Movie Review: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

My wife and I went to see a pre-screening of "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" last night, and I never thought in my life that I would say this, but the sequel to Jumanji is really, really good.

The Actors:

Jack Black steals the movie. His performance as a teenaged selfie-obsessed pretty girl was easily the best "one sex trapped in another sex's body" performance I've ever seen (which is probably a low bar, but stay with me here). He was so incredibly good, that I was actually 100% convinced that I was not watching Jack Black, but an actual teenaged girl. He just completely disappeared into the role, and it was amazing to watch him work.

Dwayne Johnson was also fantastic playing a fantastic parody of himself. Though he didn't disappear into the role as much as Jack Black, his portrayal of an awkward nerd in a huge handsome muscular body was fresh and fun through the whole film. Special shout-out to Alex Wolff, who plays the real world kid who becomes Dwayne Johnson. Through Wolff's limited screentime, he portrays some great acting and comedic ability that left me wishing he'd been in more of the film.

Karen Gillan was the main actor I'm the least familiar with (I only know her from GotG), and I'm glad to say her acting was a pleasant surprise. Like Johnson, she's playing a social outcast girl in an athletic pretty girl's body, and she does it wonderfully. For the entire film she seems awkward in her body – often slouching over, crossing her arms, etc. – but even the facial expressions she'd make when she wasn't meant to be the center of the shot's focus were 100% in line with the concept of her character. Also of note is that, despite some controversy awhile back over the reveal of her tight and small outfit in this family film, her appearance is a part of the character's story arc and she's shot tastefully and not at all sexually.

Kevin Hart was Kevin Hart. I enjoyed his performance and he had plenty of laughs, but in the end he was the only one of the core four characters that didn't surprise me. He's supposed to be playing a big football player trapped in a small man's body, but Kevin Hart plays this like he does any other role where he shouts about how short he is. It never really felt to me like his identity was based on a life of being a tall muscular athlete.

Nick Jonas was in this movie. He shows up about halfway through and he does a good job. Nothing special, but he didn't pull me out of the experience.

The Story & Directing:

I went into this movie skeptical. For me, the original movie was fun because of Robin Williams but ultimately forgettable. The trailers for this movie, however, had piqued my interest enough for me to wait an hour in line for a chance to see it (and it turned out my wife and I were the last two people the theater had room for, because the two in front of us left when they found out the remaining seats were not together).

The story is a straight-up sequel and it was incredibly solid, coherent, and fun. This movie is the opposite of Jurassic World, in that almost everything mentioned in the first act is made relevant later in the film, including each of the avatar's listed strengths and weaknesses and the real-world character's faults, which ultimately makes it a very tight and competent story that feels like there's no wasted space or time. It was also really, really funny. The types of humor were pleasantly varied so that there were things I laughed at that nobody else did and vice-versa. There's something for everyone here. The bad guy was one-dimensional but it worked well for the setting.

This is also probably the best "video game movie" I've seen. It adapts video game tropes such as the idea of NPCs, levels, and multiple lives very well. Gamers will especially get a kick out of some of these gags.

SPOILER STORY SYNOPSIS:

(Click and drag your mouse to read)
The movie picks up where the last one left off. A dad in the 1990's is out for a jog on the beach, hears the drumming of the Jumanji board game, digs it out of the sand and brings it home to his son. His son opens the box, then laments "who plays board games anymore" then tosses it aside to play Playstation (I think it was Twisted Metal, specifically). Overnight, a bright green light emits from the board game and the boy wakes up to hear the iconic drumbeat. He opens the box to find that inside is now a cartridge of a Jumanji video game. He puts it into a console (resembling but not exactly a NES) and is sucked into the game. Cut to modern day and four kids are given detention (after some nice but quick character building), during which they find the game, select their characters, and are sucked into the game. Inside, they are represented by avatars that juxtapose their real-life selves, and realize they have to work together to win the game in order to escape. About halfway through they run into Nick Jonas, who is the avatar of the kid from the 1990s and lives in a shack built by none other than the original film's Alan Parrish (Robin Williams). They reveal to him that he's been in the game for 20 years and team up with him to escape. After beating the game by returning a magical crystal to where it was stolen from (which gives the guy who first removed it the ability to control all the animals in the jungle and a tendency to be evil), they are all returned to the real world, where they're all friends now (and the two nerds who developed a relationship during the game are now a couple) and find out that Nick Jonas' character returned back to his time and has lived out a great life for the past 20 years and named his daughter after Jack Black's character since she saved his life. The group returns to school on Monday and again hears the drumming of the game, so they smash it with a bowling ball that was mentioned earlier in the film.

Closing Thoughts:

Overall, this is a good movie and I recommend people go see it with some family and/or friends if they're looking for a good fun time at the theater. It continues the spirit of the original movie and surprised me with its quality. The acting, directing, and writing is all solid. The jokes are funny and varied, and I wouldn't be surprised if some of the lines from this movie became popular quotes or memes. The action is fun and well-shot.

This review was first posted on Reddit by me.

Character Depth in Superbad - A Movie Essay

Note: This essay is a slight revision of one I originally posted on reddit.com/r/truefilm. You can read the original essay in its entirety here.

I was 16 years old when the 2007 movie Superbad was released. At the time, I thought of it as nothing more than a really funny movie full of lines that were quotable for years to come (as evidenced years later by my friend Yuriy shouting "prepare to get fucked by the long dick of the law" as we exited my vehicle to crash a freshman party - unknowingly right in front of the mother of the kid hosting the party).

Over time though, as I read about, reflected on, and re-watched the film, it became apparent that it is much, much more.

Character Depth in Superbad

As an adult, the first thing that becomes apparent about the quality of Superbad is just how accurately it portrays the thoughts and behaviors of an otherwise hard-to-capture time in a growing boy's life; sex is a constant topic of thought and conversation, girls are magical and mysterious creatures, the best friendships feel like true love, and why can't someone just invite me to a party already?

But now, as a writer, what really astounded me upon my recent viewing of Superbad was the story structure and characters. For something that appears on the surface to be nothing more than a raunchy film about trying to get drunk and laid that was written by two stoner comedians when they were in high school, Superbad has some of the best and most layered characters of any comedy movie, which helps to make the plot that much more intricate.

Let's look at each of the main character's motivations:

Seth (portrayed by Jonah Hill)
Seth's primary motivation is to get laid a few more times before college. The object of his desires is Jules (Emma Stone), who tells him after a fun time together in baking class that she's throwing a party. He offers to buy liquor for her party, thinking that will not only impress her but get her "drunk enough to get with him."

Seth's secondary motivation is his feeling of betrayal that his best friend Evan (Michael Cera) will be going to a different college than him and is going to be living with Seth's frequent punching bag Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). Though we have not seen their friendship prior to the events in the film (aside from a brief flashback Evan has to a prior night of hanging out), it can be assumed that this motivation is the reason for Seth's constant desperation and annoyance with Evan.

Evan (portrayed by Michael Cera)
On the surface, Evan's primary motivation seems to be the same as Seth's; to get laid. However, it is slowly revealed that he is actually much more motivated to have a meaningful romantic relationship with Becca (Martha MacIsaac), as evidenced by his repeated insistence to forget about the alcohol because he can just tell Becca how he feels instead of going with Seth's line of logic to get her drunk. Nonetheless, he promises to buy her favorite liquor for the party, which remains a goal of his throughout the film.

Evan's secondary motivation is to keep Seth happy, and specifically to keep Seth from learning about his future living arrangements with Fogell. This explains why he puts up with all of Seth's bullshit.

Sam Fogell (portrayed by Christopher Mintz-Plasse)
Fogell isn't quite as well-developed of a character, and acts more as a plot device to give Evan and Seth more obstacles in the way of their quest to acquire alcohol, but nonetheless his primary objective seems to be to get to the party with the booze. After getting punched in the face while trying to purchase alcohol, he spends the majority of the film with two hilarious police officers who say they'll drive him to the party (and even they have secondary motivations that inform their actions; to show Fogell that cops can be cool).

Fogell's secondary motivation is very similar to Seth's primary. He wants to get laid. The object of his affection is Nicola (Aviva Baumann), whom we only see in the very beginning and end of his character arc.

How the filmmakers use this to tell a complex story:

So we've got two and a half complex and layered characters to follow. This allows for both external and internal conflict, as the three get separated and are often at odds with each other over their conflicting motivations. From strictly a story perspective, it's also brilliant how Fogell, the least developed of the three, basically exists in an entirely different type of movie from Seth and Evan that intersects first in the liquor store, then when the police hit Seth with their car, and again when Jules' party is broken up. His plot fits his depth.

But the movie's climax doesn't come about from the characters simply making it to the party, because even the two main girls have a surprising amount of depth considering their limited screen time (and the genre of the film they're in). Despite Seth's desire to drunkenly hook up with Jules, it turns out that Jules isn't the girl he thought she was because she doesn't drink and doesn't seem interested in hooking up. Similarly, despite Evan's desires to (soberly) tell Becca how he feels after her liquor bottle is smashed, she seems more convinced with the idea that she must express her feelings for Evan with drunken sex. It's almost like Seth and Evan fell for the female versions of each other...

This isn't just a twist for twist's sake, either. There is evidence of it throughout the film that my 16-year-old self was completely oblivious to. Becca repeatedly tries to express to Evan how much she's into him, yet her flirtations go over his head, and instead he focuses on the idea that he needs to bring her a bottle of Goldslick Vodka to get her attention. Similarly, Seth and Jules have such a great time together in class that Jules invites him to her party, yet he convinces himself that the only way to get her attention is to perform the grand gesture of bringing the liquor to the party.

Oh, and Fogell gets laid. Kind of. He's really the only one who gets exactly what he wants in this movie.

In the end (the mall scene, specifically), Seth and Evan learn from their mistakes and move on from each other and toward a more realistic method of pursuing a their relationships with women.

People (and writer Seth Rogen himself in a podcast interview) talk about this movie being about two things; on the surface it's about getting booze and getting laid, and the deeper story is about friends dealing with growing up and growing apart.

I'd argue that the surface-level story is even more complex than that, though; this is a story about two friends going through hell to impress girls that already like them. It's a story about the misguided perceptions of being a teenager who's still trying to figure out how the world works, and it's executed brilliantly thanks to incredibly well-developed characters and multiple plot lines and character arcs that ebb and flow and twist and turn through each other.

If you haven't seen Superbad recently or at all, I highly suggest it. It's leagues above your average teen sex comedy.

My Thoughts on Fifty Shades of Grey - The Film

It's difficult not to talk about; Fifty Shades of Grey has been released in movie form. Upon reading many (negative) reviews, I considered blogging my two cents about the film, decided not to bother, then reconsidered when someone on Reddit, upon reading a brief post about my thoughts on the film, said:

"The world needs more people like you man"

So now I have decided to write down and publish my thoughts for all the world to see. I will start with my initial impressions of the book series, so feel free to skip further down for just my thoughts on the film (I've tried to make it easy to navigate with relevant headlines), or see my review on Flixster for an even more brief critique.

Disclaimer: I just want to state for the record that I am not going to discuss the Fifty Shades of Grey film purely because it's the hot thing to talk about right now; I was genuinely impacted by the film and feel the need to share my thoughts amid a sea of negative reviews. I'm sure this post will get lost to the untouched corners of the web, so I assure you that I am not writing this to get attention or any sort of profit. Also, I refuse to use "the film was fifty shades of __" wordplay in my review like seemingly every other blogger.

My Introduction to the "Fifty Shades" Books

My wife read the entire Fifty Shades trilogy in a matter of days, and around the same time I was made aware of the phenomenon that the media circus called "Mommy Porn." My wife and I were still in college at the time, and she had never before expressed any interest in erotic fiction. I was glad that she had found and enjoyed the books, because I knew it was important for her to explore her sexuality beyond the confines of our relationship (as we are each other's first and only significant others).

When the Fifty Shades phenomenon started to gain more media attention, I grew curious to it. As an aspiring author and feminist, I realized the importance in trying to understand what it was about these books that took such hold of so many women; I was curious to learn from them so that I could understand the female perspective better and apply that understanding to my own writing. One day, on a whim, I picked up the first book and read through a few chapters. While I found the quality of writing to be as poor as I'd heard, I found the emotional charge of the book electrifying. Anastasia's "should I/shouldn't I" monologue was filled with an undeniably intense emotional tone that was incredibly addicting. I didn't finish the book on account of the sexual scenes being quite boring to me, perhaps because I'm a heterosexual male, or perhaps because much of the tension I enjoyed of the earlier chapters vanished, but I was left with an understanding of what made the books break so many sales records.

The moment I heard about the movie deal, I was delighted that something so risqué was being created for the mainstream, and when casting petitions were started I immediately signed every one begging for actor Ian Somerhalder to play the part of Christian Grey.

Ian Somerhalder was born for the part of Christian Grey, in fact, he already plays an eerily similar role perfectly in The Vampire Diaries

My Thoughts on the Film - A Valentine's Day Treat

When I saw the first trailer for Fifty Shades of Grey, I was in a movie theater, and upon seeing the release date of "Valentine's Day 2015" I immediately burst out laughing so annoyingly that my wife smacked me across the arm. The trailer had a brooding and serious tone to it, seemingly completely unaware of just how ridiculous it was. Such became my attitude for the film in the months leading up to its release; mockery.

My wife asked me to take her to see the film on Valentine's Day, and I accepted. Aside from my obvious desire to do good by her, I was as curious to see the film as I was to read the first few chapters of the book. I wholeheartedly expected it to be terrible in that over-the-top cheesy romantic sort of way that the movie The Best of Me was, which I took my wife to on sweetest day and absolutely detested.

I'm quite glad to say that my expectations were completely shattered, and I left the theater wishing that I could re-enter to see the film yet again.

A Fantasy World

I think that the key to enjoying the Fifty Shades of Grey movie (aside from not being uptight) is to go into the movie with realistic expectations. For example, whereas many of the negative reviews I've read point to the cheesy dialog as a prime reason that they couldn't enjoy the film, claiming that it wasn't realistic or believable, I went into the movie knowing full-well that the film was based on a poorly-worded romantic/sexual fantasy. The key word here is fantasy. Every time that a character said something odd and unrealistic ("are we going to make love now?" Anastasia asks the moment she signs the non-disclosure agreement) I needed only to remind myself that, though the world I'm looking at looks like ours on the surface, it is not; it is a fantasy world where every bit of cheesy dialog serves to either set you up for or deliver a sexy retort ("I don't make love. I fuck. Hard." Christian replies to Anastasia). The source material for the movie is one woman's sexual fantasy that thousands of other women happen to enjoy, which is a very important detail that I feel many reviewers either deliberately or obliviously ignored.

The movie cannot be reviewed by the same standards that we hold other movies to, because it is unlike other movies in this regard. It is not about being realistic, it's about emotion. From the beautiful sight-seeing flights over and around the Seattle area, to the palpable sexual tension, to the emotional lows of Anastasia trying to come to grips with her complicated relationship, the film did an excellent job making me feel like I was right there; feeling all those emotions along with the lead character. I'll even admit to feeling on the verge of joyful tears as the couple experienced the beauty of a nighttime Seattle skyline set to the perfectly-selected song.

Actress Dakota Johnson did an excellent job selling Anastasia's inner thoughts and emotions through the slightest of expressions.

A Playful Interpretation

I was quite worried that the film would take itself too seriously and end up being completely dull as a result (see "The Best of Me" as mentioned above). Fortunately, the movie had several moments that felt genuinely funny and self-aware. Having not read it, I cannot personally speak for how many of the jokes came out of the book, but my wife said she didn't remember the book being so funny - a great indicator that the film knew not to take itself too seriously. The jokes did a great job to break up the tension and remind you that it's meant to be a fun film.

Barely Controversial

The two most common complaints causing controversy with Fifty Shades of Grey are that:

1. It's too graphic/kinky (or not enough, depending on who you ask)
2. The relationship portrayed is abusive

The first point is absolutely absurd no matter which side you take. To the prudes who say it's too much: the sexual content of the film pales in comparison to the source material. All on-screen sex amounts to nothing more kinky than topless humping while Anastasia is (willingly) tied up in various positions. If you've seen sex in any R-rated film, you've seen what Fifty Shades of Grey has to offer. To the perverts who say it's not enough: I'm sorry, but what did you really expect? These are not pornstars in an X-rated film. It may not be the most faithful adaptation of the books, but it's a step closer to the line that Hollywood has been unwilling to approach in years. There's plenty of videos online to please your kinky desires.

This compilation from the trailer is literally as kinky as it gets.

This second point seems to stem largely from the same controversy regarding the books. As someone who has not read the books, I can only say that the arguments seem somewhat valid, though I've heard others (including my wife) disagree. However, thanks to the film's creators, with the gift of hindsight, all of the points made in that article regarding the books are completely absent from the theatrical adaptation:

"For example, the researchers pointed out, she withholds information about her plans to visit friends and family members and avoids social outings so as not to anger Christian."

In the film adaptation, Anastasia withholds information about these plans because (as she boldly states) "it's none of your business." The Anastasia in the film is actually quite strong-willed, and she frequently talks back to Christian so as to point out his obvious possessive issues and flaws.

"In consensual BDSM relationships, partners take negotiations seriously and respect each others’ boundaries, she said. In “Fifty Shades,” she noted, Christian bullies Anastasia and plies her with alcohol to coerce her into sexual acts that she finds uncomfortable."

Again, there is an entire scene in the film in which Anastasia and Christian sit down for a very serious (and playful) discussion about the terms of the BDSM contract, during which time Anastasia orders certain acts to be removed from the contract entirely and Christian obeys without debate. As a bonus, at the end of this scene, it is made obvious that the whole situation has aroused Christian, and Anastasia straight-up leaves him high and dry. Furthermore, Christian never once gives Anastasia alcohol in the film as far as I can remember, and in fact occasionally warns her of the dangers of excessive drinking, at one point taking a glass of wine right out of her hand so as to keep her clear-headed in accordance to the contract.

The Bottom Line - A Step Forward for Women and Cinema

Fifty Shades of Grey was an at-times cheesy, self-aware fantasy that successfully tugs at your emotions and removes the flaws of its source material. At the same time it stands on its own as a daring attempt to push mainstream cinema to not only recognize that women have been neglected as sexual beings, but to push the boundaries of our culture's ability to understand and accept diverse sexuality as something totally okay to talk about. We are now living in a post-Fifty Shades world, and I, for one, think the future is looking bright.

Also, the soundtrack was absolutely incredible! It fit the mood perfectly and stands on its own as one of the best compilations from different artists of original and reworked material that I've ever heard.

-Ryan