Month: July 2012

Sean and Eddy are best friends who have formed a flash mob dance crew called The Mob. They live and work in Miami for a large hotel, but their main passion is their art. Their talented crew are trying to get themselves noticed and they do so with impressive effects. They’re trying to win a $100,000 prize through YouTube by getting over 10 million hits on their channel.

Emily Anderson is a talented young dancer who’s trying to go professional against her father’s wishes. Her father just happens to be the developer of the hotel that Sean and Eddy work for. One day, Sean and Emily cross paths and of course, they;re immediately attracted to each other. Sean invites Emily into his world which is a low rent area of Miami, but once she’s there, Emily sees the magic of the area that Sean’s been living in. Emily’s trying to be accepted into a prestigious dance academy and while she’s told she’s technically proficient, she’s also told that she needs something a little more. Sean invites Emily to see The Mob in action and once she does, she wants to join.

Then bad news hits; Emily’s father is making a bid to take over the are where Sean and his friends live and literally wipe it out for further development. Now, Emily wants to help Sean and The Mob save their homes by taking their art from purely exhibition to protest art.

That’s the premise to Step Up Revolution the latest film in the popular Step Up series. As I said back in my review for Step Up 3D, I used to make fun of these movies, but have since learned way better thanks to TV shows like So You Think You Can Dance and America’s Best Dance Crew. Step Up 3D was the first of these films that I saw in theatres and I just thought it was as fun as could be. Sure, you’re not exactly going to see the most engrossing stories here and you’re not exactly going to see Oscar calibre performances. I think if you got either of those, it would be pure gravy. What you go to these movies for are to see some very impressive dance performances and hear the hard-driving music. And now since these movies have made the move to 3D, you’re also seeing some of the very best 3D that’s out there to see. This was definitely the case with Step Up 3D and for the most part, it’s the same with Step Up Revolution.

One of the things that I most enjoyed about Step Up 3D was it’s atmosphere- it sought to take it’s contemporary dance style and mix it with the atmosphere of old Technicolor musicals. It didn’t take itself too seriously and just had an overwhelming joy about it celebrating it’s artform. Now don’t get me wrong, that same joy is in Step Up Revolution, but there is a little bit of a darker tone to the film and it’s paced just a little slower. There’s nothing wrong with that at all, it’s still quite entertaining, just not to the same ways that I thought Step Up 3D was.

Where Step Up Revolution really excels is in it’s extremely high-charged and downright thrilling dance numbers- right from the opening, you’re going to see some pretty amazing stuff. The Step Up producers are thoroughly embracing 3D and it absolutely shows. Yeah, I expect these would look just fine in 2D, but here’s an example where 3D really does enhance what you’re seeing on-screen, making each number even more thrilling.

Ryan Guzman plays Sean and Kathryn McCormick plays Emily. If you watch So You Think You Can Dance you should recognize McCormick as one of the past contestants and as one of their All-Stars as well. Guzman is, for this type of movie, quite impressive and certainly has a high likability factor. McCormick lacks a little in line delivery and emotion, but more than makes up for it in sheer physical presence and her skill. When she’s in a scene, you’re just drawn to her, even when she’s not dancing. One can certainly hope that she’ll further develop her acting chops, because if she can, she could go quite far. Misha Gabriel plays Eddy, and he brings a little bit of a darker side to the film, though he and Guzman do have an obvious chemistry together.

If you’re a regular watcher of So You Think You Can Dance then you’re bound to recognize some of the other players out there as well, and that’s always a treat. Stephen “tWitch” Boss returns from Step Up 3D playing the same character, but now transplanted to Miami and firmly part of The Mob. Philip Chbeeb has been seen in SYTYCD as well as in America’s Best Dance Crew as part of the winning crew of the sixth season of that show, and he’s just as much fun to watch here. Even choreographer and SYTYCD judge Mia Michaels is here, playing the head of the academy that Emily is trying to get into. Rounding the cast out, you’ve also got Adam Sevani returning as Moose, near the end of the film for a very impressive number, and veteran actor Peter Gallagher playing Emily’s father. Oh sure, you’ve certainly seen Gallagher do better work elsewhere, but his presence certainly does add a little gravity to the cast.

Step Up Revolution really is a lot of fun, and just goes right into overdrive whenever it shifts into any of it’s impressive dance numbers. It’s story and characters are formulaic, but for this sort of film, I just don’t think it’s a bad thing at all; it makes it feel comfortable and just let’s you really bask in the film’s set pieces. If you do choose to see this, and of course I am recommending it, then I’d certainly hope you will go see it in 3D. The 3D here is absolutely amazing and I’ll even go so far as to say it’s probably the best 3D I’ll see in a movie all year. I’m sure it’s just fine in 2D, but in 3D, it’s just thrilling and compelling. Can’t wait to see what they’ll do for the fifth film now…

It’s been eight years since The Joker’s crime spree in Gotham City. Thanks to The Joker’s machinations, former District Attorney Harvey Dent was killed, with Batman taking the fall for the death in order to preserve the law and order that Dent originally stood for. Gotham City has been mostly crime-free (with the exception of some notable crimes by a mysterious female cat burglar) with the extreme criminals now imprisoned. Batman has disappeared and Bruce Wayne has become a recluse. This leaves Gotham City open to an amazing assault from the criminal terrorist known as Bane.

That’s a very simple outline to The Dark Knight Rises, the concluding chapter of director Christopher Nolan’s take on the Batman mythos aided and abetted from writers Jonathan Nolan and David Goyer and lead Christian Bale as Batman/Bruce Wayne and it’s one hell of a conclusion.

While I don’t think the movie quite hits the same highs that The Dark Knight did, that’s not saying that it’s not satisfying at all, quite the contrary. The Dark Knight Rises is an extremely satisfying film- reaching back to points started in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight while also adding a few new twists and wrinkles building to quite a satisfying conclusion. Like I said, it doesn’t quite hit the same crescendo that The Dark Knight did, but… it does have a lot of very cool moments and a twist with one character that I have to admit I didn’t even see coming. For some, that twist might almost seem to come out of the blue, but for fans of the comics, it’s entirely fitting into the legend of Batman.

Nolan’s story, though I described it simply above, is actually quite layered and complex in it’s own way. It’s not hard to follow by ay means, but it’s hinged by assuming that the audience has seen the prior two movies- so for those that haven’t seen those first two movies (I’m sure there might be one or two of you out there) you might want to invest some time in seeing those before you see The Dark Knight Rises. For comic fans, this is a treasure trove, with many of it’s story points owing to previous stories from the comics, but handled in Nolan’s “keep it real” style. The film weighs in at nearly three hours long, but Nolan keeps a steady pace throughout that builds and builds to the film’s epic end.

Technically, as has been the case for all of Christopher Nolan’s movies, the film is first rate in it’s look and sound elements working totally in tandem with the performances and story points. This is just one nicely put-together production and I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see it be nominated for loads of technical awards come Oscar time.

Christian Bale returns as Batman. Also returning are Michael Caine as Alfred, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox and Gary Oldman as Police Commisioner James Gordon. It’s terrific work from all four men and I particularly enjoy seeing Bale’s interplay with all three. Bale shines throughout, but really excels in scenes right before the film’s third act as he’s trying to escape from the prison that Bane has placed him in. All four are certainly by now comfortable in their parts, but they’re not resting on any laurels- this is first-rate work, they know they’re part of something special and certainly treat it that way through their performances.

The same thing can be said with our new cast additions. Tom Hardy plays Bane, our central villain, Anne Hathaway plays Selina Kyle/Catwoman (though she’s never called that in the film), Marion Cotilliard as Miranda Tate, a rival of Wayne’s in the business world, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake, a Gotham City cop who believes Batman wasn’t responsible for Harvey Dent’s death. There’s strong work here from all four. Hardy has the hardest job as his face is masked throughout the entire film, but he’s quite an imposing physical presence and his body language speaks volumes. I’m very curious to just how his voice was created for the film, as there’s parts in his delivery that almost sound Sean Connery-like to me. Hardy’s one of the best young actors out there right now and I can hardly wait to see what he does in George Miller’s next Mad Max film.

Anne Hathaway’s Selina Kyle/Catwoman is just an extremely fun character- she’s as sexy as it gets, yet just as committal to the physical action as any of the male characters. Her version of Selina Kyle picks up some aspects of the character as written by Frank Miller in the comic story Batman: Year One and yet there’s also just a slight hint of camp to her character as well- it’s not detrimental by any means and just adds another flavor to this already flavor-rich series. Marion Cotilliard, as Miranda Tate first seems to be simply “the girl” of the film, but man… there really is so much more here, and I’ll just leave it at that. She’s sexy and smart and a welcome addition to the series.

Like Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is one of the best young actors out there today. He’s been impressing me since The Lookout and his work on this film just takes that further. Gordon-Levitt’s John Blake is the heart of the film- he’s important to getting Bruce Wayne/Batman back in action, acting as Gordon’s right-hand man and his drive to save Gotham is just as strong as Batman’s. Gordon-Levitt, Hardy and Cotilliard all previously worked with Nolan on his last film, Inception and I’d certainly hope to see them all work with the director again on other productions.

The Dark Knight Rises is absolutely terrific and a thoroughly satisfying conclusion to one of the very best series of comic book-based movies that’s ever been made. While it doesn’t quite carry the same impact for me as The Dark Knight, it doesn’t mean that it’s a weaker film, just one who’s focus is a little more broader and just a little more diluted, but not to a negative at all. This may be the end of Christopher Nolan’s run on the Batman franchise, but I don’t doubt for a moment that Batman will be back on the big screen in some new interpretation down the road. Batman is one of the few comic book characters who I think actually excels from different interpretations (and that can certainly be seen not just in the comics but also in the different animated series and movies that have been made). But in the meantime, The Dark Knight Rises (as well as Batman Begins and The Dark Knight) is a movie to be savored and enjoyed again and again… I can’t wait to see this one again…