Old film review #8: The cabin in the woods (Released 2012)

Before we get into proceedings I'd like to thank the University of Sussex Horror and Sci-fi society for giving me the chance to see this film.

Image source: http://waytooindie.com/features/75-greatest-movie-cover-designs/

So I may have mentioned that the tone of the last two films that I reviewed were a bit skewed in places or perhaps just a bit inconsistent.  Those two films of course being Dead Alive/Braindead (1992) and Moon (2009).  However, I am happy to say that for the first time in about 3-4 movie reviews I have reviewed a film that has a consistent theme, tone and structure throughout the whole movie and only challenges this status quo within the film when the story needs it to!

I didn't think such an aspect of The cabin in the woods (Directed and written by Drew Goddard and co-written by Joss Whedon) could be such a refreshing note of point after my last two film reviews but I'll take it!

Unfortunately however, this film's main strength in the form of its excellent plot twists and comedic springs and surprises, has been somewhat ruined by the exposure it has received.  Combine this with the speed at which information travels on the internet in the information and social media era and by now, many people already know the plot twists and key moments that really make the film before they've seen it.  I was unlucky enough to have had this same experience but I was still pleasantly surprised by the twists that the film did take and I would also recommend you do your best to go into seeing this film blind.  Believe me, the movie will be all the more enjoyable for you if you do that.

Image source: https://genkinahito.wordpress.com/2012/04/22/the-cabin-in-the-woods/

Now, how to summarise the plot synopsis without giving too much away?  Well, to put it as succinct as possible, the premise of the film is that a group of horror and slasher film stereotypical characters all go to a suitably ominous cabin in the woods (nice title insert there for you all).  While enjoying their holiday in a dusty old shack that probably smells of damp and musk, the gang are attacked by creatures of evil while also being observed through secret cameras by a team of mysterious office workers.  That's all I can really go into without thoroughly spoiling the film as.  Just get the DVD, watch the film and you'll see what I mean.

However, this does not mean that we can't speak about the best aspects of the film which I feel are both the direction and writing as well as the aforementioned .  The tone of this being a horror/comedy/parody film throughout is kept nice and consistent and never strays away from this sub-genre unless the story requires it.  There are a couple of dramatic moments, but these are not too heavy-handed and mainly occur towards the end of the film.  Even here though, the theme of the film is still consistent.  Something that must go down as being credited to Goddard's direction.

This directing perhaps isn't as strong as the subversive directing style shown in Moon but it is consistent and not just in tone but also in quality throughout most of the film.  Even when some actors did not seem as talented as they could be or the film faced a dip in quality, Goddard's direction shines through by limiting the adverse aspects of these kinds of things happening.  For example, Chris Hemsworth's character is kept suitably idiotic to keep in line with the stereotype of meathead jocks in horror films but he isn't so stupid that his character defies normal film and human logic.  In the hands of a spoof director less skilled than Goddard, I feel that Hemsworth's performance for one would be marred less by magnifying stereotypes of a genre as a spoof film should do and instead overly rely on those same tropes and themes unironically.  Something that Goddard prevents reasonably well in other areas of the film including the other characters and the use of music and camera angles.

This is in turn helped greatly by a simple but well-written, well-delivered and funny script that allows the actors on all fronts to really express their acting and comedic chops.  Even the actors and actresses who don't put on as good a performance such as Kristen Connolly are still able to flourish reasonably well thanks to a stable, consistent and humorous script.  In an unexpected turn, the actors are able to also flourish in regards to their acting and comedic talent thanks to the gore and blood in the film not being overtly excessive.  Instead the gore is used sparingly for when it is appropriate so it is shocking when it appears.  This is of course excluding the last 25-30 minutes of the film wherein the story and gore goes absolutely mental.  Seriously, in the 3rd act the film goes from using gore and blood in a conservative manner to displaying as much mad carnage as an Arnold Schwarzenegger film on steroids.

Image source: http://cultspark.com/2012/04/15/review-the-cabin-in-the-woods/

The major complaint I have to pay to this film was raised by my good friend Phil when we saw this movie at the latest meeting of the University of Sussex Horror & Sci-fi society.  After we saw The cabin in the woods, Phil raised the point that the film would have been a more effective critique and spoof of horror and slasher films if the film had been less slick and highly-produced.  We both agreed that the film being well-made and produced was to its benefit but the extent to which this was the case worked against the idea of spoofing slasher pics itself.  The famous slasher films of the 1980s and 1990s where made famous primarily because of how cheesy and cheap they were made and what they did in order to offset the downsides of being made in this way.  Had the film done this at least in regards to the parts of the film where the heroes are stuck in the woods being attacked, I would think it would have been a much more effective spoof.  It might've helped if the scenes in the woods and the cabin were done like this while the scenes with the secret observation team were presented in a shiny and slick manner.  Perhaps this kind of contrast would have created a better basis for spoofing slasher flicks but alas we may never know.

This is really the main core criticism I have of the film and I have to thank Phil for raising it but I do have a couple more minor ones to point out before wrapping up this review.  As mentioned earlier, some of the acting isn't the best and while no single actor puts in a bad performance, the clearly high level of effort put into the writing, directing and camerawork feels a tad wasted at points because of this.  Another gripe I have happens towards the end of the film.  In this case, a character we have never seen or heard of before in any clear or significant manner shows up and explains the basis of the plot to the main hero.  Not only is this a god-awful exposition dump that is delivered with about as much grace as me eating a bag of popcorn but it also tells the audience something that has already been explained at least twice by this point in the film.  There are moments like this dotted throughout the film that keep it from being a irrefutable classic of spoof movies like how Dead Alive/Braindead managed to be.

Image source: https://grizzlybomb.com/2015/10/07/lionsgate-wants-a-sequel-to-the-cabin-in-the-woods-from-drew-goddard/

To bring this to a conclusion, I think that like Moon, The cabin in the woods has a good concept, is directed and written well and has a half-decent production but is either undone by some aspects being too overt, poorly-done exposition and key points in the film that bring the narrative to a grinding halt for no discernibly good reason.  This isn't to say that either of these films is bad however.  Like with Moon last week, I do really like The cabin in the woods and it really shows its quality in how much effort was put into it.  It really is good to see a spoof movie be an actual spoof rather than just pointing out contradictions in a genre and making stale pop-culture references.  If this film interests you then I recommend viewing as little information about it before getting a DVD and having yourself a humorous old jaunt through one of the best horror films or spoof films of the last 10 years.

Cinematography/camerawork:  6.5/10

Writing: 9/10

Directing: 8/10

Acting: 6.25/10

Effects: 6/10

Overall rating: 35.75/50

TV review #2: The Legend of Korra (2012-2014)

Image source: http://www.designntrend.com/articles/31700/20141219/legend-korra-finale-well-received-fans-dubbed-best-2014-forbes.htm

Well this could be seen as somewhat overdue couldn't it?  If I remember correctly, the last time I did a review of a TV show was way back in the prehistoric days of this blog when I reviewed the now defunct BBC3 show The Pranker (2011).  Of course you could tell from the title, picture and just going on google for 5 minutes that Nickelodeon's 2012-14 series The Legend of Korra is a tad different in a few regards.

Now there are a few things to get off my chest before we go into this review that may come back up later on so I'll just address them now:

1) I personally think this series is better than its predecessor Avatar: The last airbender (2005-08) but that does not meant that you should not see the original as it can help to understand some plot points but don't take this as meaning it is absolutely necessary to do so.

2) Season 2 is definitely the weakest one in this show but I personally thought it was okay.

3) The finale of the show at the end of season 4 I thought was great and the romance that it implied I thought was also great.

Right, so with that out of the way I'd say its high time to get into this don't you?

Image source: http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/2015/03/31/eccc-voices-of-legend-of-korra-talk-acting-and-korrasami/

Set several decades after the finale of the 2005-08 original series, Korra takes up the story of the next avatar (a spiritual herald who can master all four of the core elements of fire, earth, water and wind) after the original series protagonist Aang passes on.  Whereas Aang was a bright-eyed young man from the wind-bending tribes with idealistic ideas of peace, this new avatar and new series protagonist Korra is a headstrong, aggressive and hard-nosed water-tribe girl with ideals of becoming the most powerful avatar of all time and surpassing her own personal limits.

Before I get further into the quality of the show I should of course mention that it is indeed an animated show borrowing both qualities from eastern Japanimation and western mainstream cartoons.  You probably could've told that from the pictures at this point but I should just say for the people out there not too partial to animated shows that this is still a great series worth considering.  I can understand the trepidation that some people have about animated shows but Korra is genuinely so well animated and told that I'd probably say go check it out anyway.  It'll hardly be a waste of your time if you do and at least then you can say you tried it out.

Off the bat, even from just looking at the protagonist motivations, you can tell that this sequel series is a certain degree more personal and intense on account of how the motivation for the main character this time round is something altogether more relatable than what was shown in the original show.  This isn't of course to say that anything that Aang did in the original series wasn't without motivation as his need and want to end the hundreds year war that was raging around him was more than understandable and sympathetic.  However, I found myself far more personally invested in Korra's drive to become more powerful and balanced in her role as the new avatar and the innate desire to become stronger and more powerful in all honesty was the main thing that drew me to her as a sympathetic and relatable character.  All in all, the motivations of the main and even side characters in the original series are great but I found myself drawn each episode without fail to Korra's drive to be the best person as well as avatar that she could be.

Image source: http://www.ew.com/article/2014/06/11/legend-of-korra-trailer-season-3

Korra herself is probably the main draw for myself to this series as not only is she a highly relatable young woman with understandable personal struggles and motivations but also marks herself out as a reasonably realistic representation of someone going through their late teens and early-20s.  Korra at multiple points throughout the series does things on a sporadic spur of the moment kind of motivation and sometimes this works while at others it explodes in her face.  This is how I remember trying to approach life in my late teens and found the failures that Korra incurred from this sympathetic but also a remarkably realistic way of building her character as she not only matures past her teens but also matures into the avatar she is destined to become.

Now as mentioned above, season 2 is the weakest out of the four seasons and the reason why I bring this up now at such an odd point in the review is that during this season, Korra's personal failings do become a bit frequent for my liking and a bit tiresome.  This is primarily because the first season was intended to be a one-off but when it exploded into being one of the most popular shows on TV in 2012, Nickelodeon (somewhat understandably) freaked the fuck out and pressured the companies that they made and produced The Legend of Korra with into greenlighting and producing at least another season.  Season 2 is by no means as bad as some others make it out to be but it certainly is the weakest overall as Korra seems to inexplicably return to an immature grouch.  By the end of season 2 this is averted through some good final-minute character development but the character development for the most of season 2 is really jumbled and quite clunky.  Thank goodness this never became that much of an issue again throughout the remaining 2 seasons after this but then again I don't think the animation studio or Nickelodeon were particularly well-prepared for or expecting of the success of the original series so I can understand the failings of the series in this regard.

So you might ask yourself then, is this the only major failing that the series has as a whole?  And I'd say probably yes as most if not all other faults I could find when both watching the series for the first time and again in retrospective didn't yield any major faults apart from this bit of character crumbling in the 2nd season.  The villain in season 2 is a bit rubbish, a few of the side characters are a bit irritating like president Raiko or the plague of my existence during season 3 which was Meelo.  However, aside from the character crapping in season 2 I really can't think of anything too major to criticise about the series.  The end to season 4 is the one other major thing I've heard people criticise considering its romantic implications about two characters who I won't mention here so as to not spoil the ending for you lot.  I personally thought this ending was great and the romantic implications with it were very tasteful, believable and I thought capped off a series with such dark undertones with a hear-warming ending.  Say what you will about the sexual politics implied within it and the rest of the series but I thought it was superb.

This in turn leads into something else I thought was great about the series in that the romantic relations between characters were some of the most realistic in any animated work I've ever seen.  The way romantic couples worked off of each other and how certain relationships ended showed a surprisingly realistic understanding of young and romantic relationships on the part of Nickelodeon and the other people who helped create this series.  Its certainly nice to see this continued on from and even improved in some places from Avatar: the last airbender.  This not only comes with some heart-warming romance throughout the series but some relationships become great focal points for the development of some characters. 

Therefore, the romance is not only well done but actually helps the series move along again much like in the original show.  Some might say that this takes away from the pulse-pounding action but I'd really say its worth it for the plot being moved along which in turn helps the action to become even more engaging.  Some might disagree but I personally found the romance in accordance with the character development and action to be the other main attractions of the series.  Considering how often romance is fucked up in other children's animated series I think this is a great thing and cannot be understated.  Even more so considering I'm not usually one for romance particularly in my action shows but I can certainly make the exception here and there.

Image source: http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/images/24369742/title/last-airbender-legend-korra-screencap

The other main positives I could then reasonably mention for the series aside from the action, relations between characters, romance and following on from the original series would be the respect that the series shows to ancient ideas of philosophy as well as multiple different eastern cultures.  Korra's own culture of the water tribe is heavily based off of the Inuit people of North America and Canada while the earth kingdom is based off of medieval China, the fire nation off of feudal Japan and the wind nation off of the Buddhist people of Tibet and Thailand.  The stark representations of these cultures and the values and philosophies they entail is truly remarkable for a TV show of this kind as I found the representations of said cultures to be both tasteful and truly fascinating. 

As someone who has actually travelled to China and Thailand I can say that the representations of eastern cultures and philosophies is among the best I've ever seen on TV let alone just in the sphere of cartoons.  Even if the action isn't your main draw into keep watching this show, I should wager that you'll be fascinated by the seamless integration of eastern Asian philosophy into both the story and character development.  Truly this is a beautifully written and presented as well as animated series.

However, if there is one other thing I can complement above the action, animation, philosophy and characters of the series, it is surely the villains of each season.

Image source: http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/images/24369739/title/last-airbender-legend-korra-screencap

Even with the aforementioned weak villain of the second season (no its not the villainous Amon above, he's the villain of the 1st season and is superb) the villains for the most part are highly intimidating evil bastards with understandable and even relatable motivations particularly my favourite villain Kuvira who terrorises the whole of the earth kingdom and our heroes in the 4th season.  The aforementioned villain above Amon is probably the most subversively interesting though as his whole struggle is to remove the powers of all element-bending people to create an equal world of same-powered peoples to thus create an ultimate image of equality throughout the world with his 'equalist' movement.  I felt like this was a highly fascinating and subtle representation of communist movements throughout Europe in the early 20th century.  This representation of famous historical events and ideological conflicts is something that resurfaces multiple times throughout the series with the villainous Kuvira's attempts in the 4th season to take over the earth kingdom being particularly reminiscent of the 1911 Chinese revolution and the civil war that came in its wake. 

As someone who has spent most of their life interested in and studying history I found these reflections and elusions to major historical events very fascinating.  They didn't come as much into the development of the characters as the inherent and subtle philosophy did but even still they were truly interesting.   And if you don't agree, then the aforementioned Kuvira will mess you up good and proper alright?

Image source: http://www.hypable.com/the-legend-of-korra-season-4-episode-3-recap/

In conclusion, would I recommend this series and who would I recommend it to?  In all honesty, I can only think of maybe two or three animated shows that I've ever enjoyed more than this show and I'd really recommend it to just about anyone.  Yes season 2 is a bit of a slog at times and there are one or two episodes in season 3 where I got a little bit bored and aside from a couple of side characters I was mildly irritated by I can't really think of anything to criticise this show on.  Were I to go further on complimenting its characters and story more than I have above I would be spoiling the show and were I to go further into my criticisms I would either be lying or just scraping the bottom of the barrel.  I really cant think of anything major at all to criticise and I can easily say that The Legend of Korra is not only one of my favourite cartoons of all time but is also one of my favourite TV shows period.  All this combined with the fusion of 1930s noire animation in allot of the episodes mixed in with the style and look of the original series creates for something truly special.  If you're either looking for action, romance, realistic character development or thrilling villains I'd recommend this show in all cases.

Image source: http://www.v-gamers.com/legend-of-korra-hinter-den-kulissen/

So of course I hope you all enjoy this show as much as if not more than I do and so I want you to have fun with whatever you're doing, take care, don't do anything I wouldn't do and until next time I'll see you all on the battlefield!

Animation & presentation: 10/10

Writing/story: 9/10

Characters/character development: 9/10

Action/set-pieces/key moments: 10/10

Design/style/artistry: 9/10

Series introduction: 8.5/10

Series conclusion: 10/10

Season 1: 10/10

Season 2: 7.5/10

Season 3: 8.75/10

Season 4: 10/10

Overall rating: Like a week-long holiday in Barcelona, you might feel a bit lethargic and not sure what you're doing sometimes but the experience of watching this show is something I would recommend without a moment's notice even considering its faults and downturns which even at their worst are really not that bad.