Is Hollywood Becoming Levitt-Town?

Looper opens in theaters
this Friday.

Over the last half dozen of years, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (known as JGL here for short) has been carving out quite a career. After appearing in this summer's number one film at the box office The Dark Knight Rises, starring in the bicycle delivery action film Premium Rush and the upcoming sci-fi action film Looper, JGL is everywhere. That's really not a shock, as JGL is one of the hardest working actors on screen.  However, JGL has been trying to keep his profile as "Ordinary Joe"(as he called himself in an Inception DVD extra), but audiences are having trouble not seeing his work. While JGL has been in smaller films that gain notoriety for his great character work in The Lookout and Hesher, but he was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2009 for (500) Days of Summer and last year for 50/50. As it stands now, Joseph Gordon-Levitt still has two more films coming out this year (Looper and Lincoln -no vampires) and another currently in production for 2013. In Looper, JGL is reunited with Rian Johnson, who directed JGL in Brick- a private-eye-style film set in a high school.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt Hollywood next big star?

Opening this Friday, JGL plays a hitman known as a Looper, who disposes of targets the mafia wants dead from 30 years in the future. The rules of the Looper are simple: a) never let your target get away and b) you have to kill them...even if it's you. That's exactly what happens when JGL's character sees himself 30 years older (Bruce Willis) and manages to escape. As a result, JGL's employers come after him while he chases down his older version. Emily Blunt and Jeff Daniels co-star in Rian Johnson's return to the big screen in four years. The real star of this film is the talented young actor as JGL duplicates the mannerisms of his older co-star. Just watching the trailers, you can see the work make-up artist used to make JGL look like Willis, but it's his acting that sells the audience that we're staring a young Bruce Willis.

JGL's work is making him hard
to NOT notice him.

Again, it's becoming hard NOT to notice the budding star. While other actors out there play it safe or churn out crappy formulaic movies, JGL keeps picking good movies and is willing to take risks on original or independent films like Hesher (where he plays the title role). As he appears to becoming a favorite of Christopher Nolan, it's a safe bet the Batman director will use him again at some point, but let's face it, who doesn't want to work with JGL? The down-to-Earth regular person nature JGL will make him popular, but his work speaks for itself. This guy is the real deal and everyone is starting to take notice.

Console to Screen: Ninja Gaiden

Ninja Gaiden was the first
game that made you feel
like you were playing
a movie.

In 1988, Ninja Gaiden appeared on the Nintendo Entertainment System and changed the way games were played forever. Sure "cutscenes" (as they were called) were used in various games for years, but this was one of the first video games to have 20 minutes of cinematic cutscenes. You didn't just jump from board-to-board without rhyme or reason. You progressed in the game to find your father and help the FBI find a criminal mastermind known as the Jaquio. It was among the most torturous games to NES gamers as losing to the final TWO villains sent you back to the beginning of the stage to work your way back just to face the enemies. If you lost again...yup, right back to the beginning of the stage. Try to find three people you know (and don't meet at an E3 show) that finished any of the Ninja Gaiden series. Ninja Gaiden had two sequels and a rebirth on the Xbox 360, but most gamers remember the days you'd face statues coming to life and cracked open your Nintendo Power for helpful hints.

This is the duel your father "loses"
in the game's intro.

Story: This game that had TWO incarnations in the late 80's. In arcades, Ninja Gaiden was a bloody action game. In homes (and some arcade NES machines), Ninja Gaiden was a story-driven game where you play as Ryu Hyabusha is on a quest to find his father, who disappeared after a duel. On his quest, he meets an archeologist friend of his father's that tells him about his sword's origin and a demon statue that cannot fall into the wrong hands. He tells Ryu that his sword was made from the fang of a dragon... and that the demon statues could result in the end of the world. Along the way, he befriends a female FBI agent Irene Lew- though their friendship didn't start out well since she shot him. They're all after the cult leader called the Jaquio, a man trying to revive the demon called Jashin. The Jaquio was the other man Ryu's father (Ken) fought in the duel. Eventually, the government enlists Ryu to help the defeat the Jaquio and reclaim the demon statues.

The Bloody Malth was an example of
story and cheesy dialogue that
Ninja Gaiden sports.

As the story progresses, you fight the Bloody Malth- the first character with a pre-fight cut scene. Through Ninja Gaiden's cheesy dialogue, the Malth tells you that "you're not as good of a swordsman as your father." After you defeat him, he insists that your father is still alive and you'll see him, but it'll be the last thing you see. The next boss you fight is the Masked Devil- your father controlled by an orb on the wall. Once you destroy the orb, the Jaquio kills your father and awakens the demon with the statues reunited. Ryu gets his revenge against the floating son-of-a-bitch final boss before taking on the awakened demon that seems more fitting for Contra than a ninja story, but by the time you fought this guy you're willing to buy into anything. As you escape, Irene is told to kill Ryu and refuses for a little tongue from the heroic ninja.

Cast:

Josh Hutcherson could be
a budding action star.

Ryu Hyabusha's face is only scene at the beginning of the game when he reads his fathers letter and at the end, but his twenties-look eyes and covered face could make him anyone. They also need to be able to pass for a NINJA so Channing Tatum is out. Unlike some of the other games written about here, Ninja Gaiden isn't dependent on needing a good actor, but which would you rather have: an actor that learns martial arts for the role (Matt Damon, Bourne series) or a martial artist that you get to act (Ray Park, X-Men and Star Wars: Phantom Menace)? I'd always prefer the actor. Perhaps a Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games) could be Ryu. Ryu's father is named Ken and his look is pretty American. That pretty good considering it's tough to find a young actor that could grow into this role.

Fiennes did the Titans series,
so he could do a video game
movie.

The Jaquio is a little easier since he doesn't have to fight a hundred men. All the Jaquio has to do is look sinister, laugh maniacally (though better than Chris Cooper in The Muppets) and shoot fireballs. If pressed for a name, Ray Fiennes would be great here. Doesn't have to do much. His voice alone can make people tremble and after the forgettable Titans series, he can't get much worse. Why not chalk up another good villain to his resume?

What's Already In Place:

The scenery in Ninja Gaiden was
used better than any game of it's time.

A good story- not exactly a great one. This could be a very action packed series, done in the typical old kung-fu style movie. It has the usual elements: secret organization, double agents, government involvement, supernatural powers, twists and demons. Sure, there's really no explanation for statues coming to life, but nonetheless it's easier to buy into for this story than other crappy films out this year. The scenery of these games is amazing. Whether it's seeing the Jaquio's castle at the top of a cliff or Ashtar's fortress in the sequel, this game captured it's scenery perfectly. This was the first game that treated the gamer to more than just stage 1-1. It gave you plenty of eye candy. Ninja Gaiden made Off The Marc's list for Best Music in Video Games and it wasn't just great for the action, it was great for the storytelling.

Who could pull this off:

The Jaquio was one of gamers most
hated villains- particularly because
you had to replay the level if you lost.

Normally I say, "Don't sacrifice quality for a flashy direction," but in this case Wanted's Timur Bekmambetov wouldn't be a bad choice.  His action would be welcomed in this type of film and it's not like there's an Oscar winning moment in it. If anything the campiness can work out in his favor. Not many directors maybe good with a sword style combat, though Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter was awful, Timur's action style used in the terrible movie could work here.

Bottom line:
This one's a bit of a cult favorite, but it's not out of the realm of possibilities that it could get it's number called. It's was a ground breaking game, but for a movie could be a massive swing-and-miss if done by a hack...which I recommended- oops. It could fit from cinema scenes to cinemas, but it'll need respect by Hollywood in it's development.

Resident Evil: Abomination

Resident Evil: Retribution
opens September 14th to
insult movie goers.

In 1996, Sony's released Resident Evil for their new Playstation system and immediately spawned a new genre: survival horror. It pit an elite group of police officers Special Tactics And Rescue Service (S.T.A.R.S.) against zombies and monsters as they're trapped in a mansion trying to solve the reason behind bizarre cannibalistic murders in the nearby area. This game was the first game that you were required to watch with the lights out. The creaking floors as a zombie walked after you, the slow methodical footsteps of the hunters and the feeling that you character was going to die at any minute terrified gamers. However, THIS article isn't about the magnificent game from 1996. This is about the highest rated video game movie on Rotten Tomatoes at a WOEFUL 34% and the movie franchise that followed it. This was the centerpiece of Off The Marc Movies' "Why Video Game Movies Haven't Worked".

Director Paul W.S. Anderson said in the interview that he had a "successful video game franchise", but that's like asking Michael Crichton fans of the Jurassic Park books what they thought of...well any of the movies. Sure, Steven Speilberg made two of the highest grossing movies of all time, but then they made Jurassic Park III. This set a new level for bad for any adaptation until Paul W.S. Anderson adapted Resident Evil. Now Anderson has made bad adaptations before RE (Mortal Kombat) and after (Alien vs. Predator), but Resident Evil takes the cake and releases it's mind-boggling FIFTH installment this week. Unfortunately Anderson has proved that movie goers are going to shell out millions of dollars just to see an awful film that is loosely (and use the term loosely) based on a video game series that's trying to find it's way BACK to stardom. There were many errors made in the first film... and just continued as the series moved on.

The first Resident Evil movie began with the incident at the Umbrella Corporation's lab that creates a lockdown and traps employees inside. There is a scene where a handful of terrified people try to escape from an elevator and predictable one gets decapitated. Flash to a running shower where Alice is awaking from being knocked out. She gets dressed and meanders around her mansion wondering who she is with complete amnesia. Ah amnesia...works for soap operas. Why not here? Anyway, Alice is confronted by a special forces security team that takes her (and a man suffering from amnesia as well and a random guy) down into The Hive. Sound like the video game, yet? Well, the team progresses further down in an effort to destroy the Red Queen (the computer who runs the facility with the holographic projection of a child with an English accent). If you were a fan of the series, the closest you got to getting this film to be an adaptation was a mention of Umbrella Corporation, the T-Virus and the climactic fight with the Licker. That's it. Really?

Still sounds like the Resident Evil game? No? That's because it was set up as a dark re-imagining of Alice in Wonderland. Was there any doubt? Alice is taken down "the rabbit hole" to face the "red queen" and then has to battle her way out of Wonderland. This actually sets a new low for lazy. Anderson didn't even adapt the right story. None of the games' characters were in the movie and it used EVERY cliche to drive it's story. Amnesia, a reporter looking for his sister and the signature Paul W.S. Anderson open-ended ending that leaves the story open for a sequel. That said, this was probably his best of his shitty endings. None could have been worse than the end of Mortal Kombat where the emperor shows up and says, "I've come for your souls". Back to RE, this adaptation was so bad that Anderson made up his own main character: Alice (Milla Jovovich) who battles T-Virus affected dogs with her bare hands and kicks them without getting scratched which would have spread the virus to her.  This was like adding a "more interesting" character than the main characters in the original story. Therefore, if Anderson was in charge of adapting the Bible, he'd have made Jesus a supporting character if he mentioned him at all. Um...What?

The original Resident Evil game was great, building excitement all the way through and getting to a sensical finale where you discover that one of your own people (Albert Wesker) was involved with the Umbrella Corporation to develop the perfect biological weapon (Tyrant). Tyrant rebels against his master (Wesker) and if you were Jill or Chris, you had to fight off Tyrant and eventually kill him with a rocket launcher! That plot makes sense and builds to a great climax. The movie...went in another direction. The "other guy" regains his memory, realizes that they could sell the virus on the open market, tries to cure himself and is eaten by the Licker. Then the group has to battle the Licker on a train to get back to the surface. Of course, the Licker scratches the reporter and he is taken away by Umbrella Scientists to be put in the "Nemesis Project" as Alice is taken away. Alice wakes up in an operating room to find the place has been ravaged and stands in the ruins of Raccoon City with a shotgun.

Milla Jovovich's Alice was never a character in the
Resident Evil stories, but is the center of the film franchise.

The truth of the Resident Evil movie series is that it's more bastardized than the Transformers franchise. Just because it says it's brand name, it'll make money. The odd thing is that Anderson keeps referring back to the games even though most gamers feel that he's ruined the film adaptions by NOT being faithful to the story in any way. This series never scared anyone, but yet still gets horror movie audiences. The action is cliche and so-so at best, but still gets that audience. It's still unclear if he has blackmail on the people that spend millions of dollars, but these movies continue to be churned out. Furthermore, it's Rotten Tomatoes critics AND audience scores continue to descend. In fact, in the new edition brings back characters that no one gave a shit about. That's like bringing back Jar Jar Binks after Phantom Menance. Oh... wait... How this series makes more movies and makes a profit is actually pretty insulting to use all. It's actually makes the Total Recall remake look like a good idea. Rumor has it that he's trying to acquire the rights to make Castlevania. He'll promptly make it about someone else besides Simon Belmont and cast Milla somewhere in there again.

Console to Screen: F.E.A.R.

F.E.A.R. set out to scare
gamers and succeeded in
spades.

In the vein of survival horror, F.E.A.R. was a first person shooter game that had a unique story- like a Resident Evil meets the Bourne Idenity. It was one of the few games that was more psychological thriller than simply survival horror where you had to shoot zombie or dinosaurs to make it to the next sequence. F.E.A.R. was also one of the few games that featured interactive flashbacks to the point where you could really think the playable character was losing his mind. The hallucinations the main character was having DURING gameplay didn't help much either. This game was more than just running into a building to save a bunch of hostages and rescue some important figure at the end. It strayed a little from the path of a “typical game”: here's your objective, fight along and have an enormous boss fight at the end. Not the case in F.E.A.R., where the story trumped following the same formula of every game before it, but that's probably what hurts replay value. All in all, F.E.A.R. was a game that stayed in your mind after you finished playing it, but could it ever be made into a movie.

Story:

The game begins like an action movie (as many have since Metal Gear) where Paxton Fettel takes command of a group of telepathically manipulated soldiers at Armacham Technology Corporation headquarters. He kills most of the occupants (security and doctors), but there seems to be something else at work here. Along with Fettel being a bit of a cannibal, there's a little girl (that is reminiscent of the girl from The Ring) who walks around before Fettel screams in pain. At one point in the intro, her footprints become invisible, but also hear her whispers as she says, "Kill 'em all".

Paxton Fettel is one of the
more intriguing villains
in gaming history.

Cut to the special forces group (known as First Encounter Assault Recon) that has to investigate the situation and the “highly touted rookie”, who is the playable character. In that intro, you're told that this rookie tested “off the charts”, so he is ready for his first mission. As the group lands, you get a sense of the game's atmosphere, as mangled corpse after bloody corpse are found until you run into Paxton Fettel within the first ten minutes of the game. Fettel tells you that everyone “deserved to die” and is gone just as quickly. Did you imagine it? That's a question that pops up a lot in the game. As you delve deeper, you learn of the corporation's Project: Origin which details how Fettel was created to become a telepathic military leader and was the son of Alma. Alma is a powerful psychic that projects the child image of her around the base, in haunting flashbacks and even life-threatening situations. The player learns that Fettel was the genetically engineered son of Alma, but that's not all...

The true Alma players
encounter in the end.

Project: Origin put Alma into a coma and injected her with engineered DNA to harvest her psychic abilities. Therefore, Alma has been in this coma since giving birth to her TWO sons and doesn't know she has aged for some time. She gave birth to her first son at fifteen and it was deemed a failure. A year later, she was impregnated and gave birth to her second son (Fettel). When Fettel was screams at the beginning of the game, it's because Alma psychically bonds herself to her son. Fettel searches frantically for the facility to free the physical form of his mother. Eventually, the player encounters Paxton Fettel and is drawn into a hallucination where he learns that he's actually Alma's first son. After fighting in the hallucination, you find yourself where you were- standing in front of Fettel- to blow his brains out. Then it's a race against time as Project: Origin leader Harlon Wade, also Alma's father, frees Alma to relieve his guilt of how Alma was treated by the company. Wade succeeds and is immediately killed by his daughter. With Alma free, the player sabotages the main reactor to destroy the facility, but that's not where the story ends. As you attempt to escape, ghosts (projections from Alma's mind) attack you, driving you toward a direction and encountering Alma herself. As you trying to fend her off, you fall into an operating room and see how you were created. After the facility explodes, the F.E.A.R. Blackhawk retrieves you and the team wonders briefly, “I wonder what happened to Alma,” as Alma is shown climbing into the helicopter as the game closes. In the end credits, a senator is told that the first prototype was a success.

Cast:

Despite not seeing The
Player until F.E.A.R. 3,
Quinto would be a great
choice.

The Player: This is the first of the Console to Screen games that encounters a major problem: there's little backstory and even less of a description of the player's appearance. Now that can be liberating. After all, Hollywood isn't limited and Doom casted Karl Urban as the player without their restrictions. Since I'm trying not to cast too many same actors in these, the only real need is to find an actor that can play the horrifying self-discovery well after looking like a badass throughout the film. A great aspect of not knowing anything about this character can lead a writer to make the backstory about ANYTHING until he learns the truth. The player has ONE line in the game, "I tried to forget. I tried so hard to forget." An unknown could be a good way to go, but that's boring for this type of blog. Therefore, a good choice could be...what the hell... Zachary Quinto. He has the acting chops and in Heroes and Star Trek, he showed that he could be a renewed man with a haunted past. 

Goode can play charming, evil,
maniacal, but let's see his turn
at disturbing.

Paxton Fettel: Casting the perfect Fettel would help too. If you could find someone who can play the dark side really well and be calm doing it because Fettel is a calculated villain as opposed to a madman. Matthew Goode (The Lookout, Watchmen) would be an excellent choice. Goode knows how to be just evil enough without looking crazy or stupid. Goode's performance in Watchmen may have been the best one and he nearly had audiences robbing banks for Joseph Gordon-Levitt in The Lookout. As the psychic deranged and brilliant leader Fettel, Goode might be the best choice you could find.

What's Already in Place:

F.E.A.R. is one of the few games since the Resident Evil series first began to actually scare gamers. The interactive flashbacks were one of a kind where you found yourself walking down a hallway, see a bright flash and the next thing you know the hallway is full of blood up to your waist. There's moments all over the game where Fettel just appears out of nowhere and disappears within second. The feeling that your PLAYABLE character is losing his mind is felt from beginning to end. Fettel knows everything and seems to be toying with the Player during the game along with Alma as she scurries around. Bodies of doctors and guards fall out closets, vents and are just laying around. A few encounters with the Project: Origin doctors and office works that are trying to cover their tails are most of the human encounters you get. As far as the format of the game, it's brilliant and can adapt well to the big screen.

As you fight, players let out horrifying screams in pain during combat.

One obstacle is that the point doesn't have a history. A screenwriter will have to create a normal one to make his revelation more traumatic. This would be a Total-Recall-Good-Version-type of moment throughout the film. I know I've used the word "throughout" out a lot, but this isn't the type of story that has "moments". F.E.A.R. shook up gamers as they played, it can do the same to movie goers.

Who Can Pull This Off?

The action in F.E.A.R. is quick and
intense, but who can scare you at
same time?

GREAT question. It's hard to see what recent hack can bring this to life well. It's can't just be a horror movie because it's also a quality action story. There's one little thing to add from the game that will be difficult. As mentioned earlier, the Player tested "off the charts" particularly in reflexes. "Bullet Time" (originally used in Max Payne) is used in F.E.A.R. The problem is that The Matrix made "Bullet Time" seem obsolete by the time Mark Wahlberg did it in the film version of Max Payne. This is a horror-action-total-mind-fuck-style movie that needs David Fincher crossed with John Woo. Since this blog is not about recycling the same name every time, a newcomer would be more than welcome for it. However, as stated in the casting selection, I should make a choice. A possibility could be... Louis Leterrier of The Transporter and The Incredible Hulk. Hulk delivered more on the dramatic side than The Transporter, but he'd be a good choice on the action side. On the psychological side, Rian Johnson of Brick and the upcoming Looper could be another good option.

F.E.A.R. could make a perfect three act structure for itself: Introduction, Corporation cover-up and the horrifying truth. It has a a shocking end twist that audiences will jump out of their seats when they see it. It could be a good alternative to the Resident Evil franchise that's running subpar film after film, but somehow seems successful. F.E.A.R.'s imagery and setting make it a great movie, but it's story- told properly- can make it a great film too. It doesn't have to push for a 3D feature, but likely to have that in there. It's one of the few games that truly scared gamers and -since it has no major ties to systems- can be called on to become a feature. The tricky part would be if the film would become a franchise as the stories get weaker. If done poorly, could be another Resident Evil atrocity.