Movie Review: Source Code

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Lots of choices this weekend. With Easter less than a month away the guys who brought us Despicable Me bring us the animated Hop. The next generation of Easter bunny who decides he doesn't want to carry on the family business. Maybe. What about a comatose child being attacked and taken over by evil spirits in Insidious? Got something better? What about a science fiction action thriller with elements from Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. This one sounds like a winner in the movie Source Code.

Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) finds himself in the seat where the same eight minutes is being repeated over and over again. Unknown to him is that he is now part of the Source Code program that puts him into the body of another man aboard a doomed train that explodes. During those eight minutes he needs to find the person who bombed the train so that he can be stopped from setting off another larger and more dangerous bomb in Chicago.

Stevens finds himself extracting more details with each attempt with the guidance of mission controller Goodwin (Vera Farmiga). The problem is that Stevens has no idea how he ended up in this assignment in the first place and time is running short to prevent the second bomb's detonation. It's a race against the clock in eight minute increments. The same time span of eight minutes, but each a little different from the previous.

We see the rabbit hole. We're pulled in and then popped out. The explanation given of Source Code by its inventor Dr Ruteledge (Jeffrey Wright) is pretty straight forward and understandable within the confines of quantum physics and quantum mechanics. Can Stevens handle the constant repetition of those eight minutes? Can he save the lives of millions of people including trainmate Christina (Michelle Monaghan) who he's falling for? It's a wild premise that kept me glued to my seat the entire time.

For only his third time around, director Duncan Jones had the movie run for a very tight 93 minutes. Due to some violence including disturbing images of a train filled with passengers repeatedly blowing up and language, the film was rated PG-13. While I don't think it will open in the top spot because of the animated bunny during the Easter season, I believe this one has staying power for the longer haul and worthy of a look.

The Movie Monkey

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Movie Review: Sucker Punch

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If you got out to the web and look up the definition of sucker punch you'll find the following, "A sucker punch is a blow made without warning, allowing no time for preparation or defense on the part of the recipient. It is usually delivered from close range or from behind." Zach Snyder who gave us 300 and The Watchman gives us this green screen computer animated fable called Sucker Punch. The question is whether a sucker punch was pulled on the characters in the story or on us.

The story stars Baby Doll (Emily Browning), a girl who has long blonde hair and doe eye just like Amanda Seyfried who was also considered for the role. Baby Doll has lost her sister and mother and in a twist from a typical Disney story she has an an evil wicked step father. He commits her to the Lennox House for the mentally insane in Brattleboro, Vermont as shown in two lingering shots of the signage. Why showing these signs was so important, your guess is as good as mine. Once inside she is to receive a lobotomy so he can get his hands on the family wealth.

Of course the incarceration is illegal. Dad has paid off one of the staff, Blue (Oscar Isaac) for the committal. In a special type of therapy given by Dr Vera Gorski (Carla Gugino with a really bad Russian accent) the patients are given theater therapy. The patients will act and dance out on a stage to try to get to the root of their problem.

When Baby Doll dances, it mesmerizes everyone. Actually when Baby Doll dances she creates an alternate reality for herself where she meets a wise man (Scott Glenn) who guides her in a plan to get four known and one unknown item in order to escape before she is to be lobotomized. Each time she dances she goes into a new world and with fellow patients Sweet Pea, her sister Rocket, Blondie and Amber (Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens and Jamie Chung). Battling in a Japanese temple or against futuristic robots, a dragon or steam punk soldiers the girls attempt to get the objects that will unlock their future.

There is no question that the visuals are incredible on such a large scale. The term visually stunning was pointed out on my Facebook page as being "waaaaay overused description" in reference to this film. But they were. And I can understand where if you saw the 3D version of the film the effects could have been used positively. For the guys, having the ladies running around kicking butt in midriff bearing outfits and thigh high socks was an added bonus. Ladies, you get a few moments of Jon Hamm screen time.

The sound track was pumping and thumping with versions of Sweet Dreams are Made of This originally from the Eurythmics and a mashup up of Queen's I Want it All and We Will Rock You. If you stay to the end of the movie, all 109 minutes you'll receive a music video of Love is the Drug as performed by Carla and Oscar.

So you have a good sound track and great visuals. But the story was lacking. When the plot sucker punch was delivered I asked myself, did they really have to do that? I won't say what it was but the base premise really angered me. Since we're talking about lobotomies in this movie, it was rated PG-13 for thematic material involving sexuality, violence and combat sequences, and for language. Personally, I think with a bit more clean up of the plot it could have been a much better movie. In the mean time I'll head off to the doctor and have him make sure that my kidney is ok from the blow that Sucker Punch delivered.

The Movie Monkey

To subscribe to the audio podcast of the reviews via iTunes click here. Audio versions are released the following Wednesday.

March notes about Aulani and the Ko Olina Resort

The opening of Disney's Aulani A Resort and Spa in Ko Olina on Oahu is just about six months from opening. Here are some notes and thoughts about what's happening from my last trip out to the resort.

I take TheBus, Oahu's public bus system, out to the site to take update pics. I called their customer service to see if/when they would have bus service go into the resort. The representative told me that the Ko Olina resort will not allow buses onto property as they are private property. She didn't know if they would maybe do like the military bases and allow buses through the property for limited hours. With the worker demand and the expectations of the restaurants, hopefully an agreement will be worked out between TheBus and Ko Olina before the resort opens. Let me reiterate another post that I did about transportation, DO NOT use TheBus to get to Aulani from the airport due to the distance to walk in and having to cross Farrington Highway!

My last trip a friend who lives there took me around on a golf cart and pointed out parts of the resort to me. The first stop was the Ko Olina Marina which is next to the Barbers Point harbor, a place where a Disney cruise ship could dock if a terminal building is built. Disney filmed Pirates of the Carribbean 4 here in 2010. Blackbeard's ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge is docked at the marina for the foreseeable future. This would be similar to Disney's island in the Bahamas, Castaway Cay, where the Flying Dutchman from the earlier movies is moored and visitors can see it for picture taking.

Currently there are a couple of chapels on the property for weddings. About twenty five weddings per week happen within the Ko Olina grounds. Disney will be entering the wedding market. Disney had room models for prospective buyers set up near the beach. They have been removed to make way for what will be the wedding area overlooking the shoreline. The view will be beautiful.

With the removal of the models, prospective buyers will now go into the actual buildings to take tours. I was going to take a tour and contacted one of the friendly cast members to set it up with her. She was going to be off and unfortunately wasn't able to get the tour scheduled before she left. While she didn't have access to the scheduling system she did multiple e-mail follow ups away from the kiosk to try to make it happen. Thank you for the effort. She gets Disney customer service. I will try again in the future.

For those that want to golf while visiting Aulani, the Ko Olina Golf Club club house is a very short walk from the resort. It's basically right across the street off to the right slightly from the front of the property at the corner of Aliinui and Kamoana. By the club house is a workout facility and tennis courts for the Ko Olina residents. I forgot to ask if Disney Vacation Club owners will have access to these facilities.

The day that I went the Hawaii Railway Society had one of their trains going through the resort. I heard horns and didn't think it was the train but then the engine came into view. I was very excited to see this as:

1. I haven't ridden the train or seen the train in person before today.
2. They usually don't run the trains on a weekday when I go out for my visits.
3. I had a blog post about using this train for the opening of Aulani.
   

I really hope my idea gets traction.

The Marriott next door is getting ready for competition. The last time I was out the Pro Bowl was in town and I couldn't get into the Ihilani to take pictures. This time, the couple of floors I went to, could not have been in use. There were large rolls of new carpet on the top floor blocking access around the elevator bay. On another floor, the the elevator bay wasn't blocked but they had rolls on other parts of the floor. On that same floor, the window was completely covered with dirt making any pictures I took unusable. I'm sure if there were people occupying that floor the window would have been a LOT cleaner!

I talked to some of the merchants at Ko Olina Crossing, the couple of stores across the street from the resort. They are very excited for the opening.

When going by the front of the resort I had to walk in a part of the street. They had put up barriers to help protect pedestrians as the construction walls were pushed right out to the street. In the break of the wall you can see the porte-cochère taking more shape than in the past visits. There are a lot of plants and trees that have been put in place to allow them time to take root and fill out before opening day.

In the back of the resort, the regular pathway was blocked off. It too had a temporary walkway in place as about twenty feet from the normal walk way was taken up. My assumption would be that they are doing grading and other landscaping to make a bit of a smoother transition between the main property and the Koloha lagoon.

The DVC Cast Members now have a full blown kiosk on the beach. In the past they have had signs and an umbrella. It's not as fancy as what is at Ala Moana Shopping Center, but it looks much better than what was there before.

For hiring, there have been many more posts put up on the Aulani.jobs web site. Many of the regular hourly positions are now listed. I've been seeing a number of twitters and Facebook posting where people have said they have been hired or have moved beyond the initial screening. I'm sure that Lianne Maeda and Katie Mock are very busy right now!

One of my facebook buddies has informed me that there will be military rates and a kamaaina rate for residents. When I heard the discount percent I was very surprised. It's a good one! To take advantage of these rates, contact Lindsey and let her know that Joel sent you! In a similar vein, I wonder if non guests would be able to buy a single day admission to Waikalohe Valley. At the Walt Disney World's Yacht and Beach Club's Stormalong Bay they use room keys and other control methods to keep other resort guests from pool hopping. I wonder what they will do for the Valley since it's located right new door to a public beach.

Lastly, as I was being shown the resort via golf cart, I was being told that the resort itself is looking at a number of changes. This would include rebranding itself and its logo (they currently use a lady bug) as well as physical changes. Most of the physical changes would be improvements to the sidewalks and walk ways including walkway lighting.

Special thanks to my friend for the tour of Ko Olina and information about the resort. It was a fun morning!

Disney DVC Aulani update 2011-03-17, a photo by coconut wireless on Flickr.

To see the latest collection of construction update pictures, go here