Exit Through the Gift Shop Review

Exit Through the Gift Shop the new film by Banksy… or is it?  This film is a documentary about a documentary (Think a more meta version of Lost in la Mancha) that ends up questioning “what is art?”  When Thierry Guetta, an amateur filmmaker if there ever was one, sets out to film Banksy after getting drawn into the world of graffiti and street art proves to be unable to produce a comprehendible film (we are shown Life, Remote Control: The Movie is either the most avant garde film ever made… or one of the biggest pieces of junk) Banksy then asks to recut the film, while Guetta tries his hand at street art in a reversal of roles.
  
The film’s authorship problems come from the fact most of the film is constructed using footage shot by Thierry for his Life, Remote Control though he did not know how to make that movie… he simply felt life was worth recording, especially these under appreciated street artist.  Banksy then takes Guetta’s footage to tell the “much more interesting” story of Thierry, and his quest to document street art… particularly the holy grail of elusive street artist’s Banksy himself.  So we are watching Banksy interpret Thierry’s footage of other people’s street art, including his own… quite the trip.

Then the really heady stuff begins.  While framed as a documentary/biopic about this goofy guy Thierry, the film really plays around with the concept of “what makes art.”  Around midway into the film, Thierry documents a art show featuring all work by Banksy, once Banksy charges Thierry to “do a small show” of his own, Thierry sets out to do a bigger show than Banksy in the finale… only to meet with the similar rabid appreciation by art collectors.  Throughout the film, art collectors are portrayed as clueless (“I don’t like this one but I have it hanging up anyway” says one collector, likely to flaunt it because of it’s “value.”)  Banksy’s art vanishes the next day in some places, yet art critics claim he is a genius… if it is art why would it be so hurried to be removed?  Why would Thierry be able to become an overnight sensation with such a little body of work (some including pictures of himself). 

Thierry gets a lot of laughs in this film, most of them with him, as he journeys into the mysterious world of street art.  While I went into the movie thinking that the film would have little appeal outside street art enthusiasts and the elites who think Banksy is the only good street artist, Thierry as our guide into this world provides an everyman appeal of making the world palatable and humorous enough anyone can enjoy… and this everyman quality is also the reason the Thierry art show works so well… basically, he’s trolling the art establishment.  And there’s where Banksy comes in… it is doubtful that Thierry would have been able to play around with the concepts of “what is art” as much as Banksy, a man who’s integrity is called into question after his art show.  Whether or not, the movie is a “prank” or if Banksy is actually Thierry as is suggested by some internetz outlets, the film is enjoyable a) enjoyable to watch and b) raises some interesting issues surrounding the nature of art.

Recommended.  - Phantom

Robin Hood Review

by Ann Marie.

Robin Hood meets Gladiator and Braveheart.

Robin Hood follows a different story line unlike the original story. We start in a battle scene and that's when we meet Robin Longstride (Russell Crowe) fighting with King Richard (Danny Huston) the King of England. It isn't until Robin decides to break away from the war and go on his merry way that we start to understand the storyline behind Robin Hood. Robin leaves his battalion and stumbles upon a group of travelers who were ambushed by a French battalion. Robin makes a choice to help the ambushed group and finds one lone survivor, Sir Robert Loxley (Douglas Hodge). The movie becomes a sequel to the already known story of Robin Hood. Unfortunately, King Richard has passed away after being killed in battle and Sir Robert Loxley before he passes away asks Robin to take his sword back to his father. Robin promises to help and makes his way back to England suited as solider, carrying the king's crown and Loxley's sword. When Robin arrives to the king's castle, more story lines begin to unfold. Robin returns the crown to King Richard's mother, after which she bestows the duties to her next in kin, Prince John (Oscar Issac). Robin also returns Loxley's sword to his father. Robin runs into Marion Loxley (Cate Blanchett) and meets Sir Walter Loxley (Max von Sydow). After returning the sword, Walter asks Robin to stay and pretend to be his son to help raise the moral of the townspeople. While Robin is in town, King John realizes he has a spy working for him as the King of France wants conquer and kill King John. The audience will see many parallels to the original Robin Hood, but also many new circumstances to help differentiate from the original.

There are many big names in this movie such as Cate Blanchett, who was in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Russell Crowe, who was the lead character in Gladiator and William Hurt (William Marshall), who was also in Endgame. These actors were brought their A game to the screen. Also joining them was Danny Huston, Douglas Hodge, Oscar Issac just to name a few. Everyone worked well together on the screen.

The audience will notice the fights scenes were grimy and had an in your face type action. Close up shots were used with Robin, especially one scene where he fires an arrow. The audience watches him fire and then the camera reverses roles and becomes the arrow as it flies through the air and hits the enemy. There is also a correlation between the fight scenes and the movies Braveheart and Gladiator. Being, Ridley Scott directed Gladiator you get a sense of Robin Hood is Gladiator set in a later era. However, there is a Braveheart-esque feel when the English prepare to fight off the French in the final battle. These uses didn't ruin the film, but help enhance the film's grimy, dirty feel.

Robin Hood had many interesting edited sequences and was highly stylistic. In the beginning of the film the audience sees a pan down to a forest setting the scene of the movie. This is just the start of the panning and transitional shots used to help the audience keep track of the different groups. Ridley Scott, Director, also incorporated still shots, pans and an aerial fly through. Another technique used was the Old English titles which was used in the beginning to help tell the story and to label the different towns.

Lastly, there is a brilliant montage used in the film. As the audience is watching the French taking over towns, there is a map watermarked over the sequence. As each town is destroyed the map begins to burn. It is brilliantly done and helps connect the destruction path of the French without having to watch each battle separately.

As stated before Scott is known for his movie Gladiator, but has also done other films such as Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise and American Gangster. He is not only a director but a producer as well. He has already begun his laundry list of movies in the works, but for right now he will be working on an untitled prequel to Alien, The King One and will have his hand in helping with the making of The A-Team.

I would recommend this to anyone who has followed the Robin Hood story, a fan of Ridley Scott or a fan of Russell Crowe or Cate Blanchett.

Iron Man 2 Review

-by Ann Marie.

He’s snarky, he’s sarcastic and his ego isn’t one to mess with.

Continuing where we left off in Iron Man, Iron Man 2 follows Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and we are in for another ride. In the beginning of the movie, the audience meets Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) the son of a famous scientist, which is learned later. After his father asses on, Ivan rummages through his things and finds a blue print for an arc reactor. Ivan creates a device that attaches to his back and surges out electricity to whips. This is just the beginning of the story, Tony is still up to his shenanigans, flying around in his Iron Man suit, showing off to his fans and flaunting his good looks. All of a sudden things start getting out of control. Tony's arc reactor isn't helping keep him alive anymore, but is killing him. Once he realizes this, Tony begins to prepare for his death and the future of Stark Industries by appointing Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), his assistant, as the CEO. He also gets out of hand at his birthday party and Lt. Col. James "Rodney" Rhodes (Don Cheadle), his friend from the military, has to take control of the situation. Rhodes then leaves with the suit and Tony down on his luck in his house. Tony meets some new characters Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Natalie Rushman or under her agent name Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson). Nick and Natasha help Tony change and understand more about his family.

Iron Man 2 has a lot of returning players to the screen; Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Clark Gregg and Jon Favreau, but the new players aren't people the audience has never heard of before. Joining these returning players on the screen is Scarlett Johnansson, Samuel L. Jackson, which the audience did see after the first Iron Man if you waited after the credit roll, Don  Cheadle, who took over the role Terrance Howard played in the Iron Man and Mickey Rourke. These actors brought their A game to the screen, not missing a beat.

The editing of this movie had many parallels to the first one. In the beginning of the film, Ivan is making an arc reactor which parallels when Tony was making an arc reactor in the bunker where he was prisoned. The shot sequence is similar with the multiple angles of Ivan hard at work putting together his weapon. Another parallel is the villain open sequence, they are always walking toward Tony with a semi dramatic scene behind him. This editing technique keeps the viewer engaged in the movie, but also makes it easier for the audience to relate the movies together. The film's editing was beautifully cut and kept its flow. The audience won't see the majority of the high speed editing till the climax of the film, but Favreau likes to throw in some little nuggets around the storyline to help keep the audience's eyes glued to the screen.

With Iron Man 3 in talks, Iron Man 2 became more of an informational, midpoint film. This usually helps the audience understand the character's back story and the character evolves. Most midpoint films tend to get stuck in the informational part of the character and lose the audience in dialog, but Iron Man 2 didn't do that at all. The audience still got to see Tony stay on a similar parallel story line as the first one.

Favreau has directed both Iron Man movies and is currently working on Cowboys and Aliens. He will also have his hands in making of The Avengers which is set to be released in 2012.

Overall this movie kept all the right elements from the first Iron Man movie. I would recommend this for anyone who is a fan of the first movie, fan of Robert Downey Jr., or is a fan of the comic book series.