6
the Racquette
Arts & Entertainment
Review: “Hardcore Henry” Jack Hills
Contributing Writer
Movies have a hard time “getting” video games. People have tried melding the two mediums with varying results. Thankfully, “Hardcore Henry” doesn’t make the mistakes of its predecessors, making it a perfect blend of a first-person shooter and an action movie. The first-person style is what makes this movie unique. Unlike “Cloverfield” or “The Blair Witch Project,” this movie’s idea of first-person perspective isn’t just “the audience is some dude’s camcorder.” It’s actually shown from the first-person view of Henry. While for a few moments the camera moves a bit too fast, most of the time the point of view works. The first-person perspective isn’t just there for the video game aspect either; two moments in the movie toy around with the first-person view in a creative way. Henry’s eyes were a good way of playing with the perception of things. The plot of the movie is nothing to write home about. The story is about Henry, a cyborg who sets out to save his wife from a psychic villain who looks like a bleached Tommy Wiseau, and his army of mercenaries. Along the way, Henry gets help from such memorable characters as Jimmy, Jimmy, and my personal favorite, Jimmy – yes, there are multiple Jimmies. It’s on par with the average action movie, but better than the storylines of most explosive action video games. It does have a good twist at the end, though. This definitely isn’t a movie to watch for the story; it’s a movie to watch for
Contributing Writer
“Hardcore Henry” brings first-person action to Roxy Theater.
the visuals. Speaking of visuals, “Hardcore Henry” is pretty successful. The explosions look real enough, the props look believable and the only drop in quality was a short scene near the end involving CGI and a grenade launcher. It looked bad, but better to have one poorly done scene than an entire movie of visual trash. “Hardcore Henry” really feels like a first-person shooter game. The layout of the scenes within the movie feel like they are separated into “levels,” and scenes flow fairly well in this way. It also follows other traditions as well, such as a scene that works like a sniping mission, at least two “stealth missions” and an abrupt ending that finishes the plot but still makes the game . . . er, I mean movie, feel incomplete. “Hardcore Henry” does not have revolutionary characters, but while the good ones are still pretty enjoyable to watch, many tend to be dull. Henry himself is silent for the entirety of the movie, and viewers never see
his face, leaving certain aspects of his past and personality up to the viewer. In any other situation, this would make Henry a flat character, but this is how the player characters in firstperson shooters tend to be, so for viewers with some knowledge of video games, it works. Other than that, the “two” other good characters in the movie are the villain, Akan, played by Danila Kozlovsky and Henry’s ally, Jimmy, played by Sharlto Copley. Akan is a pretty entertaining villain, who stands out while not going over the top. Unfortunately, his psychic powers and the mechanics behind them are never explained, so they felt a bit out of place next to mercenaries and cyborgs. Jimmy, on the other hand, was a great character, but a large part of his identity doubles as a large spoiler. Other than that, the film’s characters are vaguely unremarkable. There’s a stereotypically tough second-in-command guy, as well as Henry’s wife. Apart from her, the film lacks other female characters; in fact,
New at Canton Theater April 22-28
April 22 - 28
$9.50 per person $7.00 Matinees 3D films are an additional $1.50 per ticket
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (94min) PG-13 7:00 Nightly Matinees Sun 12:30
The Jungle Book (2D)(96min) PG 7:00, 9:00 Nightly Matinees Sat, Sun 12:45, 3:00
The Jungle Book (2D) (96min) PG 7:00 Nightly Matinees Sat, Sun 3:00
Batman v Superman (153min) PG-13 9:00 Nightly Matinees Sat, Sun 2:30
Criminals (113min) R 7:00, 9:10 Nightly Matinees Sat, Sun 12:45, 3:00
The Jungle Book (3D) (96min) PG 9:10 Nightly Matinees Sat, Sun 12:55
Zootopia (2D) (108min) PG 7:00, 9:10 Nightly Matinees Sat, Sun 12:45,3:00 Sun April 24 No 9:10 Mon April 25 No 7:00
The Boss (99min) R 7:00, 9:20 Nightly Matinees Sat, Sun 12:45,3:00 Sun April 24 No 7:00
Isao Takahata’s “Only Yesterday” Comes to Cinema 10 Holly Chambers
New at the Roxy
The Huntsman: Winter’s War (113min) PG-13 7:00, 9:20 Nightly Matinees Sat, Sun 12:45,3:00
April 22, 2016
The Met Live in HD: Encore Donizetti / Roberto Devereux April 24, 6:30 Only Yesterday PG Presented by Cinema 10 April 25, 7:15
The Boss(99min) R 7:00, 9:20 Nightly Matinees Sat, Sun 12:45, 3:00 Batman v Superman (153min) PG-13 6:30, 9:30 Fri Sat 7:30 Sun-Thurs Matinees Sat, Sun 1:00 The Huntsman: Winter’s War (113min) PG-13 7:00, 9:20 Nightly Matinees Sat, Sun 12:45, 3:00
Photo by Jay Petrequin
aside from Henry’s wife, the female characters in the film are either passersby or prostitutes. But what “Hardcore Henry” lacks in characters, it makes up for with spectacle. Of course, this wouldn’t be an action movie without action. Thankfully, the action sequences for “Hardcore Henry” are top notch. The gunfights are well done, the major fights are well coordinated, and the movie does a good job of coming up with some creative kills, such as one scene involving a wellplaced door and the movie’s second-to-last kill, which earns the “best death” of 2016 so far. Those going to the film for its action will not be disappointed. Although “Hardcore Henry” isn’t the next “Mad Max,” it doesn’t need to be. It’s a silly little action movie with a unique gimmick, and it doesn’t try to be anything more. It’s junk food for the eyes, but it’s creative junk food. Not bad for a movie shot almost entirely on a GoPro.
Campus events
“Twas the Week Before LoKo”
April 22 BFA Exhibition Opening Reception Gibson Gallery, 5 PM Arts of the Mind Sponsored by Active Minds Hurley’s, 7 PM For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf Black Box Theater, 7:30 PM Friday night movie: Sisters Union, 9 PM April 23 Theatre & Dance One Acts Black Box Theater, 12 PM
Isao Takahata –“Grave of the Fireflies;” “The Tale of Princess Kaguya”– brings the cleareyed grace of his animation to the breathtakingly beautiful and quietly moving tale of a 27-year-old office worker, Taeko, who plans to spend her vacation going home to harvest safflowers and, in the process, finds she has been joined by her fifth grade self. As the two stories of Taeko become intertwined, her adult reflections “are interwoven with childhood flashbacks wrought with heartcatching immediacy: a formative school play, a first crush, a bittersweet meal of pineapple, her relationship with her caring but old-school father,” notes Nicholas Rapold of “The New York Times.” Originally produced in 1991, “Only Yesterday” is just now being released in the U.S. “Only Yesterday,” or “Omohide Poro Poro,” is 118 minutes long and is rated PG for thematic elements, some rude behavior and smoking. Cinema 10 will show the film in Japanese with English subtitles. Follow Cinema 10 on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ CinemaTen and on Twitter at @ Cinema_10 for more updates. General Admission: $4.50 for individual and $35 for season tickets. Students and Senior Citizens: $3.50 for individual and $25 for season tickets.
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf Black Box Theater, 2 PM Cabaret for a Cure Dunn Theater, 8:30 PM April 25 Theatre & Dance One Acts Black Box Theatre, 7:30 PM April 27 Creative Partnership Creation Regional School District Opp. Satterlee 300, 12 PM April 28 Multicultural Weekend All-day Coffeehouse and Open Mic Hurley’s, 7:30 PM