Sucker Punch: You have the weapons

Do you remember that episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer where we’re left wondering if Buffy really is the Slayer or whether she’s stuck in a mental facility?

Sucker Punch is like that episode, on steroids.

Sucker Punch has received some appalling reviews and I unfortunately allowed these to put me off seeing this on the big screen.  I now strongly believe that the majority of those reviewers completely missed the point of the film.

Sucker Punch does not focus on plot or a character, this film is all about a message; be strong, take control, fight.  A young woman (Emily Browning) who suffers sexual abuse at the hands of a man, presumably her stepfather, is committed to a mental facility which she is determined to escape.

That is a very loose premise of the film.  Sucker Punch is so much more.  This is a film about survival and this woman’s coping strategy with everything she has been through and everything she is going through.

I think the main problem with this film, and possibly the cause of the bad reviews, stems from the marketing the film received.  Everywhere I look it is described as a ‘fantasy action film’ and yes, on a brief glance that is what this is, as our main character immerses herself in a fantastical world in order to fight her battles.  What I feel this film is, however, is a psychological thriller.

The film is made up of three layers; first we meet this woman and her situation in what must be considered reality.  Her dead mother, her little sister who she must protect and the terrifying figure of her abusive stepfather who, upon the death of her mother, turns his attentions onto her little sister.  In trying to protect her, our heroine accidently kills her.  Her stepfather has her committed, in order to destroy the only evidence of his abuse and allow him to take her mother’s fortune.

The second layer is a fantasy world that the woman then creates within the institute.  Everything within this layer is symbolic of what is happening in her life within the institute and her history.  She is an orphan named Babydoll brought into a brothel.  Sex obviously features heavily in Babydoll’s life and all of it represents the abuse she has suffered.  Along with the other girls in the brothel, Babydoll makes a plan for escape.

Layer three is the ‘fantasy action’ element.  It is within this layer that she finds the key to escape and where she and her friends battle for their freedom.  It is pivotal, I think, that she only goes into this world when erotic dancing within the brothel – it is another form of escapism from the second layer, which begs the question what the erotic dancing represents in layer one; reality.

Even her name, Babydoll, wreaks of control and sexual abuse.  What I found interesting was the one male in the film who is a good man, known as the Wise Man.  He appears in the third layer and shows Babydoll the way to freedom.  At the beginning of the film there is talk of angels, so my immediate reaction was that this man was Babydoll’s angel.  As he appears in the third layer, perhaps he represents her dead father; the only man she could trust.  Then again, without wanting to give too much away, maybe Babydoll is actually the angel in this film.

This film is co-written and directed by Zack Synder, the director of 300.  Similar to 300, Sucker Punch has a wonderful, twisted and dark comic book feel to it.  It is beautifully shot with excellent use of colours.  Each layer is visually different making it easy for the viewer to slip in and out along with Babydoll.  The soundtrack is powerful and modern, adding character themes to each layer throughout the film.

This film is haunting and empowering at the same time and should leave you thinking hard by the end.  The action sequences are well done and the film is very moving if you can keep up with symbolism (the provocative clothing that many reviewers are critical of, for example).  This is not a popcorn eating, laid back, fantasy action romp that the marketing might have you believe.  This film is all about survival, against all of the odds, no matter what, even if that survival isn’t quite what you expected. 

You have the weapons.

Now fight.

The Avengers Assemble - Get your geek on!

It’s the latest thing, the film everyone is talking about, possibly the best film of 2012, so far at least.  A week later than planned I finally got to see The Avengers.

There has been a great build up to this film, with individual prequels for some characters; Ironman, Thor and Captain America.  What made this film a winner and must-see was when Joss Whedon took over the writing and directing duties.  Suddenly the genius behind Buffy and Firefly was given a chance at a mainstream masterpiece and he didn’t disappoint.

Loki (Tom Hiddleston), last seen disappearing into the space from brother Thor’s grasp, arrives on Earth, takes Dr. Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard) and Agent Barton (Hawkeye played by Jeremy Renner) both last seen in Thor, under his command along with the Tesseract, last seen in Captain America and capable of great power.  Fury (Samuel L Jackson) gathers Black Widow (Johannson), Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr), Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and Steve Rogers (Chris Pine) to retrieve the Tesseract.  Along the way, Thor arrives on Earth to take his brother home, Loki’s army arrives to take over the Earth and the Avengers are formed.

I can’t say what this film meant to the diehard Avengers fans but from what I’ve read not many have been disappointed.  As someone who has never read the comics, this film was spectacular; funny, well written and inspiring with vibrant action sequences.

The Avengers is the bringing together of a lot of characters made known and well loved by prequels; Ironman, Thor and Loki, Captain America, Hulk and to the lesser extent Fury, Black Widow and Hawkeye (who is referred to as Agent Barton throughout the film).  There was always a danger that a film culminating in so many big, individual characters could be disastrous but the writers managed to develop the dialogue and story so that the team worked but no characters were compromised.

Tony Stark is probably the best known, as there have been two Ironman films with a third on the way, and he remains charming, sarcastic and humorous. 

I was concerned about Captain America.  As you may remember I reviewed his prequel film last week and I wasn’t keen.  His character was too good, plain and boring but I had hope for his development.  My hope was well placed.  He is still plain and full of good values, that’s who he is, but in The Avengers he is struggling with the modern world, feeling out of place and missing those that he left behind.  He is looking for his place in the new world and his values rub up against Tony Stark creating a fun tension; suddenly Captain America isn’t all good and pure.  In The Avengers, Captain America becomes much more human and therefore likeable.

I have never watched a Hulk film all the way through but would wait impatiently to watch a Hulk film starring Mark Ruffalo with Joss Whedon at the helm (which is currently in discussion and Ruffalo has since signed up for more Marvel films).  Ruffalo plays Bruce Banner sympathetically and quietly, you can feel the anger boiling beneath him and the anticipation of what may happen.  This is the first film where the actor playing Banner actually plays the Hulk via virtual-camera-motion-capture rather than the big green man being purely CGI or played by a different actor.  The result of sensitive acting and the technology used is that Hulk steals the show.

I thoroughly enjoyed Thor and so was very glad to see both Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki again.  When mixed in with Earthly superheroes and warriors, these gods stand apart.  It could be said that Hemsworth is a little wooden but I believe this is simply a result of a god standing next to Tony Stark.   Loki has grown since we last saw him.  He is still jealous and living in his brother’s shadow but he is darker, having seen things in the universe that Thor could not fathom.  He still has weaknesses, struggling to be a leader, but now he is a showman with powerful allies and makes an excellent super-villian.

The two non-superheroes in The Avengers are Black Widow and Agent Barton.  While we have seen Johannson’s Black Widow in previous Ironman films, we have not yet met Hawkeye.  The Avenger’s gives viewers a chance to wet their lips at the back story to these two agents.  Black Widow is the only female in the team and she is a very effective spy.  While she fights well and she is definitely not present to be just a romantic connection, her best scene is her first.  Perhaps physical fighting is not her strong point compared to the others but at least she holds her own and makes her presence felt.  Agent Barton, on the other hand, is skilled for fighting with his bow and arrow and I found his fighting scenes just as enjoyable and thrilling as the ones with Captain America, Thor, Hulk and Ironman.  My only complaint when it comes to Barton is that we don’t learn much about him earlier as he is under Loki’s control.  Suddenly he is brought into the team and immediately fits in when it actually took the rest of the team longer, with more arguments, to gel.

Although the plot to The Avengers is simple, for a film of this scale I think anything elaborate would have ruined the whole endeavour.  The effects are well done and mostly the film is fast paced, with elements of heartfelt emotion and brilliant humour.  Perhaps the only thing I can say against this film is the length, in some places the plot feels a little stuttered and at one point I wondered if it was about to end without any conclusion.  But if you just let these moments slide, the result is a beautifully written, funny, epic action comic book hero film that I feel the desperate need to see again and again.

Make sure you stay through the end credits!

Ironman and Castle

I saw The Avengers the other night.  I'm still processing it but will be writing a review in the next day or so.

In the meantime, I just found this and had a geeky laugh!  Nathan Fillion and Robert Downey Jr...

E-mail Subscriptions

I was made aware recently that the e-mail subscription to my blog had stopped working.

I've hopefully now fixed this.

Please re-enter your e-mail address in the new subscription box to the right to receive updates.

Thanks!

Chick Flick me!

Following on from the Bad Teacher post, I thought I’d give a run down of my top 5 chick-flicks (excluding Bad Teacher).  These are the films that I personally find empowering for women and are an excellent pick me up on those drab, horrible days/weeks/months when nothing goes right;

• Bridesmaids (2011)

Maya Rudolf, Kristen Wiig

Lillian (Rudolf) is getting married and Annie (Wiig) is maid of honour, except that her status of best friend is under threat and soon so is her status of maid on honour!  A hilarious, feel good film about love, friendship and just what bitches women can be! 

• The Women (2008)

Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing and Jada Pinkett Smith

This is an amazing film following a group of female friends.  Mary Haines (Ryan) leaves her rich cheating husband and sets out on her own.  This film is full of good feeling and laughs, leaving you feeling inspired to do something different with your life and succeed!

• Sex and the City (2008)

Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon

Another film following a group of female friends!  Please note – this is the first film, not the second one which was utter drivel.  Carrie Bradshaw (Parker) is going to get married but it doesn’t all go to plan.  Again, another feel good film about finding your own identity, taking on something new and succeeding.

• Practical Magic (1998)

Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman

A film about two witch sisters (Bullock and Kidman) who’s family is haunted by a curse for any sister who falls in love.  Sally (Bullock) tries to rescue her sister Gillian (Kidman) from her murdered ex and put off the detective that has come to arrest the dead man.  A love story with a wonderfully supernatural twist.

• You’ve Got Mail (1993)

Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks

This one beat Sleepless in Seattle to the list purely because I’ve seen this one more often and it has lots of books and a dog in it.  What is there not to love? A slushy love story, yes, but a beautiful and timeless classic and proof that losing your mother’s precious shop can still mean positive opportunities (although it helps to fall in love with a rich man).

What chick-flicks inspire, comfort and motivate you?