Pacific Rim

I guess I’ve loved giant robots ever since I watched the Transformers cartoon as a kid. Or maybe it was the Megazord from Power Rangers? Let’s just say I’ve always loved giant robots. They defy the limits of reality in such a way that I simply cannot resist being both incredibly aroused when I see them. The problem with that? There’s never been that great Western giant robot movie. For spaceships I had Star Wars and a dozen other options; for giant robots, I had Robot Jox. Guillermo del Toro changed that (praise Jesus) by releasing Pacific Rim, my favorite movie of the year so far.

Let’s take a step back. Yes, Western media has been a huge letdown when it comes to giant robots, but Japan gets it. They have a long tradition of mecha anime, from Gigantor in 1963, to Mobile Suit Gundam in 1979, to Neon Genesis Evangelion in 1997, to whatever weird shit is going on today. These beautiful have a fascination with gigantic city-destroyers, as they are also the country responsible for the kaiju genre of cinema, most notable for giving us Godzilla. However, both of the genres have been limited to animation of dudes in costumes. Japan is the greatest place on earth when it comes to entertainment, but they just don’t have the big bucks like Hollywood does.

I go through all this not because I don’t think you know it already, but because it’s important to keep in mind what Pacific Rim really is: a tribute. It was as if del Toro managed to get the budget Gundam and Godzilla never could, and used it the way he think they would have. That means the movie might have some problems on it’s own, but it also means the movie screams: “Hey! Fuck you Michael Bay! Fuck your Transformer movies! Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you!”

Because seriously, this is the opposite of those terrible Transformer movies in most ways. OK, yes, it also has a portal between worlds that has to be blown up, but what movie doesn’t these days? But do the characters make jokes that are funny and not racist? Yes. Does what’s going on make sense all the time? Yes. Is the action exciting and fun to watch and paced in a way that I don’t want to commit suicide? Yes!

So this is set in the future, when Kaiju (giant monsters) invade the world through a portal in the Pacific Ocean. Humanity united and created Jaegers (giant robots) to stop them. It worked. Years later, Beckett (Charlie Hunnam) is a washed up Jaeger pilot who ends up teaming up with his old commander (Idris Elba) and the new hotness (Rinko Kikuchi) on a last-ditch effort to close the portal before the kaiju invasion speeds up to an unstoppable rate. Also, Charlie Day and that guy from The Dark Knight Rises are there trying to understand the kaiju brain, and later Ron Perlman shows up.

Anyway, the action. Here’s the trick: it’s really exciting to watch. The jaegers are ginormous and beautiful works of machinery. They look like unstoppable killing machines. But the kaiju, the evil creatures from the depths, are just as diverse and menacing. Despite how powerful the jaegers were, I always believed they were outmatched by the kaiju. More importantly, even though the pilots were deep inside the machines, they were clearly in danger all the time in every fight. It’s amazing and tense and so fun to watch.

And then you get to the dumb stuff that you have to accept as tropes of the genre or you’ll be driven mad. Yes, they did build giant robots just so they could wrestle the monsters. Yes, for some reason, the sword is way more effective than missiles and lasers. And yes, people are going to yell dumb things when they attempt to kill the kaiju. Melodrama is a massive part of the shows and movies Pacific Rim was inspired by, you just have to be willing to eat it up. And good guy, I was starving.

This is probably the worst review I’ve ever written, because I’m pretty sure I’d defend Pacific Rim to the death. I concede the middle drags a bit and I wish there were fights outside of the ocean, raining, at night. But I was never bored, I liked all the characters, and damnit, I’d have paid damn near any price to see the two or three great battle sequences in this movie. Congratulations, Guillermo del Toro, you saved this disappointing summer for me. I hope they let you make another.

Much Ado About Nothing

You could say that The Avengers was the ultimate test for Joss Whedon; a big budget summer blockbuster seemed pretty far out of the wheelhouse of the guy known for niche nerdy shows that get cancelled. But he made it work by doing basically what he has always done: writing a funny, exciting script that allowed the movie to focus a little more on character than spectacle. You see, Whedon is a writer, and a good one. So if you think about it, his real ultimate test is doing a movie he didn’t write, like when Kevin Smith did Cop Out. Fortunately, by taking on Shakespeare, Whedon set the bar a little higher for himself.

If you haven’t heard about the production history of this movie, allow me to leave you really unimpressed. Basically, while on post-Avengers vacation, Whedon invited his actor friends over to his Santa Monica home and shot the movie right there in his house. Knowing that made me think of the movie as a fun little exercise and not really a film worthy of analysis, but obviously I was wrong, or this wouldn’t have gotten a wide release.

The movie is shot in black and white, so as to create even further distance from The Avengers, which is nice. After Frances Ha, I’m getting used to the idea of seeing really modern places in black and white, might as well see this trend continue. As for Whedon’s interpretation of the script? He turned Conrade into a lady (played by Riki Lindhome of Garfunkel and Oates fame) who is totally doing Don John (Sean Maher, Firefly‘s Simon) which makes him seem a more credible threat. Also, Whedon implies that Beatrice (Amy Acker, who was in both Angel and Dollhouse) and Benedick (Alexis Denisof, from Buffy/Angel) already had a relationship previously, which I can get behind.

As for the rest of the cast? Clark Gregg, who apparently subbed in for Anthony Head at the last minute, is having a lot of fun as Leonato, as it should be. Nathan Fillion is obviously cast as Dogberry, and does it due diligence. Fran Kranz, of Dollhouse and Cabin in the Woods makes Claudio a little more interesting than he usually is, and was fun with Reed Diamond’s Don Pedro. And there are other, mostly inconsequential parts for women.

Much Ado About Nothing is probably me favorite of Shakespeare’s comedies, and I probably would get some enjoyment out of any rendition of the material. That said, I think Whedon deftly handled the material and the cast had a lot of fun with it. Shooting it in Whedon’s house gives the film an intimate feel, and the score, which Whedon also helped do, accentuates that tone. The whole movie just seems fun and casual, which it probably should, especially compared to Kenneth Branagh’s 1993 version. I liked it.

Daft Punk – Random Access Memories

The always-ahead-of-their-time Daft Punk are back with Random Access Memories, their fourth album (fifth if you count the Tron 2 soundtrack, but I don’t). I’ve made no secret of the fact that I haven’t particularly liked a Daft Punk album outside of Discovery, and even the back half of that LP loses me most of the time. It’s a weird problem of mine, I guess, that, at this point in my life, I genuinely like this band, but I can’t really break them out of the singles zone. Then again, maybe that’s exactly where they belong… I can’t say I listen to a lot of dance/electronica/techno/whatever. But I’m trying, Ringo. I’m trying real hard to be the shepherd.

Anyway, that’s kind of a moot, because, as if bored of being on the front line of electronic music for so long, Daft Punk has done something pretty different for RAM. This isn’t catchy electronica or whatever that Tron soundtrack was, but rather an effort to recapture the vibe of the music that was clearly the most influential on the duo: disco of the late ’70s and early ’80s. To that end, they’ve abandoned samples in favor of live performances, and brought in a collection of superstar session players to play those parts.

This approach is most apparent on “Giorgio by Moroder” a sweet nine minute jam session featuring narration by the Giorgio Moroder himself, talking about his career and his contributions to music. On one hand, it’s very humble and sweet. On the other, it’s kind of weird to have to listen to that interview every time I want to listen to that song. I think I prefer the collaborations that fall a bit more on the traditional side, like “Touch” and “Doin’ It Right,” featuring Paul Williams and Panda Bear, respectively. And of course “Get Lucky,” the lead single and one of two tracks with Pharrell Williams, is certainly eligible to be the summer jam of 2013.

Anyway, Random Access Memories is, without question, the easiest Daft Punk album for me to listen to so far. Even Discovery, and undisputed classic, wears on me as I get through the second half. I don’t know if it’s the new approach, the hype, or just really great music, but I think Daft Punk did some damn fine work here. So if you’ve been waiting on this one, get on with it, man. Shit’s hot.

Favorite Tracks: “Touch,” “Get Lucky,” “Doin’ It Right”