Clash of the Titans an Epic Fail

Jeff Hatline — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 20:34:44 +0000

3D? 4D couldn't save this trash

Just like the Kraken, Clash of the Titans 3D was released on the world this weekend and gods be damned did it suck. There is a lot gone wrong with this mythical mash-up, but we might as well start with the plot. Clash, a remake of the 1981 version, starts with a voice over about how the gods overthrew their creators, the titans, created humans and now the humans are attempting to overthrow the gods. It’s the kind of story that has been told and retold for centuries and this is a visual recreation of the legend. Fine, I get that. But the storyline skips along too quickly over the plot elements just to get to the many mythical creature battle scenes. Which, I suppose is a good thing since the dialogue is boring, terrible and unoriginal. Regarding the acting, it’s not abominable, but with Liam Neeson (playing king of the gods, Zeus), Ralph Fiennes (his brother, Hades) and new blockbuster golden boy Sam Worthington (as Perseus, the half-human son of Zeus) in the cast, it could have been better. Now on to the worst part of the film. As far as the special effects, the only thing that really stood out to me was the smoke and ash cloud that circled Hades as he entered or exited a scene. The rest of the special effects seemed to be drowned out by the distracting 3D. Speaking of 3D, in Clash of the Titans, it was terrible. It should be a clue to viewers when a movie is delayed a few weeks so that it could be converted from 2D to 3D that it’s not going to turn out well. It’s now obvious that not all 3D is created equal.

A note to Hollywood regarding the new and growing fad of releasing everything in 3D – Please, please, please… enough with the 3D already. I totally understood why Avatar did so well. Despite the unoriginal garbage plot, the 3D technology used was amazing and worth the extra bucks to see it once, maybe twice. (I really don’t get the people that went 10 or how ever many times to see it but, whatever.) Avatar was shot in 3D with the intention of wowing audiences with its visually stunning technology. Clash was retrofitted so that it could cash in on the trend and what a huge mistake that was. Actually, I take that back. It was a huge gift to all of us so that the public can maybe see that 3D is not at all necessary. If there is a truly great reason to release a 3D movie, then by all means do it. However, Clash of the Titans, and for matter Alice in Wonderland, were not great reasons. To make things even more hopeless, before Clash of the Titans was a few trailers for upcoming 3D movies and I personally can not seeing any reason to keep the trend going. Step Up 3D? A dance movie in 3D? Is this necessary? You can also look forward to some movie about owls flying around and — wait for it — Piranha 3D. Really? Another remake of a low budget B-movie… in 3D? I pray to Zeus, release the Kraken on 3D!

Shutter Island an Intense Trip

Jeff Hatline — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:24:26 +0000

Without a doubt, Shutter Island will become the most Twittered and buzzed about movie for the next few weeks. Which is interesting considering the film is set in a place that is all about isolation and limited communication, in a time that most of the characters are just catching on to the concept of a box that can show pictures and play the sound of voices.

Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Teddy Denton, a nervous but determined, mysterious but honest hero of the story. Set in 1954 with the Cold War heating up, Denton and his partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) are U.S. Marshals sent to a hospital for the criminally insane to investigate the disappearance of a patient (or prisoner, depending on how you’re looking at it) that seems to have vanished into thin air. To make things more intriguing, the hospital just happens to be located on remote island in Boston Harbor, making it a difficult place for Denton to figure out and the perfect place for the staff to do… whatever it is they do out there.

In the beginning, Shutter Island wants the viewer to believe they’re watching a pretty straightforward mystery, but careful viewers will notice almost immediately that not everything is as exactly straightforward as it seems. Denton ’s nervousness around water that causes him to vomit, a seemingly innocuous Band-Aid on the forehead and a new partner from Seattle all twist from minute details to intriguing questions that are eventually answered. As Denton ’s investigation unfolds he himself also seems to be unfolding. Headaches, bad dreams and voices from his past tell the story of how he fits in with the island and why he has some connection to a few of the prisoners held in the mysterious Ward C.

He doesn’t get much help from the staff of the island either. Since the disappearance of the patient, the whole place is in a lock-down state. Overseeing the whole operation is Dr.Cawley (Ben Kingsley) who at first seems to want the mystery solved, then seems to just want the whole thing over. Throw in a hurricane force storm, an ex-Nazi doctor (Max von Sydow) and a not-to-friendly Warden (Ted Levine) and Denton begins to realize that he is more isolated on this island than he ever expected to be. And that’s all before his partner disappears.

To reveal anymore would be giving too much away, but you’re at all into thrillers, you’ll definitely want to see this movie. Shutter Island isn ‘t the best movie that Martin Scorsese has ever made, but it’s definitely up there as far as psychological mysteries go. The acting is worthy of Oscar nomination. Dicaprio, onscreen for nearly the entire 138 minutes of the film, (a clue that shouldn’t be missed by keen viewers) does an excellent job portraying Denton’s internal strife. Ben Kingsley is great but underused in the film and Michelle Williams is fantastic in another too small role. The movie definitely depends on twists and turns to keep the action moving, but they’ll keep you guessing and wanting to learn what’s really going on on Shutter Island.

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Clash of the Titans an Epic Fail

Shutter Island an Intense Trip