Computer malfunctions has put my movie blogging at a complete halt for the last few weeks, so in an attempt to salvage most of the month of June I will do a quick recap of the few films that I've seen since I've been away...
YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN
Directed by Denis Dugan
**
The latest Adam Sandler comedy seemed to be an exercise in complete tastelessness as well as shamelessness. Not that we'd expect better from the guy who was in Billy Madison. To be honest, it felt like a breath of fresh air to see Sandler go back to his silly roots, as apposed to his latest unsuccessful ventures into dramatic films (Spanglish, Reign Over Me), and just flat-out bad comedies (The Longest Yard, Click). Also, Zohan has more than one moment that is actually pretty funny. That being said, the film is a mockery of Israeli-Palestinian conflicts (maybe that subject needs a little humor?), which makes no bones about its lack of intelligence.
THE HAPPENING
Written, Produced, and Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
*
Once again, an M. Night Shyamalan film falls victim to not trusting his own premise. The Happening, a tale about how a science teacher (Mark Wahlberg) and his conflicted wife (Zooey Deschanel) try to survive while an odd pandemic is causing the human race to commit suicide, has its moments. It's best coming from a way-too-short performance from John Leguizamo as Wahlberg's math geek, trustworthy friend. Too many times, the film hinges on weak coincidences and bizarre, nonsensical moments which have you leaving the theater scratching your head in frustration that someone as visually talented as Shyamalan continues to struggle at properly telling a tale of suspense.
KUNG FU PANDA
Directed by Mark Osborne & John Stevenson
**1/2
It's a tired premise--particularly in children's films--particularly in animated children's films. The inept worshiper ends up in the world of the worshiped, only to find that he must be the one to protect them. The worshiper in this case is the paltry Po (Jack Black), a fat panda, whose spent his life making noodles and adoring kung fu. When he finds out that he alone must take down the dangerous Tai Lung (Ian McShane), not only is he scared, but he is resented by the kung fu masters he looked up to. The film is sweet, has moments of great humor, but it is very blatantly marketed toward children only, and won't produce the adult belly laughs that you'd get from any of the Shrek films.
GET SMART
Directed by Peter Segal
***
This movie makeover of the beloved TV series has been getting a lot of heat from most critics as it tones down the slapstick of Mel Brooks and Buck Henry and ups the action. Never having watched the original series, I'm pleased to say that I enjoyed Get Smart. In a move of expert casting, the always amazing Steve Carrell plays the bumbling Maxwell Smart, who has moved up from writing boring memorandums, and is now an agent. He's paired up with the sexy Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) as they take down nuclear terrorists. Dwyane Johnson and Alan Alda also star in hilarious supporting roles. A lot of laughs and a lot of thrills, Get Smart is the quintessential summer movie blockbuster.
COMING SOON:
WALL-E
Wanted
The Visitor
Hancock
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Sydney Pollack (1934-2008)
Sydney Pollack was easily one of the most important people in Hollywood in his day. When you see the amount of great films that he had his fingerprints on, it is mind-boggling. Let's begin with his work as a filmmaker: in 1969, he directed the Academy Award nominated film They Shoot Horses, Don't They?. The film was applauded for it's wonderful cast (Gig Young won Best Supporting Actor), but it's demonstration of Depression Era desperation and self-deprecation makes it one of the single most haunting films of it's era.In the 70's, Pollack directed both the dreary western Jeramiah Johnson, and the romance classic The Way We Were. Both films starred Robert Redford, whom Pollack would cast once again in 1975's Three Days At The Condor, a political thriller. In 1981, Pollack helmed another romantic film with Absence of Malice starring Paul Newman (in an Oscar-nominated performance) against Sally Field.
In 1982, Pollack directed what was probably his most popular film, Tootsie. Starring Dustin Hoffman as an actor who pretends to be a woman in order to get work, the film also marked another landmark in Pollack's career: it was the first film in which he appeared as an actor in close to twenty years (starring as Hoffman's agent). The film itself was a huge hit both critically and financially, and picked up ten Oscar nominations, and won one of them for Jessica Lange's Supporting Actress performance. To this day, Tootsie is still considered one of the greatest comedies in movie history.
In 1985, Pollack than directed Out of Africa, starring Meryl Streep and Pollack main-stay Robert Redford. The film won Pollack his first and only Academy Award for Best Director. The film also won six other Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. The film cemented Pollack's status as a Hollywood hard-hitter, but his films afterward would not be as memorable. Pollack, though, would put his stamp on film in other ways, as an actor and a producer.
After Tootsie, Pollack became an accomplished actor, with memorable performances in such films as Woody Allen's Husbands and Wives and Robert Altman's The Player. Later, he would become the go-to actor for playing characters of supreme authority. He would show this within his performances in Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut and Tony Gilroy's Michael Clayton. As a producer, Pollack worked on other memorable films such as Sense and Sensibility, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Cold Mountain, and the before mentioned Michael Clayton (for which he was nominated for his sixth and final Academy Award).
It's hard to say in which role Pollack had more of an impact on Hollywood. He has directed some legendary pictures, he has had some great performances, and his influence has allowed many smaller pictures get up off the ground. It's safe to say that his mere presence had the biggest impact. There are few people on this planet who command the respect of such men as George Clooney, Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep, Dustin Hoffman, and Robert Redford. Pollack was one of those men. He was a living legend, even if nobody knew it, and Hollywood will be a much different place without him.
"With the responsibility of making motion pictures, comes the responsibility of making them good."
-Sydney Pollock
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (**1/2)
INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL
Directed by Steven Spielberg
**1/2
Twenty-seven years after Prof. Henry Jones Jr. first gripped the whip in the all-time classic Raiders of the Lost Arc, Harrison Ford--at 65 years young--is back at it again, as the Ford, Spielberg, and fellow Indy pioneer George Lucas combine for this newest adventure. This film could have easily been weathered and overblown. Instead, Spielberg constructs this third sequel with such amazing energy, all while giving that sarcastic wink to classic Hollywood, as to make us feel like Indy has never left.
This newest installment in the franchise has Indy is swept up into a plot by a bunch of communists to uncover ancient artifacts. When Indy's partner Mac (a quite bloated Ray Winstone), betrays him and turns him over to the communists and their Freuline leader Irina Spalko (an oddly accented Cate Blanchett), Jones goes to great depths to find the whereabouts of the mythic "crystal skull". Of coarse, Jones is able to escape their grasp in classic Indy fashion, but his involvement with the traitor Mac has American agents looking at him and seeing Red.
It isn't until Jones comes into contact with Mutt Williams (Shia Lebouf in pure greaser fashion), that he becomes embroidered, once again, in the hunt for the crystal skull. Mutt, a coarse, confrontational young man, needs to find it in order to save his mother from being killed by the Spalko-lead commies. His mother turns out to be none other than Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), Indy's constant on-again, off-again romance.
The film, not unlike any of the other films of the series, requires quite a bit of the suspension of disbelief. More than any of the previous films, this film does require many more "It's just a movie" shrugs, but Spielberg's tip-of-the-hat to old school Hollywood filmaking has such majestic, captivating sequences that it doesn't seem to matter that the story short-changes you on more than ten occasions (did we have a problem with any of those moments in the previous Indy films?).
Ford sports the hat just as well as he ever did in his forth stint as Jones. Indiana Jones is easily the best character of Ford's career, because it fits him better than those brown pants and beige shirt, and after all of these years, he hasn't lost a beat. Ford's legendary status has benefited from characters that are charming, sarcastic, and filled with such honorable sincerity, that he has still been able to prosper for decades. No part that Ford has played embodies that better than Indiana Jones.
Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, and John Hurt (as a deranged 'Ox' Oxley) are all legible and seem that there having fun in a very fun movie, but no other actor takes stage better than Lebouf. Shia Lebouf, many years away from his time on the hysterical Disney show "Even Stevens", has a coming-of-age performance in this film. Starring against Harrison Ford is difficult, but starring against Ford as Jones usually leaves his co-stars bidding for attention with annoying actions (Karen Allen, anyone?), but Lebouf takes the stage and delivers the performance with real greaser brawn and attitude.
In the end, there is no greatness within this movie. Between Indy surviving a nuclear blast by hiding in a refrigerator and wild inconsistencies with a magnetic skull, there are points of the film that border on rediculous, but I'd be lying if I said that this wasn't one of the more exhilarating movie experiences I've had so far this year. If nothing else, Steven Spielberg continues to show why he is easily the most talented filmmaker of his generation, and Harrison Ford cements Indy as one of the most seminal characters in cinema. What's so wrong about that?
Directed by Steven Spielberg
**1/2
Twenty-seven years after Prof. Henry Jones Jr. first gripped the whip in the all-time classic Raiders of the Lost Arc, Harrison Ford--at 65 years young--is back at it again, as the Ford, Spielberg, and fellow Indy pioneer George Lucas combine for this newest adventure. This film could have easily been weathered and overblown. Instead, Spielberg constructs this third sequel with such amazing energy, all while giving that sarcastic wink to classic Hollywood, as to make us feel like Indy has never left.
This newest installment in the franchise has Indy is swept up into a plot by a bunch of communists to uncover ancient artifacts. When Indy's partner Mac (a quite bloated Ray Winstone), betrays him and turns him over to the communists and their Freuline leader Irina Spalko (an oddly accented Cate Blanchett), Jones goes to great depths to find the whereabouts of the mythic "crystal skull". Of coarse, Jones is able to escape their grasp in classic Indy fashion, but his involvement with the traitor Mac has American agents looking at him and seeing Red.
It isn't until Jones comes into contact with Mutt Williams (Shia Lebouf in pure greaser fashion), that he becomes embroidered, once again, in the hunt for the crystal skull. Mutt, a coarse, confrontational young man, needs to find it in order to save his mother from being killed by the Spalko-lead commies. His mother turns out to be none other than Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), Indy's constant on-again, off-again romance.
The film, not unlike any of the other films of the series, requires quite a bit of the suspension of disbelief. More than any of the previous films, this film does require many more "It's just a movie" shrugs, but Spielberg's tip-of-the-hat to old school Hollywood filmaking has such majestic, captivating sequences that it doesn't seem to matter that the story short-changes you on more than ten occasions (did we have a problem with any of those moments in the previous Indy films?).
Ford sports the hat just as well as he ever did in his forth stint as Jones. Indiana Jones is easily the best character of Ford's career, because it fits him better than those brown pants and beige shirt, and after all of these years, he hasn't lost a beat. Ford's legendary status has benefited from characters that are charming, sarcastic, and filled with such honorable sincerity, that he has still been able to prosper for decades. No part that Ford has played embodies that better than Indiana Jones.
Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, and John Hurt (as a deranged 'Ox' Oxley) are all legible and seem that there having fun in a very fun movie, but no other actor takes stage better than Lebouf. Shia Lebouf, many years away from his time on the hysterical Disney show "Even Stevens", has a coming-of-age performance in this film. Starring against Harrison Ford is difficult, but starring against Ford as Jones usually leaves his co-stars bidding for attention with annoying actions (Karen Allen, anyone?), but Lebouf takes the stage and delivers the performance with real greaser brawn and attitude.
In the end, there is no greatness within this movie. Between Indy surviving a nuclear blast by hiding in a refrigerator and wild inconsistencies with a magnetic skull, there are points of the film that border on rediculous, but I'd be lying if I said that this wasn't one of the more exhilarating movie experiences I've had so far this year. If nothing else, Steven Spielberg continues to show why he is easily the most talented filmmaker of his generation, and Harrison Ford cements Indy as one of the most seminal characters in cinema. What's so wrong about that?
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Summer Movie Guide
With the release of Iron Man, we have the beginning of Summer. Well, it's only the beginning of May, but as far as all of the movie studios are concerned, we're most definitely in the middle of Summer. That means popcorn films coming out the ying-yang, while studio execs sit crossing their fingers hoping their films fill the most seats. If early estimates are any indication, Iron Man has already delivered on it's cash cow promises, but lets take a look at other releases looking to make a splash in the box office this summer break.
SPEED RACER
May 9
Everyone can agree that the Wachowski brothers dropped the ball when they put together the highly uneven sequels to The Matrix, but if the trailers are any indication, their interpretation of Speed Racer looks to be another mind-bending experience of action and fantasy. The colors seem seizure-inducing, but with a cast that includes Lost's Matthew Fox, Christina Ricci, as well as Emile Hirsch in the title role, the star power can't be denied. Hopefully the Wachowski can make up for their past blunders.
INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL
May 22
Harrison Ford is pushing 66, but you would never guess it watching him swinging inside warehouses using Indy's nifty whip. Karen Allen reprises her role as Marion Ravenwood, but the newcomers in this third sequel to the classic Raiders of the Lost Arc, are Cate Blanchett as foreign femme fatale named Irina Spalko, and Shia Lebouf as Indy's new whipper-snapper protege named Mutt Williams. With Spielberg back behind the camera, the film is sure to be entertaining, and sure to be a hit. It doesn't seem to matter much the plot of this film, but the idea of Ford back in his ass-kicking ways is enough to make audiences salivate.
YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN
June 6
A wise movie man once told me that Adam Sandler is easily the most bankable movie star in Hollywood. More than Will Smith or George Clooney? Yes. His films are simple, don't cost much to make, and usually guaranteed to make over $150 million. Sandler has sampled in serious work like Punch-Drunk Love and Reign Over Me, but films like Zohan--where Sandler plays an Israeli counter-terrorist who decides to move to the US to become a hair stylist--is his bread and butter. Hopefully this film is more in the range of Billy Madison and The Wedding Singer, and less like Click or I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.
THE INCREDIBLE HULK
June 13
I, like most, feel puzzled by this superhero do-over. I never saw Hulk, which was a colossal flop from what I heard, but is making what is basically a slightly edgier version going to be much better? Well, casting Edward Norton as Bruce Banner is certainly taking the material in a different direction. We all know Norton is a brilliant actor, but when are we ever going to see him be brilliant again? Is The Incredible Hulk our oppurtunity, or is this just Norton phoning it in for a Hollywood picture like he did in the horrid Italian Job?
THE HAPPENING
June 13
M. Night Shyamalan freaked everybody out with The Sixth Sense, and since then everybody has been complaining about how he hasn't scared us since. To be fair, Unbreakable is a terrific film, I thought, about what it truly means to be a superhero; Signs is filled with suspenseful moments that are ruined by an anticlimactic and nonsensical ending; and The Village did have some moments of cinematic beauty. It's just that none of those films were very... scary. As usual, Shyamalan has a dynamite cast with Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, and John Leguizamo, but can he make anything with it? I'll be in line to see.
GET SMART
June 20
Ever since The 40-Year-Old Virgin, I've had a pretty big man-crush on Steve Carrell, which made Evan Almighty that much more painful, and Dan In Real Life that much more lovely. I don't know enough about the original television show to know if Carrell will be able to do justice to Maxwell Smart, but I'm sure his attempts will be hilarious. Co-starring Anne Hathaway as his sexy cohort Agent 99, Dwayne Johnson as the bumbling Agent 23, and Alan Arkin as the Chief, it's primed with a great cast. I have a soft spot for all of those actors (particularly Johnson, who I watched when he was the WWF wrestling star, 'The Rock'), and I hope the vehicle lives up to the names.
WALL-E
June 27
No summer, the last few years, is without that one dominant Pixar film that charms the souls of the children, and melts the hearts of adults. WALL-E is meant to be just that, the 2008 version. I'm sure everyone has seen the adorable teaser trailer, and Wall-E the robot seems primed to become the most adorable robot in movie history (easily supplanting Johnny 5 from Short Circuit and R2-D2). The plot seems to deal with Wall-E's contact with alien visitors, and the film is rumored to contain little to no dialogue. That's a gutsy move that only a studio like Pixar could take, since their films are practically guaranteed to fill the seats.
WANTED
June 27
Looking to face off with WALL-E that weekend is Wanted, an action picture which looks to combine to proven movie stars with one rising star. Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman play members of an underground group of assassins who decide to draft a Johnny Nobody played by Scottish star James McAvoy to become part of their group. The idea of seeing McAvoy in a major star vehicle is enticing, since he's an actor that many should have been paying attention to for quite a while already, but perhaps even more exciting is watching Angelina Jolie bounce back from her brilliant turn in A Mighty Heart, and go back into super-sexy spy mode. There's too much to like with this one.
HANCOCK
July 2
Now, I remember what I said earlier about Sandler, but no other actor has audiences coming out in droves the way Will Smith does. His charm, his dashing looks, and his proven acting ability make him likable to pretty much any demographic. In Hancock, Smith plays a lackadaisical superhero who has taken a serious PR hit because of his raucous, crass behavior. Jason Bateman plays a PR professional who feels he knows how to help his client get back into favor with the public. The plot is no less preposterous then most Smith blockbusters, but one thing's for sure, people will see it.
THE DARK KNIGHT
July 18
Much like The Incredible Hulk, director Christopher Nolan's Batman pictures are meant to make you forget the original pictures--which devolved into Jerry Bruckheimer exploitation films--and let the story start over (but at least Nolan waited a few more years). This is Nolan's sequel to his much praised Batman Begins. The film alone would be enough to stir up a hit, but with the unexpected death of the great Heath Ledger, many will flock to the theaters to see his last full performance as The Joker, which early indicators say is brilliant. The film brings back Christian Bale as the caped crusader, and adds Aaron Eckhart and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
PINEAPPLE EXPRESS
August 8
The way Starbucks has cornered the market on coffee, equals the way Judd Apatow has been able to dominate the comedy world for the last couple of years. Apatow's Forgetting Sarah Marshall is easily the funniest movie of 2008 so far, but Pineapple Express, which is about an everyman played by Seth Rogan and his drug dealer played by James Franco, who must hit the road after they witness a police officer murder someone, may be even better. It has already been dubbed by some as "Superbad--the college years", and is commandeered by the proven visionary David Gordon Green (director of George Washington).
TROPIC THUNDER
August 15
Ben Stiller has seemed to go under the radar as a pretty competent filmmaker, directing the impressive Reality Bites, the underrated dark comedy The Cable Guy, and the brainless guilty pleasure Zoolander. Stiller steps behind the camera again with Tropic Thunder, a film about a group of inane actors who cannot sufficiently portray soldiers in a war film, and are forced into character when they are thrown into real war conditions. The group of actors are played by Stiller, Jack Black, and the rejuvenated Robert Downey Jr. as a method actor who has severe plastic surgery to make him look like a black man for the war film.
SPEED RACERMay 9
Everyone can agree that the Wachowski brothers dropped the ball when they put together the highly uneven sequels to The Matrix, but if the trailers are any indication, their interpretation of Speed Racer looks to be another mind-bending experience of action and fantasy. The colors seem seizure-inducing, but with a cast that includes Lost's Matthew Fox, Christina Ricci, as well as Emile Hirsch in the title role, the star power can't be denied. Hopefully the Wachowski can make up for their past blunders.
INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULLMay 22
Harrison Ford is pushing 66, but you would never guess it watching him swinging inside warehouses using Indy's nifty whip. Karen Allen reprises her role as Marion Ravenwood, but the newcomers in this third sequel to the classic Raiders of the Lost Arc, are Cate Blanchett as foreign femme fatale named Irina Spalko, and Shia Lebouf as Indy's new whipper-snapper protege named Mutt Williams. With Spielberg back behind the camera, the film is sure to be entertaining, and sure to be a hit. It doesn't seem to matter much the plot of this film, but the idea of Ford back in his ass-kicking ways is enough to make audiences salivate.
YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE ZOHANJune 6
A wise movie man once told me that Adam Sandler is easily the most bankable movie star in Hollywood. More than Will Smith or George Clooney? Yes. His films are simple, don't cost much to make, and usually guaranteed to make over $150 million. Sandler has sampled in serious work like Punch-Drunk Love and Reign Over Me, but films like Zohan--where Sandler plays an Israeli counter-terrorist who decides to move to the US to become a hair stylist--is his bread and butter. Hopefully this film is more in the range of Billy Madison and The Wedding Singer, and less like Click or I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.
THE INCREDIBLE HULKJune 13
I, like most, feel puzzled by this superhero do-over. I never saw Hulk, which was a colossal flop from what I heard, but is making what is basically a slightly edgier version going to be much better? Well, casting Edward Norton as Bruce Banner is certainly taking the material in a different direction. We all know Norton is a brilliant actor, but when are we ever going to see him be brilliant again? Is The Incredible Hulk our oppurtunity, or is this just Norton phoning it in for a Hollywood picture like he did in the horrid Italian Job?
THE HAPPENINGJune 13
M. Night Shyamalan freaked everybody out with The Sixth Sense, and since then everybody has been complaining about how he hasn't scared us since. To be fair, Unbreakable is a terrific film, I thought, about what it truly means to be a superhero; Signs is filled with suspenseful moments that are ruined by an anticlimactic and nonsensical ending; and The Village did have some moments of cinematic beauty. It's just that none of those films were very... scary. As usual, Shyamalan has a dynamite cast with Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, and John Leguizamo, but can he make anything with it? I'll be in line to see.
GET SMARTJune 20
Ever since The 40-Year-Old Virgin, I've had a pretty big man-crush on Steve Carrell, which made Evan Almighty that much more painful, and Dan In Real Life that much more lovely. I don't know enough about the original television show to know if Carrell will be able to do justice to Maxwell Smart, but I'm sure his attempts will be hilarious. Co-starring Anne Hathaway as his sexy cohort Agent 99, Dwayne Johnson as the bumbling Agent 23, and Alan Arkin as the Chief, it's primed with a great cast. I have a soft spot for all of those actors (particularly Johnson, who I watched when he was the WWF wrestling star, 'The Rock'), and I hope the vehicle lives up to the names.
WALL-EJune 27
No summer, the last few years, is without that one dominant Pixar film that charms the souls of the children, and melts the hearts of adults. WALL-E is meant to be just that, the 2008 version. I'm sure everyone has seen the adorable teaser trailer, and Wall-E the robot seems primed to become the most adorable robot in movie history (easily supplanting Johnny 5 from Short Circuit and R2-D2). The plot seems to deal with Wall-E's contact with alien visitors, and the film is rumored to contain little to no dialogue. That's a gutsy move that only a studio like Pixar could take, since their films are practically guaranteed to fill the seats.
WANTEDJune 27
Looking to face off with WALL-E that weekend is Wanted, an action picture which looks to combine to proven movie stars with one rising star. Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman play members of an underground group of assassins who decide to draft a Johnny Nobody played by Scottish star James McAvoy to become part of their group. The idea of seeing McAvoy in a major star vehicle is enticing, since he's an actor that many should have been paying attention to for quite a while already, but perhaps even more exciting is watching Angelina Jolie bounce back from her brilliant turn in A Mighty Heart, and go back into super-sexy spy mode. There's too much to like with this one.
HANCOCKJuly 2
Now, I remember what I said earlier about Sandler, but no other actor has audiences coming out in droves the way Will Smith does. His charm, his dashing looks, and his proven acting ability make him likable to pretty much any demographic. In Hancock, Smith plays a lackadaisical superhero who has taken a serious PR hit because of his raucous, crass behavior. Jason Bateman plays a PR professional who feels he knows how to help his client get back into favor with the public. The plot is no less preposterous then most Smith blockbusters, but one thing's for sure, people will see it.
THE DARK KNIGHTJuly 18
Much like The Incredible Hulk, director Christopher Nolan's Batman pictures are meant to make you forget the original pictures--which devolved into Jerry Bruckheimer exploitation films--and let the story start over (but at least Nolan waited a few more years). This is Nolan's sequel to his much praised Batman Begins. The film alone would be enough to stir up a hit, but with the unexpected death of the great Heath Ledger, many will flock to the theaters to see his last full performance as The Joker, which early indicators say is brilliant. The film brings back Christian Bale as the caped crusader, and adds Aaron Eckhart and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
PINEAPPLE EXPRESSAugust 8
The way Starbucks has cornered the market on coffee, equals the way Judd Apatow has been able to dominate the comedy world for the last couple of years. Apatow's Forgetting Sarah Marshall is easily the funniest movie of 2008 so far, but Pineapple Express, which is about an everyman played by Seth Rogan and his drug dealer played by James Franco, who must hit the road after they witness a police officer murder someone, may be even better. It has already been dubbed by some as "Superbad--the college years", and is commandeered by the proven visionary David Gordon Green (director of George Washington).
TROPIC THUNDERAugust 15
Ben Stiller has seemed to go under the radar as a pretty competent filmmaker, directing the impressive Reality Bites, the underrated dark comedy The Cable Guy, and the brainless guilty pleasure Zoolander. Stiller steps behind the camera again with Tropic Thunder, a film about a group of inane actors who cannot sufficiently portray soldiers in a war film, and are forced into character when they are thrown into real war conditions. The group of actors are played by Stiller, Jack Black, and the rejuvenated Robert Downey Jr. as a method actor who has severe plastic surgery to make him look like a black man for the war film.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Iron Man (***)
IRON MAN
Directed by Jon Favreau
***
The new Hollywood blockbuster Iron Man is many things. For one, it is the official beginning of the summer movie season, where millions of theaters will be filled with seat-clinching action pictures that would make Michael Bay drool. Also, this film marks the official resurrection of Robert Downey Jr.'s career, with this film being a companion piece to his other summer blockbuster Tropic Thunder, which is coming out in August. Overall, though, the film is a successful hero picture, that succeeds in not taking itself so seriously, and relishing in it's own escapism.
The film is another in an endless line of comic book films, this one concerning a boozing, womanizing weapons manufacturer named Tony Stark (Downey Jr.). He's a mechanical genius, who makes the world's greatest and most powerful weapons. Son of Howard Stark--one of the contributors to the Manhattan project--Tony takes over the manufacturing business, and with the help of his father's close associate Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), successfully sells his weapons for millions upon millions of dollars to anyone around the world who can afford them.
Things go sour for Stark, though, when he is captured and nearly killed by a group of middle eastern terrorists who want him to build a powerful weapon. Instead, Stark decides to build a super-technological suit to help him escape. The plan works, and Stark is able to return home to meet his beautiful, but obedient assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), and his military officer buddy Jim Rhodes (Terrance Howard). Dealing with the terrorists, though, makes Stark realize the lack of responsibility he has taken for the havoc his product has created all over the world.
Of coarse, the Stark Industries doesn't agree with Tony's plans to stop making dangerous weapons, so they--particularly Obadiah--try to push Tony out, as they continue to cash in on selling off missiles and M-80 machine guns. The only way Tony's conscience can be cleared is if he fights fire with fire, perfecting his powerful iron suit into a weapon that can fly, shoot, and trigger numerous bombs. As the movie continues, Tony redeems himself by taking care of the terrorists who held him captive earlier in the film, but we find that the capture may have had more than meets the eye. And, of coarse, there is always room for romantic sparks to fly between Tony and Pepper.
The film is a classic superhero movie: charismatic hero, beautiful lady on his arm, gullible friend, and the villain who is closer than the hero realizes. It's by the books, but it is the show put on by Downey Jr. that gives the film most of it's great energy. The last few years, we've seen Robert Downey Jr. slowly bringing himself out of Hollywood obscurity: he was great as the lead in the vastly under appreciated satire Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and then brilliant in his supporting role in David Fincher's serial killer epic Zodiac. But in Iron Man, he is headlining what is possibly a very successful franchise, and his talent doesn't cease.
He has always been an actor of uncanny comedic ability, but has always had that virtuoso aspect, allowing him to rely on his sincerity. Take for instance, the extended montage of Stark building his suit within his own basement. He has the help from a super-smart, talking computer. The relationship between the two could have been played with shtick, like David Hasselhoff talking to Kit in "Knight Rider", but instead, Downey Jr. and Stark's genius machine have some of the best computer-human chemistry I've ever seen in the movies.
The entire show belongs to Robert Downey Jr., if only because he seems like an unlikely candidate to headline a superhero franchise, yet flourishes so. It's a character taylor-made for his skills. But it should be mentioned, part of his charm is aided by a surprisingly inspired performance by Paltrow. The two have vibrant chemistry, and Paltrow gives one of her freshest performances in years. For the first time since The Royal Tenenbaums, Paltrow's award-winning self-absorption was put in the corner, and she allows herself to have fun with the character.
The film has its generic moments, and there are definitely no big unsuspected surprises throughout the picture, but it meets the requirement for a summer action movie: it's fun. It relishes in being a chaotic popcorn film, and never tries to insult the audience by insinuating that you are watching anything profound (**cough**Spider-Man 3**cough**). I can see many, bloated sequels following Iron Man, and that can be more of a curse than a treasure, and to be honest, I find the character of Tony Stark a lot more interesting when he isn't pounding around in an Iron Man suit, but as long as those CGI effects don't become overbearing, it will always be a successful action prospect.
Directed by Jon Favreau
***
The new Hollywood blockbuster Iron Man is many things. For one, it is the official beginning of the summer movie season, where millions of theaters will be filled with seat-clinching action pictures that would make Michael Bay drool. Also, this film marks the official resurrection of Robert Downey Jr.'s career, with this film being a companion piece to his other summer blockbuster Tropic Thunder, which is coming out in August. Overall, though, the film is a successful hero picture, that succeeds in not taking itself so seriously, and relishing in it's own escapism.
The film is another in an endless line of comic book films, this one concerning a boozing, womanizing weapons manufacturer named Tony Stark (Downey Jr.). He's a mechanical genius, who makes the world's greatest and most powerful weapons. Son of Howard Stark--one of the contributors to the Manhattan project--Tony takes over the manufacturing business, and with the help of his father's close associate Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), successfully sells his weapons for millions upon millions of dollars to anyone around the world who can afford them.
Things go sour for Stark, though, when he is captured and nearly killed by a group of middle eastern terrorists who want him to build a powerful weapon. Instead, Stark decides to build a super-technological suit to help him escape. The plan works, and Stark is able to return home to meet his beautiful, but obedient assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), and his military officer buddy Jim Rhodes (Terrance Howard). Dealing with the terrorists, though, makes Stark realize the lack of responsibility he has taken for the havoc his product has created all over the world.
Of coarse, the Stark Industries doesn't agree with Tony's plans to stop making dangerous weapons, so they--particularly Obadiah--try to push Tony out, as they continue to cash in on selling off missiles and M-80 machine guns. The only way Tony's conscience can be cleared is if he fights fire with fire, perfecting his powerful iron suit into a weapon that can fly, shoot, and trigger numerous bombs. As the movie continues, Tony redeems himself by taking care of the terrorists who held him captive earlier in the film, but we find that the capture may have had more than meets the eye. And, of coarse, there is always room for romantic sparks to fly between Tony and Pepper.
The film is a classic superhero movie: charismatic hero, beautiful lady on his arm, gullible friend, and the villain who is closer than the hero realizes. It's by the books, but it is the show put on by Downey Jr. that gives the film most of it's great energy. The last few years, we've seen Robert Downey Jr. slowly bringing himself out of Hollywood obscurity: he was great as the lead in the vastly under appreciated satire Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and then brilliant in his supporting role in David Fincher's serial killer epic Zodiac. But in Iron Man, he is headlining what is possibly a very successful franchise, and his talent doesn't cease.
He has always been an actor of uncanny comedic ability, but has always had that virtuoso aspect, allowing him to rely on his sincerity. Take for instance, the extended montage of Stark building his suit within his own basement. He has the help from a super-smart, talking computer. The relationship between the two could have been played with shtick, like David Hasselhoff talking to Kit in "Knight Rider", but instead, Downey Jr. and Stark's genius machine have some of the best computer-human chemistry I've ever seen in the movies.
The entire show belongs to Robert Downey Jr., if only because he seems like an unlikely candidate to headline a superhero franchise, yet flourishes so. It's a character taylor-made for his skills. But it should be mentioned, part of his charm is aided by a surprisingly inspired performance by Paltrow. The two have vibrant chemistry, and Paltrow gives one of her freshest performances in years. For the first time since The Royal Tenenbaums, Paltrow's award-winning self-absorption was put in the corner, and she allows herself to have fun with the character.
The film has its generic moments, and there are definitely no big unsuspected surprises throughout the picture, but it meets the requirement for a summer action movie: it's fun. It relishes in being a chaotic popcorn film, and never tries to insult the audience by insinuating that you are watching anything profound (**cough**Spider-Man 3**cough**). I can see many, bloated sequels following Iron Man, and that can be more of a curse than a treasure, and to be honest, I find the character of Tony Stark a lot more interesting when he isn't pounding around in an Iron Man suit, but as long as those CGI effects don't become overbearing, it will always be a successful action prospect.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
Baby Mama (**1/2)
BABY MAMA
Written and Directed by Michael McCullers
**1/2
For the last couple years, it seems that the aura of Tina Fey has continued to grow more and more. She became somewhat of a cult hit as the host of Weekend Update on "Saturday Night Live". She gained a lot of recognition, and a Writer's Guild nomination for her script for the teenage hit Mean Girls. She left SNL, and created the brilliant NBC sitcom "30 Rock", and plays the main character Liz Lemon--an ode to her geek chic style. "30 Rock" has won numerous Emmys, and Golden Globes, leading the way for Fey to headline a Hollywood motion picture for the first time in her career. It's a wonder it didn't happen sooner.
Joining her is fellow Second City comedienne, and former Weekend Update co-host Amy Poehler. Together they team up for the incredibly light film Baby Mama. The story is about Kate (Fey), an independent, wealthy woman who works for a health food company, but has been struck with a sudden case of baby fever, when she realizes her biological clock is ticking. She tries adoption, but can't seem to break through. She tries to get artificially inseminated, but her doctor has issues with her "T-shaped uterus", and claims she is infertile. Finally, Kate finds a solution to her problem.
She finds a surrogate mother program, led by an extremely fertile, but extremely strange older woman (Sigourney Weaver), who explains the process to Kate. That is when Kate comes into contact with Angie (Poehler), a coarse woman, with no manners and a slick tongue. Together, Kate and Angie decide that Angie will be the surrogate mother, and carry Kate's child. All seems well for Kate, when Angie becomes pregnant, but when Angie dumps her loser "common law" husband (Dax Sheppard), Angie decides to move into Kate's apartment.
There is plenty of odd couple moments between Kate and Angie (Angie sticks numerous pieces of chewed gum under Kate's coffee table), and they get under each other's skin on more than one occasion, but over time they come to understand and respect each other, forming a strong friendship. Weaving in and out of the story is Rob (Greg Kinnear), a fruit drink store owner who catches Kate's eye; and also, there is Oscar (Romany Malco), a doorman with a heart of gold and a strangely close relationship with the hotel's patrons.
It's a credit to the cast and their comic ability that this film comes off as funny and warm, since the story is framed by a script that is so incredibly mild and safe, that is guaranteed to only be liked by everybody or nobody. Nothing will surprise you, and everything unfolds so conventionally that there is never any real suspense to the story, whatever twists and turns that McCullers tried to throw in. Any fans of Fey's and Poehler's past comedy will be underwhelmed by this film's complete lack of bite, no doubt a technique used to agree with the most demographics possible.
But in the end, the chemistry between Fey and Poehler is infectious, as well as hilarious. Fey proves once again that she can be a very dependable actress when she is put in her comfort zone, and Kate is role taylor-made for her wonderful sarcasm and straight-man reactions. On the other hand, Poehler is a revelation. Angie is not an incredibly complex character, but Poehler takes the character and runs wild with it, creating someone who is as smart as she is inept, and as confident as she is neurotic.
Everything in this movie is supposed to feel bubbly, almost to a fault, but it's compelling to watch these actors have fun with this light material. Steve Martin makes a wonderfully funny cameo as Kate's narcissistic guru boss, but that is the only thing this film has in the way of edge. Malco, Kinnear, Sheppard, and Weaver are all dedicated to their confined roles, and with the guidance of Fey and Poehler, there is nothing dissatisfying in this film, and it gets the audience result that it searches for: a chuckle and a smile.
Written and Directed by Michael McCullers
**1/2
For the last couple years, it seems that the aura of Tina Fey has continued to grow more and more. She became somewhat of a cult hit as the host of Weekend Update on "Saturday Night Live". She gained a lot of recognition, and a Writer's Guild nomination for her script for the teenage hit Mean Girls. She left SNL, and created the brilliant NBC sitcom "30 Rock", and plays the main character Liz Lemon--an ode to her geek chic style. "30 Rock" has won numerous Emmys, and Golden Globes, leading the way for Fey to headline a Hollywood motion picture for the first time in her career. It's a wonder it didn't happen sooner.
Joining her is fellow Second City comedienne, and former Weekend Update co-host Amy Poehler. Together they team up for the incredibly light film Baby Mama. The story is about Kate (Fey), an independent, wealthy woman who works for a health food company, but has been struck with a sudden case of baby fever, when she realizes her biological clock is ticking. She tries adoption, but can't seem to break through. She tries to get artificially inseminated, but her doctor has issues with her "T-shaped uterus", and claims she is infertile. Finally, Kate finds a solution to her problem.
She finds a surrogate mother program, led by an extremely fertile, but extremely strange older woman (Sigourney Weaver), who explains the process to Kate. That is when Kate comes into contact with Angie (Poehler), a coarse woman, with no manners and a slick tongue. Together, Kate and Angie decide that Angie will be the surrogate mother, and carry Kate's child. All seems well for Kate, when Angie becomes pregnant, but when Angie dumps her loser "common law" husband (Dax Sheppard), Angie decides to move into Kate's apartment.
There is plenty of odd couple moments between Kate and Angie (Angie sticks numerous pieces of chewed gum under Kate's coffee table), and they get under each other's skin on more than one occasion, but over time they come to understand and respect each other, forming a strong friendship. Weaving in and out of the story is Rob (Greg Kinnear), a fruit drink store owner who catches Kate's eye; and also, there is Oscar (Romany Malco), a doorman with a heart of gold and a strangely close relationship with the hotel's patrons.
It's a credit to the cast and their comic ability that this film comes off as funny and warm, since the story is framed by a script that is so incredibly mild and safe, that is guaranteed to only be liked by everybody or nobody. Nothing will surprise you, and everything unfolds so conventionally that there is never any real suspense to the story, whatever twists and turns that McCullers tried to throw in. Any fans of Fey's and Poehler's past comedy will be underwhelmed by this film's complete lack of bite, no doubt a technique used to agree with the most demographics possible.
But in the end, the chemistry between Fey and Poehler is infectious, as well as hilarious. Fey proves once again that she can be a very dependable actress when she is put in her comfort zone, and Kate is role taylor-made for her wonderful sarcasm and straight-man reactions. On the other hand, Poehler is a revelation. Angie is not an incredibly complex character, but Poehler takes the character and runs wild with it, creating someone who is as smart as she is inept, and as confident as she is neurotic.
Everything in this movie is supposed to feel bubbly, almost to a fault, but it's compelling to watch these actors have fun with this light material. Steve Martin makes a wonderfully funny cameo as Kate's narcissistic guru boss, but that is the only thing this film has in the way of edge. Malco, Kinnear, Sheppard, and Weaver are all dedicated to their confined roles, and with the guidance of Fey and Poehler, there is nothing dissatisfying in this film, and it gets the audience result that it searches for: a chuckle and a smile.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (***)
FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL
Directed by Nicholas Stoller
***
Despite Forgetting Sarah Marshall being a startling impressive debut from director Nic Stoller, and featuring to television stars in Kristen Bell and Mila Kunis, the undeniable star of this film is Jason Segal. The film's writer, and main star, Segal's presence is the dominant one throughout. Segal is another member of the oh-so-popular Apatow comedy crew. I bet I wasn't the only one who cringed when Apatow but his name on a blunder like Drillbit Taylor, but it didn't take long, and with the help of Segal's hilarious script, the Apatow films continue on successfully.
Peter Bretter (Segal) is a composer who writes music for a hit cop television show titled "Crime Scene", and is lucky enough to be the boyfriend of the show's superstar lead, Sarah Marshall (Bell). Everything is fine for Peter, until Sarah decides to break up with him. The news is so surprising to Peter, it's jaw-dropping (and towel-dropping, with Segal letting it all hang out). He can't get over Sarah, but attempts to by sleeping with random women. Unfortunately, this doesn't fix his broken heart. Taking advice from his helpful step-brother Brian (Bill Hader), Peter decides to go on a vacation to clear his mind.
Off to Hawaii Peter goes, only to find that Sarah has decided to stay at the same hotel. Making it even more unbearable for Peter, is that Sarah has dragged along her sex-addicted, rock star boyfriend Aldous Snow (Russell Brand). The one bright spot in Peter's trip is meeting Rachel (Kunis), a free-spirited woman, who's sympathetic to Peter's plight, having been on the wrong end of break-ups before in her life. In between awkward moments and run-ins with the oddballs of the hotel, Rachel begins to help Peter realize that there may be more to life than just Sarah Marshall, as broken-hearted as he is.
So, we all know where this one is going to go, right? In a way, that is the beauty of all of the Apatow comedies. None of them are about the destination, but about the journey. Sure, plot lines are recycled throughout this film from other romantic comedies, but it's the execution of this picture that makes it so unforgettable and so unbelievably funny. Segal's script is so honest, yet so hysterical. The words are so subtle, sometimes the heart in them is hard to comprehend, particularly when they are behind so many weed and sex jokes. But the heart is there.
We've all heard by now of Segal's notorious full-frontal scenes. Other than shock value, the scene showcases Segal's commitment to the film (not that Segal appearing nude in a film is anything particularly surprising). Of course, the film's humor is abundant, such as the numerous segments from "Crime Scene", in which Sarah co-stars with William Baldwin, who spurts out one one-liner after another ("I don't think she'll be able to re-enter that pageant... without a face").
Segal is buoyed by his supporting cast. Kunis, who's grown into a glowing beauty since her days on "That 70's Show", is probably the most rounded female character in any of the Apatow comedies. Her brashness, as well as her sweetness, play well throughout. Bell, ironically a TV star herself with "Heroes" and the now-canceled "Veronica Mars", seems to add all of it to her role as Sarah Marshall. Of course, Sarah comes around to Peter again, but Bell pulls it off with honesty, not schitck. Then, of course, there is Russell Brand. Already a famous comic in England, Brand's spot-on portrayal of rock star narcissism is gut-bustingly funny, perhaps getting the biggest laughs of the whole movie.
There is no Apatow comedy without the onslaught of hysterical minor characters, fleshed out by the Apatow mainstays. There's Matthew (Jonah Hill), the waiter who is constantly pestering Aldous with his own rock star ambitions. There's Chuck (Paul Rudd), a surfing coach who is in a constant state of weed-induced utopia, allowing him to say such classic lines as "the weather outside is weather". Also, we meet Derald (Jack McBrayer from "30 Rock"), a God-fearing newlywed, whose frightened about having to consummate the marriage. These are roles and performances that are more ambient than useful to the plot, but without them, the film's hilarious energy would not be the same.
Overall, I don't know if I'd endorse this film as much as The 40 Year Old Virgin or Knocked Up, but it is more in the league of last year's hit Superbad, and that's not a bad place to be. This is not a film for children, nor a film for anyone who is averse to seeing Jason Segal's penis (it makes a cameo in two scenes). But it is easily the best comedy to come out so far this year. Filled to the brim with uproarious scenes, it still manages to be somewhat earnest about heartbreak and falling in love. In the end, that's what makes it stay with you after you leave the theater.
Directed by Nicholas Stoller
***
Despite Forgetting Sarah Marshall being a startling impressive debut from director Nic Stoller, and featuring to television stars in Kristen Bell and Mila Kunis, the undeniable star of this film is Jason Segal. The film's writer, and main star, Segal's presence is the dominant one throughout. Segal is another member of the oh-so-popular Apatow comedy crew. I bet I wasn't the only one who cringed when Apatow but his name on a blunder like Drillbit Taylor, but it didn't take long, and with the help of Segal's hilarious script, the Apatow films continue on successfully.
Peter Bretter (Segal) is a composer who writes music for a hit cop television show titled "Crime Scene", and is lucky enough to be the boyfriend of the show's superstar lead, Sarah Marshall (Bell). Everything is fine for Peter, until Sarah decides to break up with him. The news is so surprising to Peter, it's jaw-dropping (and towel-dropping, with Segal letting it all hang out). He can't get over Sarah, but attempts to by sleeping with random women. Unfortunately, this doesn't fix his broken heart. Taking advice from his helpful step-brother Brian (Bill Hader), Peter decides to go on a vacation to clear his mind.
Off to Hawaii Peter goes, only to find that Sarah has decided to stay at the same hotel. Making it even more unbearable for Peter, is that Sarah has dragged along her sex-addicted, rock star boyfriend Aldous Snow (Russell Brand). The one bright spot in Peter's trip is meeting Rachel (Kunis), a free-spirited woman, who's sympathetic to Peter's plight, having been on the wrong end of break-ups before in her life. In between awkward moments and run-ins with the oddballs of the hotel, Rachel begins to help Peter realize that there may be more to life than just Sarah Marshall, as broken-hearted as he is.
So, we all know where this one is going to go, right? In a way, that is the beauty of all of the Apatow comedies. None of them are about the destination, but about the journey. Sure, plot lines are recycled throughout this film from other romantic comedies, but it's the execution of this picture that makes it so unforgettable and so unbelievably funny. Segal's script is so honest, yet so hysterical. The words are so subtle, sometimes the heart in them is hard to comprehend, particularly when they are behind so many weed and sex jokes. But the heart is there.
We've all heard by now of Segal's notorious full-frontal scenes. Other than shock value, the scene showcases Segal's commitment to the film (not that Segal appearing nude in a film is anything particularly surprising). Of course, the film's humor is abundant, such as the numerous segments from "Crime Scene", in which Sarah co-stars with William Baldwin, who spurts out one one-liner after another ("I don't think she'll be able to re-enter that pageant... without a face").
Segal is buoyed by his supporting cast. Kunis, who's grown into a glowing beauty since her days on "That 70's Show", is probably the most rounded female character in any of the Apatow comedies. Her brashness, as well as her sweetness, play well throughout. Bell, ironically a TV star herself with "Heroes" and the now-canceled "Veronica Mars", seems to add all of it to her role as Sarah Marshall. Of course, Sarah comes around to Peter again, but Bell pulls it off with honesty, not schitck. Then, of course, there is Russell Brand. Already a famous comic in England, Brand's spot-on portrayal of rock star narcissism is gut-bustingly funny, perhaps getting the biggest laughs of the whole movie.
There is no Apatow comedy without the onslaught of hysterical minor characters, fleshed out by the Apatow mainstays. There's Matthew (Jonah Hill), the waiter who is constantly pestering Aldous with his own rock star ambitions. There's Chuck (Paul Rudd), a surfing coach who is in a constant state of weed-induced utopia, allowing him to say such classic lines as "the weather outside is weather". Also, we meet Derald (Jack McBrayer from "30 Rock"), a God-fearing newlywed, whose frightened about having to consummate the marriage. These are roles and performances that are more ambient than useful to the plot, but without them, the film's hilarious energy would not be the same.
Overall, I don't know if I'd endorse this film as much as The 40 Year Old Virgin or Knocked Up, but it is more in the league of last year's hit Superbad, and that's not a bad place to be. This is not a film for children, nor a film for anyone who is averse to seeing Jason Segal's penis (it makes a cameo in two scenes). But it is easily the best comedy to come out so far this year. Filled to the brim with uproarious scenes, it still manages to be somewhat earnest about heartbreak and falling in love. In the end, that's what makes it stay with you after you leave the theater.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Smart People (**1/2)
SMART PEOPLE
Directed by Noam Murro
**1/2
The story goes: renowned commercial director Noam Murro was approached to make his feature film debut with The Ring Two. Murro, after much consideration, turned it down, and decided to introduce himself to the film world with Smart People. Not having seen The Ring Two, I couldn't really say giving up one for the other was a good decision, but I can say that Murro's first film does struggle with a contrived plot. The film's charm, though, comes from it's wonderful, star-studded cast.
The story is about Lawrence Wetherhold (Dennis Quaid), a widowed father of two, who teaches (well, kind of) English at a university. He's become a crusty curmudgeon, judging his students before even meets them, citing that students today do not have the right amount of passion for literature to properly digest his grumpy teaching methods. His son, James (Ashton Holmes), attends the school where Lawrence teaches, but tries his best to avoid him because of Lawrence's crass attitude. Lawrence lives alone with his over-achieving daughter Vanessa (Ellen Page), who's own behavior is no less self-absorbed then her father's.
After suffering a seizure, Lawrence meets Dr. Janet Hartigan (Sarah Jessica Parker), whom he learns later was a former student of his. She tells him that a seizure legally prevents him from driving for no less than six months. Catching wind of the opportunity, Lawrence's adopted, never-do-well brother, Chuck (Thomas Haden Church) decides to be a chauffeur, and in return is given a place to stay. As the story moves forward, Lawrence develops a romantic relationship with Dr. Hartigan, and Chuck attempts to teach Vanessa how to get fun out of life.
The film was produced by Michael London, the same guy who was behind the masterpiece Sideways. There are many concepts within Smart People that reminded me of Sideways, mainly the cranky, socially-nonfunctional protagonist whose only coerced out of his introverted persona by a sweeping romance. The big difference between the two films though is its story development. With Sideways, we never wonder why the characters do what they do, because the film took the time to truly develop them, making sure the audience knew them better than they even knew themselves. Smart People--which was penned by first-timer Mark Jude Poirier--has a conflict which goes from sad, to happy, and back to sad so inexplicably, we wonder why these characters do anything we see them do in the film.
But that being said, I enjoyed Smart People quite a bit. Its quick-witted, snappy dialogue pops, and the film has a perfect cast to fill the shows of every part. Dennis Quaid, a much underrated actor, finds a soul within the grizzled Lawrence. It's difficult play a character that's so unbelievably unlikable, yet is on the screen more than 75 percent of the time. Very easily, he could have given Lawrence a very honorable personality, to give him more leeway with the audience, but instead, he makes Lawrence even sadder, more sunken into his own narcissism. I wouldn't be surprised if Quaid's performance turns off some of his loyal fans, but it was the right thing to do for the character.
Thomas Haden Church, an actor with uncanny comedic ability brings most of the laughs of the film. Church, an actor who's always brought depth to his black sheep characters (see him also in his Oscar-nominated performance in Sideways), gives little to no energy to Chuck, instead relying on his subtlety and comedic timing to flesh his slacker character out (not to mention more than one shot of him bare-ass). Ellen Page, the little Canadian that could, is in full Juno-mode here, if Juno were a grade-grubbing Republican, whose worries were not babies but getting a perfect score on the SAT. But there is a depth to her performance, creating a character with complex (almost Oedipus-like) issues, brought on by her maddening father. It's not until Chuck brings it out of her, that she sees the emptiness of her ambitions.
Parker and Holmes, as well, are striking in their supporting roles, each successfully portraying how someone can both hate and fall in love with Lawrence. Truth is, for a first director, Murro truly hit the jackpot with his cast. This film is hard to market; it is certainly too high brow for casual moviegoers, but not nearly as complex for hardcore movie fans to give full acclaim. I, myself, am on the fence with this one, and probably won't know my true opinion of the film's quality until I view it a second time. But I will say this, I enjoyed this more than I enjoyed any other film I've seen so far in 2008, so I guess that's something.
Directed by Noam Murro
**1/2
The story goes: renowned commercial director Noam Murro was approached to make his feature film debut with The Ring Two. Murro, after much consideration, turned it down, and decided to introduce himself to the film world with Smart People. Not having seen The Ring Two, I couldn't really say giving up one for the other was a good decision, but I can say that Murro's first film does struggle with a contrived plot. The film's charm, though, comes from it's wonderful, star-studded cast.
The story is about Lawrence Wetherhold (Dennis Quaid), a widowed father of two, who teaches (well, kind of) English at a university. He's become a crusty curmudgeon, judging his students before even meets them, citing that students today do not have the right amount of passion for literature to properly digest his grumpy teaching methods. His son, James (Ashton Holmes), attends the school where Lawrence teaches, but tries his best to avoid him because of Lawrence's crass attitude. Lawrence lives alone with his over-achieving daughter Vanessa (Ellen Page), who's own behavior is no less self-absorbed then her father's.
After suffering a seizure, Lawrence meets Dr. Janet Hartigan (Sarah Jessica Parker), whom he learns later was a former student of his. She tells him that a seizure legally prevents him from driving for no less than six months. Catching wind of the opportunity, Lawrence's adopted, never-do-well brother, Chuck (Thomas Haden Church) decides to be a chauffeur, and in return is given a place to stay. As the story moves forward, Lawrence develops a romantic relationship with Dr. Hartigan, and Chuck attempts to teach Vanessa how to get fun out of life.
The film was produced by Michael London, the same guy who was behind the masterpiece Sideways. There are many concepts within Smart People that reminded me of Sideways, mainly the cranky, socially-nonfunctional protagonist whose only coerced out of his introverted persona by a sweeping romance. The big difference between the two films though is its story development. With Sideways, we never wonder why the characters do what they do, because the film took the time to truly develop them, making sure the audience knew them better than they even knew themselves. Smart People--which was penned by first-timer Mark Jude Poirier--has a conflict which goes from sad, to happy, and back to sad so inexplicably, we wonder why these characters do anything we see them do in the film.
But that being said, I enjoyed Smart People quite a bit. Its quick-witted, snappy dialogue pops, and the film has a perfect cast to fill the shows of every part. Dennis Quaid, a much underrated actor, finds a soul within the grizzled Lawrence. It's difficult play a character that's so unbelievably unlikable, yet is on the screen more than 75 percent of the time. Very easily, he could have given Lawrence a very honorable personality, to give him more leeway with the audience, but instead, he makes Lawrence even sadder, more sunken into his own narcissism. I wouldn't be surprised if Quaid's performance turns off some of his loyal fans, but it was the right thing to do for the character.
Thomas Haden Church, an actor with uncanny comedic ability brings most of the laughs of the film. Church, an actor who's always brought depth to his black sheep characters (see him also in his Oscar-nominated performance in Sideways), gives little to no energy to Chuck, instead relying on his subtlety and comedic timing to flesh his slacker character out (not to mention more than one shot of him bare-ass). Ellen Page, the little Canadian that could, is in full Juno-mode here, if Juno were a grade-grubbing Republican, whose worries were not babies but getting a perfect score on the SAT. But there is a depth to her performance, creating a character with complex (almost Oedipus-like) issues, brought on by her maddening father. It's not until Chuck brings it out of her, that she sees the emptiness of her ambitions.
Parker and Holmes, as well, are striking in their supporting roles, each successfully portraying how someone can both hate and fall in love with Lawrence. Truth is, for a first director, Murro truly hit the jackpot with his cast. This film is hard to market; it is certainly too high brow for casual moviegoers, but not nearly as complex for hardcore movie fans to give full acclaim. I, myself, am on the fence with this one, and probably won't know my true opinion of the film's quality until I view it a second time. But I will say this, I enjoyed this more than I enjoyed any other film I've seen so far in 2008, so I guess that's something.
10 Music Videos
This is a bit of a sidetrack, but this was a list of the ten best music videos I thought up the other day while I was bored.
10. "Hypnotize", Notorious B.I.G.
The quintessential rap video of the nineties: big-budget, shot in widescreen, and equipped with a strong, intriguing plot line (usually hacking off a famous action film). Though Tupac’s “California Love” was bigger in terms of style, concept, and popularity, it was B.I.G.’s “Hypnotize” which perfected this style of video which is still common today. Involving a sing-a-long bouncing ball which allows to follow along with the lines of the song, our eyes are mostly focused on one of the best car chase scenes in music video history, which involves B.I.G.’s sidekick at the time, Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs, driving backwards. What it lacks in coherence it makes up in style with the white suits, and the surprisingly stunning cinematography.
9. "Freedom '90", George Michael
George Michael’s career has seemed to have an unfortunate devolution into numerous gay jokes, but he was at his peak in the year 1990, when he released the song “Freedom ‘90”, a huge hit that was supported by a wonderful music video. The video, which involves numerous famous super models of the time canoodling alone within a ragged building, while simultaneously lip-synching the lines of the song, was most notorious for the absence of Michael himself. Looking to do away with his Wham! past, Michael took himself virtually out of the video, instead being replaced by Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, and Cindy Crawford. Nobody can forget the ceremonial explosion of his niche leather jacket and jukebox.
8. "Smells Like Teen Spirit", Nirvana
Nirvana's introduction to the music world came with a bang, leaving the phony prestige of 80's hair bands in their dust. Set in a murky school gym, it was a video that reached out displayed teen angst in its most bare form. With essentially every band member covered by long, unclean hair, the band performs with an audience of moshing schoolchildren, and high school is shown the way it feels for most of it's inhabitants: a grim hell, where the only escape is letting off steam listening to your favorite band with the volume all the way up. It was as revolutionary as it was innovative, setting the stage for incoming alternative rock throughout the 90's, and inadvertently placing lead singer/songwriter Kurt Cobain to the forefront of the movement. The song and the video still stand as a cornerstone for that entire decade.
7. "Need You Tonight/Mediate", INXS
This double video, containing to songs and videos with completely different styles in terms of tone and complexity, became a huge hit in the late 80's. A majority of "Need You Tonight" consists of a groundbreaking (for its time) multi-layering technique which allowed a black & white band to play in the background, while a color, and almost grainy Michael Hutchence sang in the foreground. The dark tone of the video's visuals coincide with the song's dark, immediate lyrics. And for a moment, for what seems like no reason other than to add a moment of strangeness, Hutchence walks in the foreground with a white mouse nestled on his shoulder. "Mediate", the second part is a nice homage to Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues", arguably the first official music video, which you can see here.
6. "Virtual Insanity", Jamariquai
A video that is brilliant mostly because of it's simplicity. Consisting mostly of lead singer Jay Kay trying to find his way around a room where the floors refuse to stop moving, throwing couches, chairs, and love seats in every which direction. There are cameos made by several large bugs and a bird, and when all is said and done, both couches are left bloodied by the abuse the room has put them through. Sporting a trademark hat, Kay performs moves some of the best gymnasts couldn't pull off, working his way around a room where lord only knows which way the walls will close in on you. On top of everything, the hyperactive room and the bleeding furniture is all allegorical for the meaning of the song, spouting the fear that technology can have over our simple minds.
5. "Coffee & TV", Blur
Another video pulled along by allegory. The video tells the story of a very optimistic carton of milk attempting to find the missing son of the family who purchased him. On his journey, he comes along the terrors of the real world, including angry hookers, dark alleyways, and watching the love of his life (a pink milk carton), getting smashed rather violently by a rather omnipresent foot. Despite it all, the little carton continues on his trek, determined to find the boy, and when he finally does, the boy pays him back by drinking his milk, and throwing him in the trash. Representing our own mistreatment of the little guy, the video's imagery is bettered by the most adorable milk carton anyone's ever seen. There is a happy ending, though: he meets up with his pink-carton love in milk heaven.
4. "Everlong", Foo Fighters
After the end of Nirvana, drummer Dave Grohl moved over to the Foo Fighters, and when they released their underrated masterpiece The Colour and the Shape, along with it came the video for one of the album's biggest hits, "Everlong". The video, a dream sequence mixed with an action film mixed with a romance, is as hard-rocking as it is nonsensical. In a quest to save his wife from a dream in which she's being attacked by two strange men with Elvis hairdos, lead singer must go to sleep himself, to enter her dream and kill the attackers. His weapon? A magically large hand that grows when he gets angry, so he can bitch-slap people to death. Of coarse, all of the characters are played by the members of the band, and the video ends as they rip off their costumes and conclude the song, instruments in hand.
3. "Weapon of Choice", Fatboy Slim
There's a famous rumor that actor Christopher Walken has never turned down a part in his life. Whether or not that's true, I don't know for sure, but one thing that I do know for sure, is that Walken did not turn down the part for the Spike Jonze-directed Fatboy Slim video, "Weapon of Choice". The video displays the wackiness we've come to love from Walken, as he shows off some surprisingly good dance moves throughout an empty hotel lobby. Defiling desks, magazines, and escalators, Walken glides from area to area with an exuberance of a man half his age. His youthful energy becomes so much, that it actually allows him to fly toward the end. Brilliant in its simplicity, the video is a collaboration of two masters of their craft: Walken and Jonze. Hopefully, it is not the last of the projects the two will have together.
2. "Loser", Beck
From depths of underground folk in 1994, came the long-haired, pasty-white Beck. "Loser", a song mixing alternative guitar strumming mixed with nonsensical rap lyrics ("Shave your face with some mace in the dark"), struck a chord with most music-lovers, in the first sign of great music to come after Kurt Cobain's suicide. The film that has a message that combines apathy with downright laziness seemed was supported with a groundbreaking video that matched the song's style exactly. Consisting mostly of homemade-looking videos scrapped hastily together, creating a feeling of havoc which only Beck could make so harmonious. With film negative shots of exercising cheerleaders, and another image of death cleaning someone's windshield in blood, the film's viral energy brought Beck into pop music where his strange innovation still reigns true.
1. "Sledgehammer", Peter Gabriel
This is easily music video equivalent to Citizen Kane. It's innovation and bold attempt to recreate the definition of what a music video was make it stand any other music video of its or any time. Using stop-motion animation combined with Gabriel's face, we're able to go on a pretty interesting adventure through the depths of somebody's subconscious. The video's constant shape-shifting ability makes it fascinating to watch even today. At one point, "Sledgehammer" was the most played video in MTV history, played so much that Gabriel himself called to ask the station to please stop. The film's near-cinematic quality and hypnotizing visuals culminate in a sequence involving two uncooked, dancing chickens. Of coarse, the video ends as Gabriel shifts shape one last time, into a man made out of stars.
10. "Hypnotize", Notorious B.I.G.
The quintessential rap video of the nineties: big-budget, shot in widescreen, and equipped with a strong, intriguing plot line (usually hacking off a famous action film). Though Tupac’s “California Love” was bigger in terms of style, concept, and popularity, it was B.I.G.’s “Hypnotize” which perfected this style of video which is still common today. Involving a sing-a-long bouncing ball which allows to follow along with the lines of the song, our eyes are mostly focused on one of the best car chase scenes in music video history, which involves B.I.G.’s sidekick at the time, Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs, driving backwards. What it lacks in coherence it makes up in style with the white suits, and the surprisingly stunning cinematography.
9. "Freedom '90", George Michael
George Michael’s career has seemed to have an unfortunate devolution into numerous gay jokes, but he was at his peak in the year 1990, when he released the song “Freedom ‘90”, a huge hit that was supported by a wonderful music video. The video, which involves numerous famous super models of the time canoodling alone within a ragged building, while simultaneously lip-synching the lines of the song, was most notorious for the absence of Michael himself. Looking to do away with his Wham! past, Michael took himself virtually out of the video, instead being replaced by Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, and Cindy Crawford. Nobody can forget the ceremonial explosion of his niche leather jacket and jukebox.
8. "Smells Like Teen Spirit", Nirvana
Nirvana's introduction to the music world came with a bang, leaving the phony prestige of 80's hair bands in their dust. Set in a murky school gym, it was a video that reached out displayed teen angst in its most bare form. With essentially every band member covered by long, unclean hair, the band performs with an audience of moshing schoolchildren, and high school is shown the way it feels for most of it's inhabitants: a grim hell, where the only escape is letting off steam listening to your favorite band with the volume all the way up. It was as revolutionary as it was innovative, setting the stage for incoming alternative rock throughout the 90's, and inadvertently placing lead singer/songwriter Kurt Cobain to the forefront of the movement. The song and the video still stand as a cornerstone for that entire decade.
7. "Need You Tonight/Mediate", INXS
This double video, containing to songs and videos with completely different styles in terms of tone and complexity, became a huge hit in the late 80's. A majority of "Need You Tonight" consists of a groundbreaking (for its time) multi-layering technique which allowed a black & white band to play in the background, while a color, and almost grainy Michael Hutchence sang in the foreground. The dark tone of the video's visuals coincide with the song's dark, immediate lyrics. And for a moment, for what seems like no reason other than to add a moment of strangeness, Hutchence walks in the foreground with a white mouse nestled on his shoulder. "Mediate", the second part is a nice homage to Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues", arguably the first official music video, which you can see here.
6. "Virtual Insanity", Jamariquai
A video that is brilliant mostly because of it's simplicity. Consisting mostly of lead singer Jay Kay trying to find his way around a room where the floors refuse to stop moving, throwing couches, chairs, and love seats in every which direction. There are cameos made by several large bugs and a bird, and when all is said and done, both couches are left bloodied by the abuse the room has put them through. Sporting a trademark hat, Kay performs moves some of the best gymnasts couldn't pull off, working his way around a room where lord only knows which way the walls will close in on you. On top of everything, the hyperactive room and the bleeding furniture is all allegorical for the meaning of the song, spouting the fear that technology can have over our simple minds.
5. "Coffee & TV", Blur
Another video pulled along by allegory. The video tells the story of a very optimistic carton of milk attempting to find the missing son of the family who purchased him. On his journey, he comes along the terrors of the real world, including angry hookers, dark alleyways, and watching the love of his life (a pink milk carton), getting smashed rather violently by a rather omnipresent foot. Despite it all, the little carton continues on his trek, determined to find the boy, and when he finally does, the boy pays him back by drinking his milk, and throwing him in the trash. Representing our own mistreatment of the little guy, the video's imagery is bettered by the most adorable milk carton anyone's ever seen. There is a happy ending, though: he meets up with his pink-carton love in milk heaven.
4. "Everlong", Foo Fighters
After the end of Nirvana, drummer Dave Grohl moved over to the Foo Fighters, and when they released their underrated masterpiece The Colour and the Shape, along with it came the video for one of the album's biggest hits, "Everlong". The video, a dream sequence mixed with an action film mixed with a romance, is as hard-rocking as it is nonsensical. In a quest to save his wife from a dream in which she's being attacked by two strange men with Elvis hairdos, lead singer must go to sleep himself, to enter her dream and kill the attackers. His weapon? A magically large hand that grows when he gets angry, so he can bitch-slap people to death. Of coarse, all of the characters are played by the members of the band, and the video ends as they rip off their costumes and conclude the song, instruments in hand.
3. "Weapon of Choice", Fatboy Slim
There's a famous rumor that actor Christopher Walken has never turned down a part in his life. Whether or not that's true, I don't know for sure, but one thing that I do know for sure, is that Walken did not turn down the part for the Spike Jonze-directed Fatboy Slim video, "Weapon of Choice". The video displays the wackiness we've come to love from Walken, as he shows off some surprisingly good dance moves throughout an empty hotel lobby. Defiling desks, magazines, and escalators, Walken glides from area to area with an exuberance of a man half his age. His youthful energy becomes so much, that it actually allows him to fly toward the end. Brilliant in its simplicity, the video is a collaboration of two masters of their craft: Walken and Jonze. Hopefully, it is not the last of the projects the two will have together.
2. "Loser", Beck
From depths of underground folk in 1994, came the long-haired, pasty-white Beck. "Loser", a song mixing alternative guitar strumming mixed with nonsensical rap lyrics ("Shave your face with some mace in the dark"), struck a chord with most music-lovers, in the first sign of great music to come after Kurt Cobain's suicide. The film that has a message that combines apathy with downright laziness seemed was supported with a groundbreaking video that matched the song's style exactly. Consisting mostly of homemade-looking videos scrapped hastily together, creating a feeling of havoc which only Beck could make so harmonious. With film negative shots of exercising cheerleaders, and another image of death cleaning someone's windshield in blood, the film's viral energy brought Beck into pop music where his strange innovation still reigns true.
1. "Sledgehammer", Peter Gabriel
This is easily music video equivalent to Citizen Kane. It's innovation and bold attempt to recreate the definition of what a music video was make it stand any other music video of its or any time. Using stop-motion animation combined with Gabriel's face, we're able to go on a pretty interesting adventure through the depths of somebody's subconscious. The video's constant shape-shifting ability makes it fascinating to watch even today. At one point, "Sledgehammer" was the most played video in MTV history, played so much that Gabriel himself called to ask the station to please stop. The film's near-cinematic quality and hypnotizing visuals culminate in a sequence involving two uncooked, dancing chickens. Of coarse, the video ends as Gabriel shifts shape one last time, into a man made out of stars.
Monday, March 31, 2008
GREAT FILMS: Children of Men (2006)
GREAT FILMS: CHILDREN OF MEN (2006)Directed by Alfonso Cuaron
After the critical smash Y Tu Mama Tambien, and summer blockbuster Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, director Alfonso Cuaron then moved on to his passion project. A film based on the dystopian novel by P.D. James entitled Children of Men. What came forward was an incredibly bleak film, detailing a future in which all hope is lost. In the near future, woman can no longer reproduce, spelling certain doom for the human race within the century.
As a result of this, the world has become a wasteland (note the many references to T.S. Elliot's work throughout the film), and only Britain has been able to continue as a somewhat functioning society. Not that they don't have their own issues, the country has to make sure to keep out any desperate refugees who are attempting to escape the horrors of the outside world in which everyone must fend for themselves. Amidst this all, the whole country is mourning the death of Baby Diego, who was, at 18, the youngest person on the planet.
Amongst the many shoved into the small island of the U.K., there is Theo Faron (Clive Owen), a disillusioned bureaucrat who's only pleasure comes from spending time with an old pothead/dealer named Jasper (Michael Caine, in a purely Lennon-esque look). Theo's life changes when he's kidnapped by his estranged ex-wife Julian (Julianne Moore), who is the head of the terrorist group called the Fishes, who work for the rights of illegal immigrants. She wants Theo to get transit papers in order to get a young woman to the coast.
It isn't until later in the film that we find out what makes the young woman, Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey), so special. Somehow, she has become pregnant. Realizing what is at stake, and later threatened by the crumbling Fishes, Theo convinces Kee and her midwife/bodyguard Miriam (Pam Ferris) to travel with him toward the coast in an attempt to get her to the Human Project, a mythological group of scientists who are attempting to find out what has stunted humans' abilities to make babies.
The plot, as convoluted as it sounds, is tight and flowing, as to not create confusion. The audience is left to suppose quite a bit of details for themselves. For example, there are no details given as to why most of the world has been destroyed, and until the end, you aren't even sure whether or not the Human Project exists or not. That said, those details are only complimentary, and by taking them away from us, Cuaron puts more of the film's focus on the turbulent journey of Theo and Kee.
The film is the total and complete vision of Cuaron, who experiments in long takes and grainy cinematography (by Emmanuel Lubezki). The film's violence--which there is much of--is shot entirely at eye-level, making you feel almost like an unwilling participant within this horrific society. In a moment of stunning filmmaking, a small splatter of blood gets in the lens of camera. As opposed to cutting away, the shot stays with the blood on the lens for nearly the entire six-minute take. There is even another long take, which takes place within a car. In the scene, the mood changes from cheerful to horrifying in a matter of moments, and it is all captured within one shot.
The power of the film comes from the human element. It is an unflinching meditation on the best and worst humanity is capable of, and the power of human will even through the world's darkest times. This element is supported by it's incredible cast. Clive Owen has always been an actor who has brimmed with subtle darkness under every character he plays, which makes him perfect for the role of Theo. Clare-Hope Ashitey's almost unaware portrayal of Kee is uncanny, mixing fear and toughness so well. The excellant supporting cast includes Moore, Ferris, as well as Chiwetel Fjiofor as Luke, the incredibly radical member of the Fishes. Above all, Michael Caine's small role as the long-haired, be-speckled Jasper is one of great exhilaration from a great actor, giving the film some comic relief which it desperately needs.
The film's climax is as satisfying as any classic film, and despite the film's dreary outlook, it's almost surprising to find that the film's entire theme depends on hope. Human beings have managed to survive on Earth for millions of years, and this film manages to capture the resiliency of the human race to find the light throughout all of the darkness. A true masterpiece in the tradition of 1984 or Fahrenheit 451, I do not see Children of Men as a cautionary tale. After all, we don't know why the world was destroyed, and film has no ecological preaching. Instead, the film stresses the importance of continuing soldier on, despite the desolate odds.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Stop-Loss (***)
STOP-LOSS
Co-written and Directed by Kimberly Pierce
***
People have been waiting for a film to fully digest the War on Terror going on in Iraq. Films like In The Valley of Elah tried, but their heavy-handed messages sent more than a few people away. There has yet to be a film to comprehend this war, the way Saving Private Ryan did World War II, or Apocalypse Now did Vietnam. Hell, even the first Gulf War was perfectly dissected in Three Kings. With Stop-Loss, we have a film that's earnest--if to a fault--and brutal in it's portrayal of wartime dehumanization. What I noticed mostly when watching the film though, is that it is nearly impossible to make a coherent war movie, when the war that it's portraying makes close to no sense.
Stop-Loss is the second feature film from Kimberly Pierce, the same filmmaker who also co-wrote and directed the single most iconic film about homosexuality to date, with Boys Don't Cry. After that, though, she's seemingly been a ghost within the film industry. Like Boys Don't Cry, her latest film is pretty grizzly as well as up, close, and personal. This film pulsates with an energy that was absent from most films made about this war, and though it can't quite steer clear of unneeded sentimentality, it's brashness leaves it's mark in your mind.
The film is about Sgt. Brandon King (Ryan Phillipe), a squad leader who comes home a war hero, decorated by the purple star. Coming home with him are his buddies Steve (Channing Tatum) and Tommy (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). They're happy to be home, but are almost immediately haunted by the images they saw during the war. Steve and Tommy both have troubles with their fiances, when their nightmares turn into blind rage. Brandon, particularly, cannot forget leading his men into an ambush where men were killed and many others were wounded.
But all is well, because Brandon's tour of duty is finished and he can stay home. That is, until he is stop-lost. Stop-loss is a part of his military contract which allows the Army to send him back into the war, even after his tour is over. "It's like a back-door draft," Brandon explains to his parents. Filled with rage, and unwilling to go back to the Middle East, Brandon goes AWOL, and takes off with Steve's fiance Michelle (Abbie Cornish) toward Washington D.C., to get help from a senator who'd previously promised to give Brandon anything he'd ask for. The closer he and Michelle get to D.C. the more they both realize the futility of Brandon's race. Brandon's options quickly begin to shrink in front of him, and so does, unfortunately, the film's steam.
The movie mostly succeeds when focused on the shell-shocked soldiers. Sure, Phillipe, Tatum, and Gordon-Levitt look more like Calvin Klein underwear models than Texas good ol' boys, but it doesn't stop each of them from expressing the pain and anguish of the three disillusioned boys. Pierce, in her two films, has shown that her imagery is generally uncompromising, particularly when showcasing raw emotion. Even during the few good times that the boys have back at home, they all walk around, morose and with a violent burst just waiting to show itself.
Being produced by MTV Films, there are definitely more than a few moments when montages are spurred together like music videos, and the melodrama becomes a bit overwrought. Essentially, these have been the issues with all the films made about the current Iraq war, and consequently, every single one of those films has been universally rejected by the public audiences. This film, though, does take a bold step forward, closely showcasing our violent intrusion into a country we know nothing about.
What keeps the film afloat for the most part is the work of it's star cast. Being a fan of Gordon-Levitt for a long time, his striking--albeit, short--performance as Tommy was more than intriguing. This is my first look at Channing Tatum, a former model, and luckily he doesn't overstep his boundaries as the sharp-shooting Steve, but instead brings a quiet, contained rage to a very complex character. Abbie Cornish's performance as Michelle is good, even if her character is puzzling. Why drive across the country with your fiance's best friend? She's able to sell the idea of it.
More than anyone, though, the work of Ryan Phillipe as Brandon is the most impressive. Phillipe has always seemed to be a member of the Keanu Reeves Wooden Actor Society, but with his startling, yet subdued portrayal of a man who is forced to go against his very own beliefs is more than uncanny. This kind of character is difficult to play, because it is so easy to slip through the cracks and begin to ham it up, but Phillipe's ability to balance between the brewing anger and the restrained leadership is not only inspired, but captivating.
I'm sure many will judge this film based on their own political beliefs, which is unfair, since this film rarely deals with any type of politics (except for one very entertaining "Fuck the president!" rant by Phillipe). That said, as long as were are still overseas, people will only respond to this movie with polarizing viewpoints. All that aside, it's a very entertaining film, even if it does slug through it's second act quite a bit. It's not the masterpiece which will help us understand this war, but it's abrasiveness has shown that non-documentaries can be made to show the horror of what our troops are going through.
Co-written and Directed by Kimberly Pierce
***
People have been waiting for a film to fully digest the War on Terror going on in Iraq. Films like In The Valley of Elah tried, but their heavy-handed messages sent more than a few people away. There has yet to be a film to comprehend this war, the way Saving Private Ryan did World War II, or Apocalypse Now did Vietnam. Hell, even the first Gulf War was perfectly dissected in Three Kings. With Stop-Loss, we have a film that's earnest--if to a fault--and brutal in it's portrayal of wartime dehumanization. What I noticed mostly when watching the film though, is that it is nearly impossible to make a coherent war movie, when the war that it's portraying makes close to no sense.
Stop-Loss is the second feature film from Kimberly Pierce, the same filmmaker who also co-wrote and directed the single most iconic film about homosexuality to date, with Boys Don't Cry. After that, though, she's seemingly been a ghost within the film industry. Like Boys Don't Cry, her latest film is pretty grizzly as well as up, close, and personal. This film pulsates with an energy that was absent from most films made about this war, and though it can't quite steer clear of unneeded sentimentality, it's brashness leaves it's mark in your mind.
The film is about Sgt. Brandon King (Ryan Phillipe), a squad leader who comes home a war hero, decorated by the purple star. Coming home with him are his buddies Steve (Channing Tatum) and Tommy (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). They're happy to be home, but are almost immediately haunted by the images they saw during the war. Steve and Tommy both have troubles with their fiances, when their nightmares turn into blind rage. Brandon, particularly, cannot forget leading his men into an ambush where men were killed and many others were wounded.
But all is well, because Brandon's tour of duty is finished and he can stay home. That is, until he is stop-lost. Stop-loss is a part of his military contract which allows the Army to send him back into the war, even after his tour is over. "It's like a back-door draft," Brandon explains to his parents. Filled with rage, and unwilling to go back to the Middle East, Brandon goes AWOL, and takes off with Steve's fiance Michelle (Abbie Cornish) toward Washington D.C., to get help from a senator who'd previously promised to give Brandon anything he'd ask for. The closer he and Michelle get to D.C. the more they both realize the futility of Brandon's race. Brandon's options quickly begin to shrink in front of him, and so does, unfortunately, the film's steam.
The movie mostly succeeds when focused on the shell-shocked soldiers. Sure, Phillipe, Tatum, and Gordon-Levitt look more like Calvin Klein underwear models than Texas good ol' boys, but it doesn't stop each of them from expressing the pain and anguish of the three disillusioned boys. Pierce, in her two films, has shown that her imagery is generally uncompromising, particularly when showcasing raw emotion. Even during the few good times that the boys have back at home, they all walk around, morose and with a violent burst just waiting to show itself.
Being produced by MTV Films, there are definitely more than a few moments when montages are spurred together like music videos, and the melodrama becomes a bit overwrought. Essentially, these have been the issues with all the films made about the current Iraq war, and consequently, every single one of those films has been universally rejected by the public audiences. This film, though, does take a bold step forward, closely showcasing our violent intrusion into a country we know nothing about.
What keeps the film afloat for the most part is the work of it's star cast. Being a fan of Gordon-Levitt for a long time, his striking--albeit, short--performance as Tommy was more than intriguing. This is my first look at Channing Tatum, a former model, and luckily he doesn't overstep his boundaries as the sharp-shooting Steve, but instead brings a quiet, contained rage to a very complex character. Abbie Cornish's performance as Michelle is good, even if her character is puzzling. Why drive across the country with your fiance's best friend? She's able to sell the idea of it.
More than anyone, though, the work of Ryan Phillipe as Brandon is the most impressive. Phillipe has always seemed to be a member of the Keanu Reeves Wooden Actor Society, but with his startling, yet subdued portrayal of a man who is forced to go against his very own beliefs is more than uncanny. This kind of character is difficult to play, because it is so easy to slip through the cracks and begin to ham it up, but Phillipe's ability to balance between the brewing anger and the restrained leadership is not only inspired, but captivating.
I'm sure many will judge this film based on their own political beliefs, which is unfair, since this film rarely deals with any type of politics (except for one very entertaining "Fuck the president!" rant by Phillipe). That said, as long as were are still overseas, people will only respond to this movie with polarizing viewpoints. All that aside, it's a very entertaining film, even if it does slug through it's second act quite a bit. It's not the masterpiece which will help us understand this war, but it's abrasiveness has shown that non-documentaries can be made to show the horror of what our troops are going through.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Drillbit Taylor (*)
DRILLBIT TAYLOR
Directed by Steven Brill
*
The latest Judd Apatow comedy, Drillbit Taylor, deals with three bullied teenagers that hire a homeless, ex-military man to be their bodyguard. When the three boys first think over the idea, one of the boys, Ryan (Troy Gentile), exclaims "That's one of the stupidest ideas I've ever heard". Needless to say, most of the audience will feel the same way, and walk away pondering why they would then employ this very, very "stupid" idea.
Drillbit Taylor takes place in one of those Hollywood high schools where the nerdy and the not-so-nerdy are very easy to tell apart, and the bullies aren't perturbed young men with insecure complexes, but homicidal maniacs who attempt to run nerds over with their car. The nerds in question are the before mentioned Ryan, who's the usual pudgy smart-mouth, and his friend Wade (Nate Hartley) who's skinny figure leaves him victim to nicknames like "Skeletor". They eventually befriend the tiny, musical-loving Emmit (David Dorfman), who exudes nerdy-ness because he's short.
When a crazy bully named Filkins (Alex Frost) wreaks unspeakable (and unpunished) havoc on their lives, they decide to hire a bodyguard. Not only does this give the film an excuse to show a montage of unsuitable bodyguards, but it gives the kids the chance to meet Drillbit Taylor (Owen Wilson). Taylor is homeless, showers on the beach, and sees the three boys as a chance to make some cash, since he's saving some money to take a life-changing trip to Canada.
With ease, Drillbit penetrates the boys' high school as a substitute teacher, Dr. Illbit, and falls for the English teacher Lisa (Leslie Mann). Lisa seems to be the most unprofessional, nymphomaniacal teachers I've ever seen, as she hops into bed with Drillbit between classes, and then bemoans the fact that she "only attracts losers". Of coarse, Drillbit decides to leave his conniving plans behind when he decides that he actually cares about Wade, Ryan, and Emmit. The sentimentality isn't too forceful, but it's still enough to make you sick.
I guess I've become spoiled by films like Superbad and Juno, but it really angers me when people sit down to write scripts about high schools that NEVER existed. High schools where crazy students can punch substitute teachers with no consequence, and where that same crazy student makes the same remark to Wade after being provoked, "What? Do you think I'm dumb? Trying to get me in trouble?". It's all the more disappointing when you find out the film is co-written by Superbad's co-writer and co-star Seth Rogan.
What makes this film most irritating is this film's strange documentation of human behavior. What world does this take place? A world where supposedly smart, pretty English teachers give it up to temps who they've hardly known. A world that has a bully with no parents, yet drives a Bentley and lives in a mansion. And of coarse, a world were there are enough kicks to the crotch that you wonder how anybody produces children. Can someone please explain to me how two young boys punching each other (to learn how to "block out the pain") is funny?
Filkins, the extremely sociopathic, violent bully is played by Alex Frost, previously seen as one of the deranged killers in Gus Van Sant's meditation on school shootings, Elephant. Part of you expects Frost to begin wielding one of those M-80 rifles, since he spends most of the film darting eyes that make him look like a descendant of Charles Manson. But of coarse, he goes along unpunished, and even unscolded by anyone in school. I know it's a comedy, but are we really supposed to just buy this?
You may have noticed how I've avoided most discussion on the film's titular star, Owen Wilson. That's only because I wanted to discuss that on it's own. If anyone's ever seen Wilson's performances in his four Wes Anderson collaborations, you know that Wilson is a performer with great depth and incredible comedic timing. Yet, it seems, for the most part, his talent is left to rot on films with little to no point, and an extremely mistaken view of reality. Truth is, I gave the film one star for the few laughs Wilson's able to cook up in this abomination, but even he doesn't seem like he's enjoying himself too much. He has much more ability than say Vince Vaughn or Will Farrell, but why does he seem fixated on roles meant for those kinds of actors?
Overall, the film's laughs come few and far between. Judd Apatow has been living at the summit of film comedy for the last four years, but this film is really his first major blunder. There's nothing horrible or offensive in Drillbit Taylor, but maybe what makes this film so bland is it's lack of risks or variety. Every story line fits together with convenient erraticism, and not to mention the film's length. There was a time when films knew when they were supposed to be under 90 minutes long. This film has the cojones to go over a hundred.
Directed by Steven Brill
*
The latest Judd Apatow comedy, Drillbit Taylor, deals with three bullied teenagers that hire a homeless, ex-military man to be their bodyguard. When the three boys first think over the idea, one of the boys, Ryan (Troy Gentile), exclaims "That's one of the stupidest ideas I've ever heard". Needless to say, most of the audience will feel the same way, and walk away pondering why they would then employ this very, very "stupid" idea.
Drillbit Taylor takes place in one of those Hollywood high schools where the nerdy and the not-so-nerdy are very easy to tell apart, and the bullies aren't perturbed young men with insecure complexes, but homicidal maniacs who attempt to run nerds over with their car. The nerds in question are the before mentioned Ryan, who's the usual pudgy smart-mouth, and his friend Wade (Nate Hartley) who's skinny figure leaves him victim to nicknames like "Skeletor". They eventually befriend the tiny, musical-loving Emmit (David Dorfman), who exudes nerdy-ness because he's short.
When a crazy bully named Filkins (Alex Frost) wreaks unspeakable (and unpunished) havoc on their lives, they decide to hire a bodyguard. Not only does this give the film an excuse to show a montage of unsuitable bodyguards, but it gives the kids the chance to meet Drillbit Taylor (Owen Wilson). Taylor is homeless, showers on the beach, and sees the three boys as a chance to make some cash, since he's saving some money to take a life-changing trip to Canada.
With ease, Drillbit penetrates the boys' high school as a substitute teacher, Dr. Illbit, and falls for the English teacher Lisa (Leslie Mann). Lisa seems to be the most unprofessional, nymphomaniacal teachers I've ever seen, as she hops into bed with Drillbit between classes, and then bemoans the fact that she "only attracts losers". Of coarse, Drillbit decides to leave his conniving plans behind when he decides that he actually cares about Wade, Ryan, and Emmit. The sentimentality isn't too forceful, but it's still enough to make you sick.
I guess I've become spoiled by films like Superbad and Juno, but it really angers me when people sit down to write scripts about high schools that NEVER existed. High schools where crazy students can punch substitute teachers with no consequence, and where that same crazy student makes the same remark to Wade after being provoked, "What? Do you think I'm dumb? Trying to get me in trouble?". It's all the more disappointing when you find out the film is co-written by Superbad's co-writer and co-star Seth Rogan.
What makes this film most irritating is this film's strange documentation of human behavior. What world does this take place? A world where supposedly smart, pretty English teachers give it up to temps who they've hardly known. A world that has a bully with no parents, yet drives a Bentley and lives in a mansion. And of coarse, a world were there are enough kicks to the crotch that you wonder how anybody produces children. Can someone please explain to me how two young boys punching each other (to learn how to "block out the pain") is funny?
Filkins, the extremely sociopathic, violent bully is played by Alex Frost, previously seen as one of the deranged killers in Gus Van Sant's meditation on school shootings, Elephant. Part of you expects Frost to begin wielding one of those M-80 rifles, since he spends most of the film darting eyes that make him look like a descendant of Charles Manson. But of coarse, he goes along unpunished, and even unscolded by anyone in school. I know it's a comedy, but are we really supposed to just buy this?
You may have noticed how I've avoided most discussion on the film's titular star, Owen Wilson. That's only because I wanted to discuss that on it's own. If anyone's ever seen Wilson's performances in his four Wes Anderson collaborations, you know that Wilson is a performer with great depth and incredible comedic timing. Yet, it seems, for the most part, his talent is left to rot on films with little to no point, and an extremely mistaken view of reality. Truth is, I gave the film one star for the few laughs Wilson's able to cook up in this abomination, but even he doesn't seem like he's enjoying himself too much. He has much more ability than say Vince Vaughn or Will Farrell, but why does he seem fixated on roles meant for those kinds of actors?
Overall, the film's laughs come few and far between. Judd Apatow has been living at the summit of film comedy for the last four years, but this film is really his first major blunder. There's nothing horrible or offensive in Drillbit Taylor, but maybe what makes this film so bland is it's lack of risks or variety. Every story line fits together with convenient erraticism, and not to mention the film's length. There was a time when films knew when they were supposed to be under 90 minutes long. This film has the cojones to go over a hundred.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Paul Thomas Anderson
How many filmmakers could juggle the complex characterization of Hard Eight? The sprite humor combined with tragedy within Boogie Nights? The labyrinth of tortured characters in the masterpiece Magnolia? Find the beauty throughout all the strangeness in Punch-Drunk Love? And then, create his most epic, ambitious picture with There Will Be Blood? To be frank, I could name plenty of filmmakers who could've accomplished each feat individually, but I honestly can't think of one who could have done all of them and within the one twelve-year period. Anderson is still young, and has yet to be sucked into his own cuteness the way Stanley Kubrick had and the way Woody Allen has, but the films are already legendary. Here's a little movie to bring it all back:
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
The Tracey Fragments (**1/2)
THE TRACEY FRAGMENTS
Directed by Bruce McDonald
**1/2
Tracey is a trouble-maker. She hypnotized her little brother, Sonny, into thinking he was a dog. Tracey is an outcast. She is alienated by all her peers, and ridiculed relentlessly by boys and girls alike as the "Titless Wonder". Tracey is a romantic. When she sees a new boy named Billy Zero in her school she fantasizes about all the wonderful times they would share if they were sexually intimate. Tracey is fragmented, as the director Bruce McDonald, is frequently reminding us throughout the film.
While watching this exciting independent film, a lot of things told me that it didn't work, but there's something to wonder about a project brimming with ambition. IMDb lists this movie as the "First feature film to use Mondrian multi-frame compositions for the entire length", and part of me hopes it's the last, because it requires the audience to sit through constant split screens that are more annoying than the unbelievably "unsteady" use of Steadicam in Cloverfield.
And after all that, I still can't get The Tracy Fragments out of my head. The story is about a 15-year-old girl named Tracey (Ellen Page). Really, that is the most definitive plot summary I can give you, but I can give you more details. After losing her younger brother, Sonny, she runs away from home to try and find him. Also, Tracey is considered a total freak in her high school, and the only salvation she gets from attending is daydreaming about the new kid in school named Billy Zero (Slim Twig) who is equally "freakish". Also, Tracey's parents are irrational, and self-destructive, and are seemingly trying to make Tracey go insane (it can be agreed that Sonny is already insane, being he thinks he's a dog and all).
There are other sub-plots, including Tracey's relationship with an androgynous therapist (Julian Richings), and Tracey's other relationship with a man named Lance (Maxwell McCabe-Lokos), who may or may not be a drug dealer. Lance takes her in for a little while after she's run away. I think you see where I'm going here. The story lines are so convoluted, you really don't know which is being followed at any particular time, nor can you even decipher the difference between them until the end. When I felt that I'd finally understood what was actually going on in this film, I came to the conclusion: to the point that I do understand, I don't really care.
I'd be remiss to say that I watched this film for any other reason than my newfound admiration for the young actress Ellen Page. I feel safe saying that it is her unbelievably nuanced performance as Tracey that makes this film, at times, enchanting. Just like in her films Juno and Hard Candy, Page's ability to deliver such powerfully intimate dialogue while still staying true to her character is uncanny. It's important to say that the characters she plays in each of the three films are completely different, yet her performances come off so natural, to the point where she has become hypnotizing. It's no wonder Page has sometimes been confused as "playing herself".
There are moments in The Tracey Fragments when the idea of teenage alienation is shown quite honestly. I wished McDonald had toned down his use of the split screen, and I also prayed the looping of the same lines of dialogue over and over again would end. They never did. There were times when I felt comfortable with it, and others where it just flat-out got in the way. But part of me was intrigued by this style, and maybe in better hands, this type of filmmaking can inspire some true innovation. The uneasiness I felt with this film is the right kind. The kind where you know that the filmmakers involved truly stretched their imaginations as far as they could.
The Tracey Fragments is an indie from Canada, made with what seems like little to no budget, and may or may not be released in the US around May. It can be found on the internet in numerous places, but I'm sure it's chaotic style is more appropriate for the big screen. I can't go quite as far as to call the film a success because it's flaws are large and glaring, but it should be said that it delivers an iconic performance from one of the best young talents in the business. That alone, is something to watch. It's interesting to watch actors and directors take a chance. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't, but it is always more enjoyable than box office fodder.
Directed by Bruce McDonald
**1/2
Tracey is a trouble-maker. She hypnotized her little brother, Sonny, into thinking he was a dog. Tracey is an outcast. She is alienated by all her peers, and ridiculed relentlessly by boys and girls alike as the "Titless Wonder". Tracey is a romantic. When she sees a new boy named Billy Zero in her school she fantasizes about all the wonderful times they would share if they were sexually intimate. Tracey is fragmented, as the director Bruce McDonald, is frequently reminding us throughout the film.
While watching this exciting independent film, a lot of things told me that it didn't work, but there's something to wonder about a project brimming with ambition. IMDb lists this movie as the "First feature film to use Mondrian multi-frame compositions for the entire length", and part of me hopes it's the last, because it requires the audience to sit through constant split screens that are more annoying than the unbelievably "unsteady" use of Steadicam in Cloverfield.
And after all that, I still can't get The Tracy Fragments out of my head. The story is about a 15-year-old girl named Tracey (Ellen Page). Really, that is the most definitive plot summary I can give you, but I can give you more details. After losing her younger brother, Sonny, she runs away from home to try and find him. Also, Tracey is considered a total freak in her high school, and the only salvation she gets from attending is daydreaming about the new kid in school named Billy Zero (Slim Twig) who is equally "freakish". Also, Tracey's parents are irrational, and self-destructive, and are seemingly trying to make Tracey go insane (it can be agreed that Sonny is already insane, being he thinks he's a dog and all).
There are other sub-plots, including Tracey's relationship with an androgynous therapist (Julian Richings), and Tracey's other relationship with a man named Lance (Maxwell McCabe-Lokos), who may or may not be a drug dealer. Lance takes her in for a little while after she's run away. I think you see where I'm going here. The story lines are so convoluted, you really don't know which is being followed at any particular time, nor can you even decipher the difference between them until the end. When I felt that I'd finally understood what was actually going on in this film, I came to the conclusion: to the point that I do understand, I don't really care.
I'd be remiss to say that I watched this film for any other reason than my newfound admiration for the young actress Ellen Page. I feel safe saying that it is her unbelievably nuanced performance as Tracey that makes this film, at times, enchanting. Just like in her films Juno and Hard Candy, Page's ability to deliver such powerfully intimate dialogue while still staying true to her character is uncanny. It's important to say that the characters she plays in each of the three films are completely different, yet her performances come off so natural, to the point where she has become hypnotizing. It's no wonder Page has sometimes been confused as "playing herself".
There are moments in The Tracey Fragments when the idea of teenage alienation is shown quite honestly. I wished McDonald had toned down his use of the split screen, and I also prayed the looping of the same lines of dialogue over and over again would end. They never did. There were times when I felt comfortable with it, and others where it just flat-out got in the way. But part of me was intrigued by this style, and maybe in better hands, this type of filmmaking can inspire some true innovation. The uneasiness I felt with this film is the right kind. The kind where you know that the filmmakers involved truly stretched their imaginations as far as they could.
The Tracey Fragments is an indie from Canada, made with what seems like little to no budget, and may or may not be released in the US around May. It can be found on the internet in numerous places, but I'm sure it's chaotic style is more appropriate for the big screen. I can't go quite as far as to call the film a success because it's flaws are large and glaring, but it should be said that it delivers an iconic performance from one of the best young talents in the business. That alone, is something to watch. It's interesting to watch actors and directors take a chance. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't, but it is always more enjoyable than box office fodder.
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