Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Hanna (2011)

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Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 04-09-2011, 05:15 PM:

CINEMA: AMC Star Council Bluffs 17 (really...that's how they have it listed on the website), Council Bluffs, IA
AUDITORIUM: 1
PRESENTATION: 35mm/Mystery Meat Digital (probably DTS)
PRESENTATION PROBLEMS: Previews were out of focus, but the feature looked okay. Or I got used to it. Whatever. Steady clean image otherwise. Sound blanked out briefly a few times (thinking DTS time code issues here).
RATING: Two and one half stars (out of four)

The old Star Cinema, which became Kerasotes Star Cinema before getting its new owner, now has an AMC logo on the building where "STAR CINEMA" used to be. They also added self-serve buttery topping machines to the lobby so you can self-soak your ridiculously overpriced popcorn. A medium popcorn and a medium soda come to $11.25. Eleven freaking twenty five.

THE PLOT: A teenager sets out on an exciting adventure. Wackiness ensues.

The first maybe three quarters of the movie was a lot of fun. Great action sequences well shot and set to great music. But my favorite character in the movie was Sophie. They could have done a full comedy on Hannah and Sophie (and her family) and had a far more profitable picture. Woody Allen could have had a field day with this.

But it all comes down to an ending that is disappointing at best. Even if it is shot in a cool looking old amusement park.

[ 04-09-2011, 07:40 PM: Message edited by: Aaron Sisemore ]

Posted by Chase Pickett (Member # 5975) on 04-09-2011, 05:31 PM:

Honestly, those sound issues sound pretty standard from an SDDS system. Plus AMC has a love affair with SDDS, and not so much with DTS, but anything is possible.

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 04-09-2011, 05:59 PM:

I agree that the end is not as good as the first parts of the movie, I still enjoyed it and didn't feel disappointed at all. I thought it all worked pretty well.

[Search bait]The movie's name is actually "Hanna".

Posted by David E. Nedrow (Member # 4981) on 04-09-2011, 06:32 PM:

Heh, as I was watching the first 20 minutes or so, I thought that when...

Spoiler Alert - Click to Toggle
Sophie had been captured, it appeared as though she was escaping through the ruins of Operation Tic Toc from "Time Tunnel". Then, she pops up in the middle of the Mojave Desert, so I think to myself "IT IS PROJECT TIC TOC!"

Clearly not really the case, but that's where my mind went.

Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 04-09-2011, 10:01 PM:

quote: Chase Pickett
Honestly, those sound issues sound pretty standard from an SDDS system. Plus AMC has a love affair with SDDS, and not so much with DTS, but anything is possible.

AMC didn't build this plex. They inherited it in their purchase of Kerasotes, who also didn't build this plex.

Also, according to IMDB, this film doesn't have an SDDS track.

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 04-09-2011, 11:15 PM:

Remember also that even if you see a DTS reader at an AMC, that doesn't mean they used it for sound. I worked at a place that had SDDS in every theater plus a DTS timecode reader in one of them for closed captioning.

Posted by Tom Petrov (Member # 1534) on 04-10-2011, 09:49 PM:

****

"She didn't miss my heart"

Here is one of the best movies so far this year. For some reason, the movie reminds me of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" while the performance by Saoirse Ronan reminds me of Jennifer Lawrence of "Winter's Bone"

I have always been fond of movies that use a plot point, device or line of dialogue early in the film only to use it once again near the end. "You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight" or ""Hasta la vista, baby" or "he's just a raggedy man" and perhaps the famous Dirty Harry line. The last line of "Hanna" elevates the movies from 3.5 to a full 4 stars. Lets not ruin it for others, "Hanna" comes full circle at the end and I loved it.

Overall I liked the settings, plot, action and story. I really liked the living in the wild beginning. The action was good and it is refreshing to see a director who is not afraid to kill off major actors.

I was shocked to learn that the cargo container scenes were CGI. They felt seamless. While the visuals were good, the soundtrack and effects were ok. You could tell that some budget was left out of sound in post production. The score was fine, it was the sound effects I thought sounded muted.

My two biggest concerns were Cate Blanchett and Eric Bana. Blanchett seem cold and boring while Bana is a horrible actor in my opinion. I have never really liked Bana in anything he has done. I surprised an actress of Cate Blanchett's status took on a role like this.

I wonder how "Hanna" will hold up. I think word of mouth should be good and it might have some legs. I like "Hanna" and I would be more than thrilled if they made a sequel.