Review: The Jungle Book IMAX 3D, or 5 Reasons to Watch The Jungle Book On the Big Screen

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You can almost see Bill Murray in that bear's face.

As I've said countless times before, reboots and remakes are the bane of Hollywood. And Disney seems to be on the warpath, hell-bent on remaking all their classic animated flicks into live-action adaptations for a younger audience.

True, they've done well with Maleficent and Sleeping Beauty. But how will they fare with a story involving talking animals and a single lone human character? Pretty well, it seems, according to box office returns. And here are five reasons you shouldn't miss The Jungle Book.

5. The closing credits
The animation in the closing credits is a joy to behold, first because of the lovely animation (a small-scale version of how awesome the animation in this entire movie is), and second because of its surrealism. A miniature gigantopithecus and humongous mice? And artwork from the original Rudyard Kipling novel? More, please.

Hugo 3D Review, or 6 Reasons to Watch This

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1. It's directed by Martin Scorsese.

All Movie Photo

Just like a grandfather telling a story.

Actually, I could already stop there. A Scorsese film is never crappy. Your least favorite Scorsese flick will still be good even by hipster standards. But I won't stop there, because I still have more to say.

I can actually let Scorsese's non-use of effective realism pass, since this film has no pretensions of being bilingual anyway. If you remain consistent by using only one language all throughout, that's fine. The only reason it didn't work in War Horse was because the story supposedly involved characters speaking three different languages, but what the audience heard was simply English in three different accents.

Just as 2011 marked Steven Spielberg's first venture into animated films, so too does 2011 mark Martin Scorsese's first venture into family-friendly films. (And incidentally, last year also marked both filmmakers's first try at 3D.) Just goes to prove that a great storyteller will do good in any genre.

Shutter Island

It's a nice movie for two reasons: First, it's directed by Martin Scorsese. Second, it doesn't feel like it's directed by Martin Scorsese.

Now those two may seem contradictory at first, but they're not. Martin Scorsese is one of the most engaging directors in Hollywood today, and his films draw you deep into the world it creates. What you can expect from a Scorsese picture is clear storytelling, powerful performances, basic yet really effective camera work.

Now on to the second point. Scorsese's style is different in the sense that he has no style. Or it seems that he has none. That's because of his versatility. You cannot really definitely say that a film is Scorsese's based on the visuals or the narrative style. Scorsese can actually direct anything. I bet he could direct a romantic comedy if he wanted to. But I don't think he's into that sort of thing.

Anyway, probably the only indicator that this is a Martin Scorsese picture is Leonardo DiCaprio. I think DiCaprio is to Scorsese as Tom Hanks is to Steven Spielberg. Or maybe that's not such a good analogy. DiCaprio is like Scorsese's muse. But I don't think Hanks is Spielberg's muse. I'm not entirely sure, really.

Mark Ruffalo plays the sidekick so well that he doesn't even try be anything but a sidekick. He's a great team player, Ruffalo. Ben Kingsley, on the other hand, is subtly annoying. You'll hate him at first because of his villainous sneer. But then when he turns out to be not so bad after all, you'll realize that his sneer is actually an annoying smile. Brilliant.


*some info from IMDb
pic from movie-vault.com


Shutter Island. USA. 2010.


Rating: Seven point nine out of ten.
Number of times Scorsese's name is mentioned in this review: Ten.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

This film both succeeds and fails at the same time.

First, it succeeds as a blockbuster. Now this is what I call a real summer blockbuster: action-packed, filled with swashbuckling, and lots of parkour. Reminded me of Pirates of the Caribbean, actually, except for the parkour, of course. And it didn't help that both Pirates and Persia were produced by the man known as Jerry Bruckheimer.

The film also manages to capture the essence of the video game it was based on. I was even momentarily transported back to my childhood, when I would play Prince of Persia in green and black. That's the old PC, by the way, with the floppy disks that really flop.

Second, this film fails technically. There were a lot of lapses, especially in editing. I could forgive one, or maybe two instances. But there were just too much, I'm sorry. Blame it all on director Mike Newell. Some shots were too awkward, some shots involved mismatched eyelines, while some shots were just plain wrong. I'm speaking from a filmmaker's perspective, of course. Regular moviegoers wouldn't probably notice it, but it's as jarring as hearing an orchestra play one note out of tune. Cinematic viewing should be a seamless experience. Oh well. Newell is a newbie, so deal with it.

To end on a lighter note, the cast did just great. Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton's sexual tension was all over the screen. Halfway through the film, I was already shouting, "Come on, have sex already!" But like typical summer blockbusters geared for the younger set, this film saturates you with sexual tension, then ends it with a single kiss. A single kiss, can you imagine that?

I honestly thought the guy who played King Tus was Karl Urban, the guy who played Eomer in Lord of the Rings. Well, turns out he wasn't Karl Urban. His name is Richard Coyle, and he sure can play Karl Urban's stunt double.

Ben Kingsley was great, but not as great as Alfred Molina, who stole every single scene he was in. Every second of Molina's screen time is priceless. And for that, he is disqualified. He is just too damn good.

So for succeeding as a blockbuster, and failing as a technical work, this film gets a passing score.


*some info from IMDb
pic from filmofilia.com


Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. USA. 2010.


Rating: Six out of ten.
Blockbuster elements: Nine out of ten.
Editing errors: Zero out of ten.
Alfred Molina: Disqualified.

The Love Guru

Mike Myers's sexual innuendo is totally on a whole new level, and the green jokes come at you left and right in this movie. So instead of analyzing the elements of a successful sexual romp, again, let's go to what makes this film watchable in the first place.

Mike Myers: I get the feeling Mike Myers is not really good with accents. Yes, he can do some, like British and Scottish, but in this film, he is supposed to sound like an American with a slight tinge of Indian. But still, his Scottish accent keeps coming out. Which annoys the hell out of me. I mean, after Slumdog Millionaire, I've been very particular about Indian accents.

And speaking of accents...

Justin Timberlake: cannot do a proper French accent. He is supposed to play the French-Canadian Jacques "Le Coq" Grande (pun intended, his cock is indeed grand), and although he looks different with a moustache on, his accent, or whatever he has going on there, is just so damn distracting.

Sir Ben Kingsley: I honestly don't know how the producers were able to convince the great Ben Kingsley to make a fool of himself in this movie. But Sir Ben is such a good sport that I think this is just another day at the office for him, no matter how much the movie sucked. Oh, and Sir Ben's Indian accent is excellent. He did after all win an Oscar playing Gandhi.

And finally, the film's saving grace...

Ms. Jessica Alba: Just having Jessica Alba in this movie is enough to earn it a passing score. I love Jessica Alba so much. I want to sweep her off her feet. I want her to leave her husband for me. I want to wake up in the mornings and see Jessica Alba's face sleeping beside me. I want to---okay, you get my point.

Again, let me just make it clear that I watched this film because of Jessica Alba. The fact that it was a Mike Myers flick was only secondary.


*some info from IMDb
pic from collider.com


The Love Guru. USA. 2008.


Rating: Six out of ten.