DCT Podcast: Episode 6 – The Laundromat

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Da Couch Tomato Podcast, Episode 6, discussing Netflix's The Laundromat, underutilising the stellar cast, and the unusual approach used by director Steven Soderbergh.

Background music used is "Rodney Yates" by David Holmes, who also composed The Laundromat's musical score.

Hosts: Sting Lacson and Rachel

The Dark Knight Rises. IMAX

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And it's final. Christopher Nolan is hanging his cape and cowl after this flick. In layman's terms: This will be the last Batman film directed by Christopher Nolan.

Tech Jost

"It better be!"

As a filmmaker, how do you end the most successful film franchise based on a comic book? How do you close the curtains on the grandest comic book opera ever filmed? In layman's terms: how do you go out with a bang?


1. Let it come full circle.
Batman Begins, the first of the Christopher Nolan Bat-films, started with the League of Shadows. And I guess it would be fitting to end with the League of Shadows. Hell, Nolan even threw Liam Neeson in there, just so you don't forget.

Screenrant

Mr. Neeson, for your latest film Taken 2,
your daughter gets kidnapped... again?

So just to make it clear: it began with Ra's Al Ghul, it climaxed with the Joker, and it ended with Ra's Al Ghul's daughter. This is not one of Nolan's best story arcs, I'd have to admit.

By the way, in this movie, the plot twist comes with the knife twist.

Kung Fu Panda 2. 3D

I'm not too big on sequels, especially animated ones. It is my belief that unless a story was constructed as a part of a larger saga, a sequel could be only one thing and one thing only: a moneymaker.

Kung Fu Panda 2 is also a moneymaker. Just like Kung Fu Panda 3, which was hinted at by this film.

First, the 3D review.

God, not another boring, jargon-filled 3D review.

The Book of Eli

Okay, if this is a screwed-up, post-apocalyptic scenario, why do they have really cool shades? Gary Oldman made me a fan of wayfarers. Well, also Bradley Cooper from The A-Team. But I don't know if they were the real deal Ray-Ban Wayfarers or just sunglasses of similar design. But this is not a review of sunglasses.

Denzel can do his own stunts. Hooray. And a scruffy-looking Denzel looks cooler.

Gary Oldman is in my Acting Hall of Fame. So I don't even have to explain anything.

Ray Stevenson is actually a great actor. Although he makes a really good sidekick, I'm sure that he would make a really great lead.

And that's it. Not really a fast-paced flick, but it'll keep you entertained nonetheless.


*some info from IMDb
pic from filmofilia.com


The Book of Eli. 2010. USA.


Rating: Six and half out of ten.
Everyone's sunglasses: Nine out of ten.

A Christmas Carol

Some people will never, ever agree with me when I say that motion capture has its own advantages. I shall defend that in a bit.

I shall give A Christmas Carol a passing score. And not because it's Christmas.

First, because Jim Carrey's acting was excellent. In motion capture films, an actor not only provides the voice, but the performance as well. So all the facial twitches of Ebenezer Scrooge were performed by Carrey. Oh, and Jim Carrey also performed all of the Christmas ghosts.

Second, the supporting cast was also excellent. Gary Oldman as Cratchit was terrific. Although I can't say the same for Colin Firth, as his character's facial expressions looked fake. Well of course. He's still computer-animated. Oh, and Fay Masterson is in it. Fay Masterson was my long-time crush from The Power of One.

Third, it used effective realism. Thank God Zemeckis didn't modernize the dialogue. He stayed true to the book. I'm sure Charles Dickens' ghost would've haunted him if he messed up the canon. Some may need subtitles to understand the dialogue, but those who enjoy dated languages (like me) will have a blast with listening to authentic nineteenth century syntax.

And fourth, Zemeckis' motion-capture technology has greatly improved. I can see now the advantages of motion-capture versus live action. Motion-capture gives the director absolute control. As in absolute control. Anything Zemeckis wants onscreen, he gets. If he wants this kind of look, or this kind of expression, he gets it. To have a great actor in your cast is one thing. And to have absolute control over a great actor is another.

And so there you have it. I predict Robert Zemeckis will be pushing motion-capture to its limits, maximizing it to its fullest potential. And unless he tires of playing cinematic god, we have him to thank for any developments of this promising new medium.


*some info from IMDb
pic from dailybruin.com


A Christmas Carol. USA. 2009.


Rating: Seven and a half out of ten.

The Dark Knight

Oh where to begin...

And you all thought Christopher Nolan can't tell a straight story. Apparently he can, as The Dark Knight follows a more linear narrative path than its predecessor.

Of course, the glory shouldn't all go to the director (where would he be without the actors?), and let me tell you that all of them were brilliant. All of them. So let's go through them one by one, as there are only a few of them anyway.

Christian Bale: Mr. Bale (who gives meaning to the word "man-crush") was the embodiment of what a billionaire playboy should be─cool, rich, and good-looking. And he fights crime too. But that Batman voice of his─you can justify it as Bruce Wayne's way of protecting his identity.

Gary Oldman: The ultimate team player. Gary Oldman knows how to pace his acting. For loud roles, he becomes wild and obnoxious; but for subtle roles, like soon-to-be Commissioner Gordon (spoiler warning!), he just blends in. No overacting, and no underacting either. Just perfect. A possible contender for the Acting Hall of Fame.

Aaron Eckhart: Again, excellent acting (did I mention how many great actors this film has?). Okay, everybody knows Harvey Dent will become the villain Two-Face, but I'm not spoiling anything. All I can say is that his transition from good to evil was well-portrayed. You'll finally understand where his hatred comes from.

Michael Caine: That's Sir Michael Caine to you. You would think that a knight would hog the spotlight, but if there is anything that Caine knows how to do, it's stay in the background. And he does it really well. Though of course you really can't get rid of that sophisticated British accent.

Morgan Freeman: Again, Morgan Freeman is just Morgan Freeman. Not really a bad actor, but somehow he will always be Morgan Freeman, on and off screen. Does that make any sense?

Heath Ledger: Last but definitely not the least, Heath Ledger delivers a performance worthy of an encore. He leaves us with a bang, at the top of his game, and no one should be allowed to top his role as the Joker, as it would be a desecration to his memory. I say let the Joker role die with him. Anyway, you will be so mesmerized by his performance that you'd even forget he was Heath Ledger. Every second of that guy's screen time is worth millions. May God bless his soul.

And finally, the women of Gotham─wait, there's only one. Ms. Maggie Gyllenhaal steps into the void created by Katie Holmes, who starred as the original Rachel Dawes. But honestly, I see no real impact that this character brings, aside from being the love interest of both Harvey Dent and Bruce Wayne. Which strongly suggests that Gotham might indeed be a man's world. My movie buddy in fact couldn't stop swooning over all the men─she swooned over Bale, Eckhart, Ledger, even Oldman. Which of course was nothing to how I swooned over Bruce Wayne.

Now story-wise, The Dark Knight might seem to be a tad too long, running two and a half hours. Quite noticeable is the denouement. The average movie-goer would expect the action to slide down at around the two-hour mark, but the prevalent theme is "Wait, there's more!" The action rises and falls, then rises again, then just when you think it'll fall, it rises again. A bit tiring for the average viewer, but again, the die-hard fans won't even notice it. But the title is very apt, as nothing comes close to the darkness painted by Nolan─for starters, we have a lot of deaths, and near-deaths (spoiler alert number two!), but the character of each and every individual in the story is totally fleshed out. They become real, and veer away from the realm of comic book superheroes to the real world.

A toast to Nolan, for a successful sequel. But we must all realize that the success of The Dark Knight would not have been achieved if it wasn't for the failure of its predecessors. Only by portraying Batman in several not-so-good adaptations does this franchise successfully reinvent itself.

Oh, and Christopher Nolan doesn't go linear all the way. He slips into his trademark non-linear style in the last ten minutes of the film. I guess he just can't help himself.


Rating: Five stars.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

"One more take, please? Didn't stick my tongue out too much."

By now, everyone should have realized that it is very rare for a movie adaptation to be exactly like the book. This film is no different. Movie adaptations should only be either one of two things: as good as the book, or better. I would like to congratulate David Yates for a visually somber look, complementing the darkness of the story itself. Order of the Phoenix, compared to the other movies, utilizes the most magic, with an excellent representation of the Ministry of Magic, as well as the Weasley’s Skiving Snackboxes and their awesome fireworks display. The juvenile actors have shown some improvement, especially Daniel Radcliffe, whose angst-filled Potter takes center stage. Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley is terrific as usual, while Emma Watson still has to work on her overacting. The adults, meanwhile, give the film its darkest edge, with Gary Oldman taking the lead (when will this man win an Oscar?) and Helena Bonham-Carter making her wizarding debut as the twisted Bellatrix Lestrange. Of course, there is no need to mention Ralph Fiennes, who gave a five-star performance as Lord Voldemort. Alan Rickman has never failed to deliver an extremely despicable Severus Snape, and we can expect his splendid performance for The Half-Blood Prince.

Note: Mrs. Arabella Figg was played by the actress who also played Cleopatra’s nanny in HBO’s Rome.

Three stars.