Movie Review: Pacific Rim

While this Summer has been so full of disappointing, special-effects driven, Sci-Fi blockbusters (Star Trek Into Darkness) and over-the-top superhero movies (Iron Man 3, Man of Steel), one of the most highly anticipated and original movies of the Summer brings audiences a greatly needed breath of fresh air (or a monstrous roar of excitement!), and that film is PACIFIC RIM! Directed by Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth) and starring Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba and Rinko Kikuchi, Pacific Rim features giant robots versus giant monsters, with epic battles never seen before except in Godzilla movies or anime!
In the near future, giant monsters known as Kaiju appear from a dimensional rift beneath the Pacific Ocean. As they wreak havoc upon the coastal cities of the Earth, the nations of the world come together and build giant fighting machines (mechas) called Jaegers (German; hunter) to defend the human race. Controlled by two pilots simultaneously through a neural link, only a handful of Jaegers and a giant man-made wall are all that stands between the kaijus and total annihilation!
One of the best team of pilots are two brothers: Raleigh (Charlie Hunnam) and Yancy (Diego Klattenhoff) Becket, who pilot the Gipsy Danger. When Yancy is killed during a battle near the Alaskan coast, Raleigh leaves the Jaeger program to help work on constructing the "Wall of Life". Five years later, Raleigh is approached by his former commander Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba) to convince him to return to the Jaeger project, which is in desperate need of pilots. Along with a few highly-trained teams of Jaeger pilots from all over the world and new recruit Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi), Raleigh must prepare to defend against the oncoming onslaught of kaijus, each more powerful than the last!
Known for his highly imaginative yet dark/supernatural style, this is Mexican director Guillermo del Toro's first venture into the realm of the big-budget, Sci-Fi movie. With big robots and big monsters that defy believability, Pacific Rim brings a whole new level to a genre already popular among fans of Japanese kaiju movies (the Godzilla franchise), or robot vs. kaiju TV shows (Kamen Rider, Ultraman), and anime (Gundam, Neon Genesis Evangelion). While a large number of American movie goers are fans of the genre, most American audiences haven't seen giant robots on the screen since the B-grade Robot Jox (1989), or giant monsters, for that matter, since the awful remake of Godzilla (1998)! Writing the screenplay with del Toro was Travis Beacham, known for the special-effects nightmare remake of Clash of the Titans (2010). Full of ultra-destruction and violence, Pacific Rim is not without a bit of levity from it's huge international cast. Among these are comedy actor Charlie Day (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), who plays Dr. Newton Geiszler, an eccentric scientist obsessed with kaijus, opposite Burn Gorman as Dr. Gottleib, a stern, British scientist. Put the two of them together and they're like the Laurel & Hardy of kaijus. Also, it wouldn't be a del Toro film without Hellboy himself, Ron Perlman as Hannibal Chau, a flashy-dressed, black-market dealer, specializing in kaiju remains. As a fan of del Toro's films since Blade II and Hellboy, even his co-authored novels The Strain Trilogy, this is a bold, new, step in the right direction from a talented filmmaker who also contributed to new The Hobbit films.
Pacific Rim is in one word: AWESOME! But don't be too quick to dismiss it's over-the-top action, violence and destruction. While many critics have panned it's lack of character development and story, I see that there is plenty character and story for a movie this BIG! The Top Gun-like interaction between Raleigh and Pentecost is intense, as is the relationship with the incredibly sexy, yet vulnerable Mako. Even some of the other less-prominent Jaeger teams are both colorful and memorable. Pacific Rim makes no apologies for what it is, if you go expecting giant robots fighting giant monsters, then you're in for a treat, because that's exactly what your going to get! It is true how much of an onslaught to the senses in special-effects and mega-destruction there is, but that's what it is all about! It doesn't pretend to be anything else. Pacific Rim is a great, entertaining, action-packed Summer blockbuster and it is no doubt the BIGGEST movie this Summer! (Literally...)

LINKS: Pacific Rim Official Site, Del Toro Films.com

Movie Review: World War Z

As the zombie movie has had a resurgence in the last decade, "zombie fever" is still going strong! And with the success of cable TV shows like AMC's The Walking Dead, based on Robert Kirkman's acclaimed graphic novel series; the dead are still "walking tall"! The latest foray into the zombie craze actually comes from one of the forerunners of the genre, author Max Brooks (son of comedy legend Mel Brooks). Having first delved into the popular subject with his 2003 book The Zombie Survival Guide, at first, a seemingly humorous novelty guidebook, it sparked a new interest in zombies and apocalypse survivalists. With the immense success of the Survival Guide, (which even spawned a card game and a graphic novel The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks), Brooks soon followed it up with the now immensely popular novel: World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War in 2006. Being an intense, sprawling narrative combining fictional interviews and vignettes from supposed survivors from all over the world, World War Z was a huge hit for zombie fans and brought new literary acclaim for the genre as well.

Few even considered that this epic tale would eventually be turned into a major motion picture. Many fans were skeptical when it was finally announced in 2008. What was leaked on the Internet was the original script by J. Michael Straczynski, which was then rewritten by Matthew Michael Carnahan. This created controversy with many fans. Now that the movie has been released, the frequent rewrites have proven successful. World War Z is directed by Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace (2008)) and stars Brad Pitt. The film focuses on the story of Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt), a former UN investigator living in Philadelphia. He is forced into facing the zombie apocalypse head-on while trying to save his wife Karin (Mireille Enos) and his two daughters. Reluctant to resume his former life, he must travel the globe to search for the cause of the zombie virus and hopefully find a cure. Beginning in South Korea, the violent pandemic spreads quickly all over the world and leads Gerry to various locations such as Jerusalem and the W.H.O. headquarters. A seemingly average person, Gerry soon presents himself as an exceptionally skillful (and incredibly lucky!) individual as he is thrust into even more dangerous locations and situations as the "zombie" plague spreads. Gerry is mostly alone in his search, he is occasionally accompanied by members of the scientific community (including one ill-fated virologist) and the military. He ends up with Segan (Daniella Kertesz), a young female Israeli soldier, as an unlikely sidekick who tags along with him. She soon proves herself to be a strong and helpful companion.

The movie is a fast-paced and action-packed story with exciting and exotic locales on a global scale. It is not necessarily a true "zombie" movie in the tradition of Dawn of the Dead (1978) or even 28 Days Later (2002). It is more like viral outbreak movies such as The Andromeda Strain (1971) or Outbreak (1995). The movie deviates far from the usual blood-and-gore type of zombie movie, to the point of being an almost entirely bloodless film. This doesn't detract from the action or its exciting subject matter. When it comes to zombie movies (and fans), there always seems to be a strong division between those that favor the slow-moving, traditional Night of the Living Dead (1968) type zombie or the faster, ravenous Dawn of the Dead (2004 remake) kind. This movie actually features both but more often the latter; especially when the zombies pile on top of each other and swarm over everything like ants. Later, when docile, the zombies are significantly slower (until stimulated) and can even appear less threatening and almost laughable (cue Dawn of the Dead mall music!). Although the movie doesn't have the same scope and originality of the novel, it does present an impressive and intriguing story set on a worldwide stage. Rumors of the original script presented a film that would have followed the book more closely, keeping the story centered on one main-character creates a more widely-accepted scenario.

World War Z (both book and movie) came at just the right time as the world is still reeling from the 2012 phenomenon hoax. The number of survivalist groups and our fascination and obsession of zombies continues to grow. Recently, the CDC even published an article on their website encouraging "Zombie Preparedness"!
As a fan of the book, naturally there was some disappointment the movie did not follow the book exactly but despite my reservations I was thoroughly impressed and I feel it is a worthy adaptation of the book. With box office totals already over $66 million, Paramount Pictures is supposedly in talks to develop a sequel that may focus on other stories from the novel.

LINKS: World War Z Official Website, World War Z on Facebook, World War Z on Twitter, Max Brooks Official Website, Max Brooks' Zombie World, Zombie Research Society