used for this terrific effect. Surprisingly enough all the camera setups were done static. There were no moving crane shots for this shot. However what was most amazing, according to an interview with Josh Comen and Tim Carras the special effects coordinators, was the fact that there was 15 different camera set ups for just the first third of the sequence.


On top of that they used 3 separate Red cameras set side-by-side on a tripod. Each camera had a different lens, one with wide angled, then medium, then close-up. So not only was there a myriad of camera set ups, but they had three separate angles for each camera for every set up. This allowed for a full panoramic view of each section of the sequence so that they didn't miss an section of NYC. If you click on the link of the interview you can see how in depth the sequence actually got and how much work went into this. The exceptional work shows and this title sequence is definitely one of my favorites of all time.