Scan and Pan
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Wind Chill
A young woman (Emily Blunt) trying to get home from college at Christmas accepts a ride share with another student, a young man (Ashton Holmes) who may just be stalking her. Instead of staying on the main highway during a snow storm, he decides to take a short cut down an old country road. After swerving to avoid an oncoming car, they crash into a snowbank and decide to wait until the morning to hike out for help. While trying to keep warm in sub-freezing temperatures, they begin to see and experience things that leave them in doubt of surviving the night.
Director Gregory Jacobs (Criminal), a longtime assistant to Soderbergh, serves up an old fashioned ghost story where a disquieting sense of isolation effectively puts the audience on edge for the scares to come. The screenplay by Joe Gangemi and Steven Katz (Shadow of the Vampire) is a bit talky at times, but it's all part of trying to create characters with some psychological depth. It appears at first that the biggest danger to the two are their own emotional issues, which threaten their safety long before the ghosts do. The horror elements aren't nearly as strong as they could have been, but they're good enough to prevent the film from being a disappointment. The story takes place mostly in the car or just outside of it, so cinematographer Dan Laustsen (Brotherhood of the Wolf, Silent Hill) deserves credit for creating a creepy atmosphere in such limited settings.
Blunt follows up her scene-stealing performance in The Devil Wears Prada with a vivid performance as an angst-ridden young woman trapped with a companion who she thinks may be a bigger danger to her than the inclement weather or the weird goings-on. The English-born actress also assumes a convincing American accent. Holmes (the teenage son in A History of Violence) is very believable as the creepy guy with a crush on Blunt's character. Martin Donovan is solid enough as a patrolman who they encounter on the road.
Wind Chill isn't a great horror film, but it's an effective one at times that tries to offer something more than the usual CGI effects, gore, and jump scenes.
[3.5 out of 5 stars]
Executive producers George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh (Erin Brockovich, Ocean's Eleven) present a ghost story that's driven more by character development and atmosphere than by cheap thrills.
A young woman (Emily Blunt) trying to get home from college at Christmas accepts a ride share with another student, a young man (Ashton Holmes) who may just be stalking her. Instead of staying on the main highway during a snow storm, he decides to take a short cut down an old country road. After swerving to avoid an oncoming car, they crash into a snowbank and decide to wait until the morning to hike out for help. While trying to keep warm in sub-freezing temperatures, they begin to see and experience things that leave them in doubt of surviving the night.
Director Gregory Jacobs (Criminal), a longtime assistant to Soderbergh, serves up an old fashioned ghost story where a disquieting sense of isolation effectively puts the audience on edge for the scares to come. The screenplay by Joe Gangemi and Steven Katz (Shadow of the Vampire) is a bit talky at times, but it's all part of trying to create characters with some psychological depth. It appears at first that the biggest danger to the two are their own emotional issues, which threaten their safety long before the ghosts do. The horror elements aren't nearly as strong as they could have been, but they're good enough to prevent the film from being a disappointment. The story takes place mostly in the car or just outside of it, so cinematographer Dan Laustsen (Brotherhood of the Wolf, Silent Hill) deserves credit for creating a creepy atmosphere in such limited settings.
Blunt follows up her scene-stealing performance in The Devil Wears Prada with a vivid performance as an angst-ridden young woman trapped with a companion who she thinks may be a bigger danger to her than the inclement weather or the weird goings-on. The English-born actress also assumes a convincing American accent. Holmes (the teenage son in A History of Violence) is very believable as the creepy guy with a crush on Blunt's character. Martin Donovan is solid enough as a patrolman who they encounter on the road.
Wind Chill isn't a great horror film, but it's an effective one at times that tries to offer something more than the usual CGI effects, gore, and jump scenes.
[3.5 out of 5 stars]
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
The Wind That Shakes the Barley
Damien (Cillian Murphy) and Teddy (Padraic Delaney) O'Donovan are brothers from County Cork on two different paths as the story begins in 1920. Damien is on his way to London to attend medical school, while Teddy is the leader of the local Irish Republican Army unit. After Damien witnesses an act of resistance to the routine violence of British soldiers, he puts aside his studies to join his brother in the IRA, fighting in the Irish War of Independence against British colonialism and the Black and Tans, a paramilitary police force. After a treaty is signed which partitions the country and stops far short of economic and political liberation, Damien and other anti-treaty IRA volunteers continue their fight, while Teddy supports the treaty and joins the new Irish Free State military. The Irish Civil War becomes a familial civil war, as the two brothers come into opposition with tragic results.
The Wind That Shakes the Barley represents British director Ken Loach (Hidden Agenda, Riff-Raff, Land and Freedom, Bread and Roses) at his absolute best: a bold storyteller who paints finely detailed, humanistic stories with an unabashedly leftwing perspective on culture and politics. The original screenplay by Paul Laverty (Bread and Roses) is both epic and intimate, with political and class struggle on a wide level represented by a small number of characters, which gives the film great emotional impact. Although it's a fictional story, the events are historically accurate, and it's portrayed with such realism that it feels like a documentary. It's not a dusty history lesson, it's as alive as a modern news report from a war torn country.
Loach doesn't take a single wrong step as he transforms the screenplay into a complex, emotionally draining film that has more edge of your seat tension in scenes of people debating politics than other films have in their action scenes, but it has conventional action scenes, too. It wears its politics on its sleeve, quoting the Irish socialist James Connolly and portraying Damien as a committed republican socialist who understands that the treaty will do nothing to change the distribution of power in his country, but it never idealizes any of the characters. In fact, its refusal to do so is one of its strengths.
The film also unflinchingly portrays how struggles for freedom are derailed so that only the color of a flag changes but those with economic power remain in control. This provides a certain universality to the film's themes, reflecting not only the present day Good Friday Agreement in Ireland, but also any struggle pitting the powerless against the powerful.
The naturalistic cinematography of Barry Ackroyd (United 93) is both bleak and beautiful, capturing the lush greenness of the County Cork filming locations while investing them with a heavy sense of tragedy. Production designer Fergus Clegg and costume designer Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh (Omagh, Breakfast on Pluto) bring the past back to vivid life. George Fenton (Cry Freedom, The Fisher King) provides a sweeping score that appropriately accents the story's themes.
Murphy's performance as Damien is a finely polished gem, as he grows from a quiet bystander to a committed revolutionary willing to give his life for his principles despite being stripped of his innocence by war. Delaney's Teddy is a born fighter whose war weariness leads him to the most emotionally wrenching act a man could take against his brother, and his chemistry with Murphy is such that one can easily imagine that they really are brothers. He has a scene toward the end that is simply heartbreaking and he plays it perfectly.
Strong performances also come from Liam Cunningham as Dan, a trade unionist and republican veteran who fought alongside Connolly in the Irish Citizen Army during the Easter Rising; Orla Fitzgerald as Sinead, the love of Damien's life and also a committed republican activist; Roger Allam as a British landowner; Laurence Barry as a young man who defiantly refuses to give his name in English when it's demanded of him even though he knows it may get him killed; and John Crean as an IRA volunteer who informs on his comrades and suffers the usual fate of informers in a riveting scene.
The Wind That Shakes the Barley is a work of art that does what art should do, examines real life and shines a powerful light on the human struggle for freedom. There have been many films that have told stories about this period of Irish history, but this one can truly be called great. Highly, highly recommended.
[5 out of 5 stars]
This brilliant and electrifying historical drama, which won the Palme d'Or for Best Film at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, is a masterpiece of political filmmaking that uses a particular historical struggle to draw broader lessons from.
Damien (Cillian Murphy) and Teddy (Padraic Delaney) O'Donovan are brothers from County Cork on two different paths as the story begins in 1920. Damien is on his way to London to attend medical school, while Teddy is the leader of the local Irish Republican Army unit. After Damien witnesses an act of resistance to the routine violence of British soldiers, he puts aside his studies to join his brother in the IRA, fighting in the Irish War of Independence against British colonialism and the Black and Tans, a paramilitary police force. After a treaty is signed which partitions the country and stops far short of economic and political liberation, Damien and other anti-treaty IRA volunteers continue their fight, while Teddy supports the treaty and joins the new Irish Free State military. The Irish Civil War becomes a familial civil war, as the two brothers come into opposition with tragic results.
The Wind That Shakes the Barley represents British director Ken Loach (Hidden Agenda, Riff-Raff, Land and Freedom, Bread and Roses) at his absolute best: a bold storyteller who paints finely detailed, humanistic stories with an unabashedly leftwing perspective on culture and politics. The original screenplay by Paul Laverty (Bread and Roses) is both epic and intimate, with political and class struggle on a wide level represented by a small number of characters, which gives the film great emotional impact. Although it's a fictional story, the events are historically accurate, and it's portrayed with such realism that it feels like a documentary. It's not a dusty history lesson, it's as alive as a modern news report from a war torn country.
Loach doesn't take a single wrong step as he transforms the screenplay into a complex, emotionally draining film that has more edge of your seat tension in scenes of people debating politics than other films have in their action scenes, but it has conventional action scenes, too. It wears its politics on its sleeve, quoting the Irish socialist James Connolly and portraying Damien as a committed republican socialist who understands that the treaty will do nothing to change the distribution of power in his country, but it never idealizes any of the characters. In fact, its refusal to do so is one of its strengths.
The film also unflinchingly portrays how struggles for freedom are derailed so that only the color of a flag changes but those with economic power remain in control. This provides a certain universality to the film's themes, reflecting not only the present day Good Friday Agreement in Ireland, but also any struggle pitting the powerless against the powerful.
The naturalistic cinematography of Barry Ackroyd (United 93) is both bleak and beautiful, capturing the lush greenness of the County Cork filming locations while investing them with a heavy sense of tragedy. Production designer Fergus Clegg and costume designer Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh (Omagh, Breakfast on Pluto) bring the past back to vivid life. George Fenton (Cry Freedom, The Fisher King) provides a sweeping score that appropriately accents the story's themes.
Murphy's performance as Damien is a finely polished gem, as he grows from a quiet bystander to a committed revolutionary willing to give his life for his principles despite being stripped of his innocence by war. Delaney's Teddy is a born fighter whose war weariness leads him to the most emotionally wrenching act a man could take against his brother, and his chemistry with Murphy is such that one can easily imagine that they really are brothers. He has a scene toward the end that is simply heartbreaking and he plays it perfectly.
Strong performances also come from Liam Cunningham as Dan, a trade unionist and republican veteran who fought alongside Connolly in the Irish Citizen Army during the Easter Rising; Orla Fitzgerald as Sinead, the love of Damien's life and also a committed republican activist; Roger Allam as a British landowner; Laurence Barry as a young man who defiantly refuses to give his name in English when it's demanded of him even though he knows it may get him killed; and John Crean as an IRA volunteer who informs on his comrades and suffers the usual fate of informers in a riveting scene.
The Wind That Shakes the Barley is a work of art that does what art should do, examines real life and shines a powerful light on the human struggle for freedom. There have been many films that have told stories about this period of Irish history, but this one can truly be called great. Highly, highly recommended.
[5 out of 5 stars]
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
In the Land of Women
After screenwriter Carter Webb (Adam Brody) is dumped by his famous actress girlfriend (Elena Anaya), he decides to get away from it all by taking care of his ailing grandmother (Olympia Dukakis) in Michigan. He soon becomes entangled in the lives of his neighbor Sarah (Meg Ryan), who's dealing with breast cancer and an unfaithful husband (Clark Gregg), and her teenaged daughter Lucy (Kristen Stewart).
Writer/director Jon Kasdan's first film shows a lot of potential. Like the best films made by his father Lawrence (The Big Chill, The Accidental Tourist, Grand Canyon; also the executive producer here), it's a well-crafted film that's strong on characterization while delving into the murky waters of relationships with some perceptive dialogue. Unfortunately, much of its potential goes unrealized because Kasdan's characters inhabit a story whose beats and resolutions are fairly predictable, and it never truly engages your emotions. It's too much a film of the head and not enough of the heart.
The crisp cinematography of Paul Cameron (Deja Vu) and the sets of production designer Sandy Cochrane (A Wrinkle in Time) combine to convincingly create the ambiance of a middle-class Minnesota neighborhood in Vancouver, Canada, while Stephen Trask (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) contributes a score and songs that are ideally suited to the production's tone.
Brody (of television's The O.C.) delivers a believably honest performance as the self-deprecating yet self-possessed Carter, injecting the role with his trademark geeky charm. Ryan's performance is one of her best in a long time as Sarah, who's forced to examine the shortcomings of her life by the realization of her own mortality. Ryan sometimes has a tendency to be too cutesy, but she finds the right balance here and makes her character seem real. Stewart continues to develop into a more than capable young actress, demonstrating good rapport with Brody and Ryan while giving a low-key performance of her own. Dukakis is hilariously deadpan as Carter's demented grandmother. The rest of the cast is solid, with Gregg as Sarah's husband, Anaya as the woman who breaks Carter's heart, Makenzie Vega as Lucy's charming younger sister, Dustin Milligan as the shy geek with a crush on Lucy, and JoBeth Williams as Carter's mother.
Although In the Land of Women lacks the spark that would have made it a really good film, the quality performances and dialogue make it a solid film. The best thing about it being a first film is that Kasdan should only get better, and I can't wait to see if that holds true for his future films. Wait for the video on this one.
[3 out of 5 stars]
This relationship drama with touches of comedy has a lot working in its favor but it doesn't fully live up to its potential.
After screenwriter Carter Webb (Adam Brody) is dumped by his famous actress girlfriend (Elena Anaya), he decides to get away from it all by taking care of his ailing grandmother (Olympia Dukakis) in Michigan. He soon becomes entangled in the lives of his neighbor Sarah (Meg Ryan), who's dealing with breast cancer and an unfaithful husband (Clark Gregg), and her teenaged daughter Lucy (Kristen Stewart).
Writer/director Jon Kasdan's first film shows a lot of potential. Like the best films made by his father Lawrence (The Big Chill, The Accidental Tourist, Grand Canyon; also the executive producer here), it's a well-crafted film that's strong on characterization while delving into the murky waters of relationships with some perceptive dialogue. Unfortunately, much of its potential goes unrealized because Kasdan's characters inhabit a story whose beats and resolutions are fairly predictable, and it never truly engages your emotions. It's too much a film of the head and not enough of the heart.
The crisp cinematography of Paul Cameron (Deja Vu) and the sets of production designer Sandy Cochrane (A Wrinkle in Time) combine to convincingly create the ambiance of a middle-class Minnesota neighborhood in Vancouver, Canada, while Stephen Trask (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) contributes a score and songs that are ideally suited to the production's tone.
Brody (of television's The O.C.) delivers a believably honest performance as the self-deprecating yet self-possessed Carter, injecting the role with his trademark geeky charm. Ryan's performance is one of her best in a long time as Sarah, who's forced to examine the shortcomings of her life by the realization of her own mortality. Ryan sometimes has a tendency to be too cutesy, but she finds the right balance here and makes her character seem real. Stewart continues to develop into a more than capable young actress, demonstrating good rapport with Brody and Ryan while giving a low-key performance of her own. Dukakis is hilariously deadpan as Carter's demented grandmother. The rest of the cast is solid, with Gregg as Sarah's husband, Anaya as the woman who breaks Carter's heart, Makenzie Vega as Lucy's charming younger sister, Dustin Milligan as the shy geek with a crush on Lucy, and JoBeth Williams as Carter's mother.
Although In the Land of Women lacks the spark that would have made it a really good film, the quality performances and dialogue make it a solid film. The best thing about it being a first film is that Kasdan should only get better, and I can't wait to see if that holds true for his future films. Wait for the video on this one.
[3 out of 5 stars]
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Vacancy
David (Luke Wilson) and Amy (Kate Beckinsale) are a married couple on the verge of divorce. Driving home late at night from a party, David decides it'll be quicker to take a back road home. After the car breaks down, they find an isolated motel run by the eccentric Mason (Frank Whaley) and decide to spend the night there. They discover a stack of videotapes in their room that at first appear to be low-budget slasher films, but instead turn out to be snuff films shot in the same room they're staying in.
Director Nimród Antal (Kontroll) effectively builds suspense while echoing the classic Psycho by using an isolated location to conjure up all the fears about what could happen in such places. It's enough to sustain the film through two acts, but in the third act Mark L. Smith's screenplay runs out of ideas and falls back on cliches. The ending is entirely predictable and artificial. It doesn't help that the limited number of characters aren't always well-realized, particularly Amy. Coming just after the release of Grindhouse, whose female protagonists stand out as strong individuals, the female protagonist here comes across as a tired genre cliche.
Cinematographer Andrzej Sekula (Pulp Fiction, American Psycho) and production designer Jon Gary Steele (American History X, Cruel Intentions) create an atmosphere of isolation and fear with shadowy lighting and a rundown motel set that looks like so many places you see from the safety of the highway and wisely avoid.
Wilson and Beckinsale are believable as a couple with a strained marriage. Wilson comes off better because his character is better realized by the script, while Beckinsale's character spends much of the film whining, hysterical, or cringing. Whaley is good at first when he has to play eccentric, but loses any sense of menace when the script requires him to go over the top. Truly menacing villains are best underplayed rather than overplayed. Ethan Embry and David Doty round out the cast as a mechanic and a state patrolman respectively.
It's a shame that a film that starts with some promise ends in such a disappointing fashion.
[2.5 out of 5 stars]
This thriller starts out promisingly enough but falls apart at the end.
David (Luke Wilson) and Amy (Kate Beckinsale) are a married couple on the verge of divorce. Driving home late at night from a party, David decides it'll be quicker to take a back road home. After the car breaks down, they find an isolated motel run by the eccentric Mason (Frank Whaley) and decide to spend the night there. They discover a stack of videotapes in their room that at first appear to be low-budget slasher films, but instead turn out to be snuff films shot in the same room they're staying in.
Director Nimród Antal (Kontroll) effectively builds suspense while echoing the classic Psycho by using an isolated location to conjure up all the fears about what could happen in such places. It's enough to sustain the film through two acts, but in the third act Mark L. Smith's screenplay runs out of ideas and falls back on cliches. The ending is entirely predictable and artificial. It doesn't help that the limited number of characters aren't always well-realized, particularly Amy. Coming just after the release of Grindhouse, whose female protagonists stand out as strong individuals, the female protagonist here comes across as a tired genre cliche.
Cinematographer Andrzej Sekula (Pulp Fiction, American Psycho) and production designer Jon Gary Steele (American History X, Cruel Intentions) create an atmosphere of isolation and fear with shadowy lighting and a rundown motel set that looks like so many places you see from the safety of the highway and wisely avoid.
Wilson and Beckinsale are believable as a couple with a strained marriage. Wilson comes off better because his character is better realized by the script, while Beckinsale's character spends much of the film whining, hysterical, or cringing. Whaley is good at first when he has to play eccentric, but loses any sense of menace when the script requires him to go over the top. Truly menacing villains are best underplayed rather than overplayed. Ethan Embry and David Doty round out the cast as a mechanic and a state patrolman respectively.
It's a shame that a film that starts with some promise ends in such a disappointing fashion.
[2.5 out of 5 stars]
Hot Fuzz
Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is a London police officer who's so good at his job that he makes his fellow officers look bad, so he's promoted and shipped off to the quiet village of Sandford, where he's teamed with Danny (Nick Frost), the oafish but well-intentioned son of the local police chief (Jim Broadbent). When people start turning up dead in incidents the village leaders consider accidents, Nicholas suspects foul play, and it's up to him and Danny to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Writer/director Edgar Wright and co-writer Pegg serve up a clever action comedy that's a homage to American buddy cop movies and films about British villages where the locals are up to no good. Like Shaun of the Dead, it's an engaging, hilarious spoof that pays careful attention to the details of what it's spoofing, while a friendship between two men delivers some emotional weight. The jokes are neither slapdash nor mocking, but are instead well-constructed and affectionate. Wright and Pegg take their time to carefully set everything up, from the jokes to the mystery to be solved, and it all pays off with a film that's more entertaining than many recent 'serious' action films. Wright's direction of the over the top fantasy violence is spot on. While American parodies like the Scary Movie films take the lowest possible route to laughs, Hot Fuzz is genuinely witty. It also remembers that characterization and plot aren't afterthoughts, they're key ingredients in any good film.
The brash score by David Arnold (Casino Royale), combined with a good selection of songs, provides suitable accompaniment for the on-screen antics. Production designer Marcus Rowland (Shaun of the Dead) and cinematographer Jess Hall (Stander) use the Somerset location to create a naturalistic setting for the unbelievable action, while editor Chris Dickens (Shaun of the Dead) keeps the film well-paced. Despite a two hour running time, it never feels that long, even though there are some slower patches.
Pegg and Frost once again make an engaging team. Pegg in particular has a deft knack for deadpan earnestness that serves him well as the dedicated big city cop who's out of his element in a pastoral setting. Frost meanwhile makes an ideal comedic foil as the earnest Danny, who knows more about Hollywood action films than police work and sees Nicholas as his ticket to living out his action fantasies.
The rest of the cast is good, too, with Broadbent as Danny's father, Timothy Dalton as a slick supermarket owner, Stuart Wilson as the local doctor, Edward Woodward as the head of the Neighbourhood Watch Alliance, and Paddy Considine and Rafe Spall as local detectives who couldn't find a clue if one was gift wrapped for them. Cate Blanchett has a cameo as Nicholas' ex-girlfriend, while Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson appears as a violent Father Christmas.
Hot Fuzz is hilarious, thoroughly entertaining, and recommended.
[4 out of 5 stars]
The creators of Shaun of the Dead return with another film full of mirthful mayhem.
Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is a London police officer who's so good at his job that he makes his fellow officers look bad, so he's promoted and shipped off to the quiet village of Sandford, where he's teamed with Danny (Nick Frost), the oafish but well-intentioned son of the local police chief (Jim Broadbent). When people start turning up dead in incidents the village leaders consider accidents, Nicholas suspects foul play, and it's up to him and Danny to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Writer/director Edgar Wright and co-writer Pegg serve up a clever action comedy that's a homage to American buddy cop movies and films about British villages where the locals are up to no good. Like Shaun of the Dead, it's an engaging, hilarious spoof that pays careful attention to the details of what it's spoofing, while a friendship between two men delivers some emotional weight. The jokes are neither slapdash nor mocking, but are instead well-constructed and affectionate. Wright and Pegg take their time to carefully set everything up, from the jokes to the mystery to be solved, and it all pays off with a film that's more entertaining than many recent 'serious' action films. Wright's direction of the over the top fantasy violence is spot on. While American parodies like the Scary Movie films take the lowest possible route to laughs, Hot Fuzz is genuinely witty. It also remembers that characterization and plot aren't afterthoughts, they're key ingredients in any good film.
The brash score by David Arnold (Casino Royale), combined with a good selection of songs, provides suitable accompaniment for the on-screen antics. Production designer Marcus Rowland (Shaun of the Dead) and cinematographer Jess Hall (Stander) use the Somerset location to create a naturalistic setting for the unbelievable action, while editor Chris Dickens (Shaun of the Dead) keeps the film well-paced. Despite a two hour running time, it never feels that long, even though there are some slower patches.
Pegg and Frost once again make an engaging team. Pegg in particular has a deft knack for deadpan earnestness that serves him well as the dedicated big city cop who's out of his element in a pastoral setting. Frost meanwhile makes an ideal comedic foil as the earnest Danny, who knows more about Hollywood action films than police work and sees Nicholas as his ticket to living out his action fantasies.
The rest of the cast is good, too, with Broadbent as Danny's father, Timothy Dalton as a slick supermarket owner, Stuart Wilson as the local doctor, Edward Woodward as the head of the Neighbourhood Watch Alliance, and Paddy Considine and Rafe Spall as local detectives who couldn't find a clue if one was gift wrapped for them. Cate Blanchett has a cameo as Nicholas' ex-girlfriend, while Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson appears as a violent Father Christmas.
Hot Fuzz is hilarious, thoroughly entertaining, and recommended.
[4 out of 5 stars]
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Perfect Stranger
After an expose of a closeted gay senator (Gordon MacDonald) is squashed, journalist Rowena Price (Halle Berry) quits her job in protest. When her friend Grace (Nicki Aycox), who's having an affair with powerful married ad exec Harrison Hill (Bruce Willis), is found dead after threatening to expose the affair, Rowena and her computer whiz associate Miles (Giovanni Ribisi) begin investigating Grace's death, with Rowena going undercover in Hill's company to gather evidence against him.
James Foley directed the brilliant Glengarry Glen Ross in 1992, but you wouldn't know it from watching this mess of a film. As is almost always the case with a bad film, the problems start with the writing, with contributions by Jon Bokenkamp (Taking Lives) and Todd Komarnicki (Resistance) that are as contrived and unbelievable as you can get, with bonus prizes of some of the most ridiculous dialog heard in a recent film and a story resolution that's absurd. Bokenkamp is only credited with the story, so Komarnicki has the largest share of the blame. Foley has absolutely nothing to work with, and one suspects that his biggest mistake here was signing on as director in the first place. It's a technically competent film with solid cinematography by Anastas Michos (Freedomland), but a technically competent bad film is still a bad film.
Willis comes off the best as the misogynistic Hill, oozing sleaze and menace at every opportunity without going over the top, followed by Ribisi as the obsessive and equally sleazy Miles. Berry never once makes us believe that her character is anything more than a stock figure, and it's hard to avoid laughing when she has to get angry and swear simply because it's so unconvincing. Nicki Aycox is believable as Grace, the supposed friend whose manipulative nature finally catches up to her, although it doesn't seem that way at first because only the revelations at the end provide the proper context for understanding the character. MacDonald is good in limited screen time as the closeted senator. CSI: Las Vegas' Gary Dourdan is solid but wasted in a small role as Rowena's two-timing ex.
There's an old adage that one should never talk to strangers. In this case, one shouldn't spend money on a Perfect Stranger.
[1 out of 5 stars]
This tawdry thriller with a couple of A-list actors and a noted director can generously be described as risible.
After an expose of a closeted gay senator (Gordon MacDonald) is squashed, journalist Rowena Price (Halle Berry) quits her job in protest. When her friend Grace (Nicki Aycox), who's having an affair with powerful married ad exec Harrison Hill (Bruce Willis), is found dead after threatening to expose the affair, Rowena and her computer whiz associate Miles (Giovanni Ribisi) begin investigating Grace's death, with Rowena going undercover in Hill's company to gather evidence against him.
James Foley directed the brilliant Glengarry Glen Ross in 1992, but you wouldn't know it from watching this mess of a film. As is almost always the case with a bad film, the problems start with the writing, with contributions by Jon Bokenkamp (Taking Lives) and Todd Komarnicki (Resistance) that are as contrived and unbelievable as you can get, with bonus prizes of some of the most ridiculous dialog heard in a recent film and a story resolution that's absurd. Bokenkamp is only credited with the story, so Komarnicki has the largest share of the blame. Foley has absolutely nothing to work with, and one suspects that his biggest mistake here was signing on as director in the first place. It's a technically competent film with solid cinematography by Anastas Michos (Freedomland), but a technically competent bad film is still a bad film.
Willis comes off the best as the misogynistic Hill, oozing sleaze and menace at every opportunity without going over the top, followed by Ribisi as the obsessive and equally sleazy Miles. Berry never once makes us believe that her character is anything more than a stock figure, and it's hard to avoid laughing when she has to get angry and swear simply because it's so unconvincing. Nicki Aycox is believable as Grace, the supposed friend whose manipulative nature finally catches up to her, although it doesn't seem that way at first because only the revelations at the end provide the proper context for understanding the character. MacDonald is good in limited screen time as the closeted senator. CSI: Las Vegas' Gary Dourdan is solid but wasted in a small role as Rowena's two-timing ex.
There's an old adage that one should never talk to strangers. In this case, one shouldn't spend money on a Perfect Stranger.
[1 out of 5 stars]
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters
Aqua Teens Frylock (Carey Means), Master Shake (Dana Snyder), and Meatwad (Dave Willis) come into possession of a futuristic exercise machine which, when activated, grows to giant size and rampages around the city with neighbor Carl (also Willis) trapped inside. The Aqua Teens must team up with the Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past from the Future (Matt Maiellaro), and Plutonians Oglethorpe (Andy Merrill) and Emory (Mike Schatz) to save the day, while being pestered by Mooninites Ignignokt (Willis) and Err (Maiellaro).
ATHF creators Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis serve as writers and directors, bringing their brand of crude, surreal, and insanely warped humor to the big screen. It opens with a brilliant sequence involving the heavy metal band Mastodon that's hilarious and should be mandatory viewing prior to all films. Although it sometimes feels like several episodes of the show smooshed together, its manic energy sustains it for most of its 86 minutes, only starting to run out of gas at the end. They throw all of their pop cultural and surrealist influences into a blender, and come out with the purest expression of what ATHF is all about. It's a film for the fans, and the R rating allows it to break the limitations imposed by the Cartoon Network for broadcast of the series.
The voice cast is up to their usual standard of creating memorable and outrageously funny characters. C. Martin Croker once again voices Dr. Weird and his assistant Steve, while mc chris returns as MC Pee Pants. There are also fun cameos by Bruce Campbell as Chicken Bittle, Chris Kattan as Walter Melon, Isaac Hayes III as the Plantation Owner, Tina Fey as Burrito Mother, and George Lowe as Space Ghost.
If you're a fan, like I am, you'll love Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters. I swear, some of my muscles hurt from smiling and laughing so much. Go see it and experience teh funny. If you're not a fan of ATHF or this kind of humor, you won't like it, so save your money.
[4 out of 5 stars]
Gentlemen, behold! The animated movie whose marketing campaign terrorized an entire city should satisfy fans of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force late night television cartoon.
Aqua Teens Frylock (Carey Means), Master Shake (Dana Snyder), and Meatwad (Dave Willis) come into possession of a futuristic exercise machine which, when activated, grows to giant size and rampages around the city with neighbor Carl (also Willis) trapped inside. The Aqua Teens must team up with the Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past from the Future (Matt Maiellaro), and Plutonians Oglethorpe (Andy Merrill) and Emory (Mike Schatz) to save the day, while being pestered by Mooninites Ignignokt (Willis) and Err (Maiellaro).
ATHF creators Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis serve as writers and directors, bringing their brand of crude, surreal, and insanely warped humor to the big screen. It opens with a brilliant sequence involving the heavy metal band Mastodon that's hilarious and should be mandatory viewing prior to all films. Although it sometimes feels like several episodes of the show smooshed together, its manic energy sustains it for most of its 86 minutes, only starting to run out of gas at the end. They throw all of their pop cultural and surrealist influences into a blender, and come out with the purest expression of what ATHF is all about. It's a film for the fans, and the R rating allows it to break the limitations imposed by the Cartoon Network for broadcast of the series.
The voice cast is up to their usual standard of creating memorable and outrageously funny characters. C. Martin Croker once again voices Dr. Weird and his assistant Steve, while mc chris returns as MC Pee Pants. There are also fun cameos by Bruce Campbell as Chicken Bittle, Chris Kattan as Walter Melon, Isaac Hayes III as the Plantation Owner, Tina Fey as Burrito Mother, and George Lowe as Space Ghost.
If you're a fan, like I am, you'll love Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters. I swear, some of my muscles hurt from smiling and laughing so much. Go see it and experience teh funny. If you're not a fan of ATHF or this kind of humor, you won't like it, so save your money.
[4 out of 5 stars]
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Grindhouse
Directors Robert Rodriguez (Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn, Sin City) and Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill) collaborate to bring the classic experience of a double feature of exploitation films to modern cinemas.
Rodriguez's Planet Terror: In a rural Texan town, go-go dancer Cherry Darling (Rose McGowan) quits her job, meets old boyfriend El Wray (Freddy Rodriguez), and loses a leg in a zombie attack. Soon, both find themselves caught up in defending the town from a horde of zombies, a plague started after a confrontation between a military officer (Bruce Willis) and a sadistic scientist (Lost's Naveen Andrews) on a nearby military base releases toxic gas into the air. Who will survive? What will become of the planet as the plague of zombies grows?
It's a gloriously over the top horror action film with style to spare. If you love classic zombie movies, you'll love this film with its obvious nods to the films of George A. Romero and Lucio Fulci. It's by turns funny and intense, campy and gory, but more than just being a mere homage, it's a great zombie film in its own right.
Tarantino's Death Proof: Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell) is a serial killer whose weapon of choice is his stunt car. Haunting the roads of rural Texas and claiming numerous female victims, he finally meets his match when he tries to kill stuntwomen Kim (Tracie Thoms) and Zoe (played by real-life stuntwoman Zoe Bell).
Tarantino's film starts off slow compared to Rodriguez's, but it builds to a frenetic finish with an amazing extended car chase sequence and along the way you're treated to his knack for writing clever dialogue and creating interesting characters to say it, all set to a cool kaleidoscope of songs. Some reviewers have said that this segment is much weaker than the first one, but I disagree. I think they're equally as good only in very different ways, because they're homages to two very different types of exploitation films.
Rodriguez and Tarantino serve as their own cinematographers, with the former going for a more stylized look, while the latter serves up an authentic 1970s look. It's shot on both digital video and film, but the post-production processing to add dirt and scratches means you can't tell which is which, nor do you need to. Rodriguez also composes his own score, which perfectly captures the pop trash mood.
The cast of both films are clearly having so much fun in their roles that it's impossible not to feel the same sense of fun while watching them work. Besides the actors already mentioned, the films include Josh Brolin, Marley Shelton, Jeff Fahey, Michael Biehn, Stacy Ferguson, Nicky Katt, Tom Savini (best known as the makeup effects artist for numerous horror films, including some of Romero's Living Dead classics), Michael Parks, Tarantino, Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito, Jordan Ladd, Sydney Poitier, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. McGowan, Shelton, Parks, and Tarantino also appear in both films, using the logic that exploitation producers often relied on a stable of actors they would appear in all of their films. Shelton and Parks play the same characters in both.
Before each film, we're treated to previews for fake films. The previews are directed by Rodriguez, Rob Zombie (The Devil's Rejects), Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead), and Eli Roth (Hostel). They're so good that you'll wish that they were previews for actual movies (although both Rodriguez and Wright have expressed interest in expanding theirs into actual films). The best is Zombie's Werewolf Women of the S.S., which includes a cameo by Nicolas Cage as Fu Manchu!
Some have called Grindhouse an exercise in misogyny, but looking beyond the hot women in revealing clothing one finds that in each film it's the women who are the ultimate heroes and even mete out rough justice to misogynistic men like Stuntman Mike. Rodriguez and Tarantino play with the conventions of exploitation films, and it was often true in those films that once you got beyond the T&A factor the women were bolder and more capable than the women portrayed in mainstream Hollywood films.
Despite being slightly over three hours long, I never once felt bored by Grindhouse and I had one hell of a good time. It's good trashy fun and never pretentious. It not only fully lives up to all the hype, it exceeds it. Highly recommended, especially for fans of the kinds of films it's a homage to.
[4.5 out of 5 stars]
This high octane homage to 1970s exploitation films is pop trash at its finest and one awesome thrill ride from start to finish, complete with hot women, fast cars, explosions, hot women, gunfire, zombies, and, yes, more hot women.
Directors Robert Rodriguez (Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn, Sin City) and Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill) collaborate to bring the classic experience of a double feature of exploitation films to modern cinemas.
Rodriguez's Planet Terror: In a rural Texan town, go-go dancer Cherry Darling (Rose McGowan) quits her job, meets old boyfriend El Wray (Freddy Rodriguez), and loses a leg in a zombie attack. Soon, both find themselves caught up in defending the town from a horde of zombies, a plague started after a confrontation between a military officer (Bruce Willis) and a sadistic scientist (Lost's Naveen Andrews) on a nearby military base releases toxic gas into the air. Who will survive? What will become of the planet as the plague of zombies grows?
It's a gloriously over the top horror action film with style to spare. If you love classic zombie movies, you'll love this film with its obvious nods to the films of George A. Romero and Lucio Fulci. It's by turns funny and intense, campy and gory, but more than just being a mere homage, it's a great zombie film in its own right.
Tarantino's Death Proof: Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell) is a serial killer whose weapon of choice is his stunt car. Haunting the roads of rural Texas and claiming numerous female victims, he finally meets his match when he tries to kill stuntwomen Kim (Tracie Thoms) and Zoe (played by real-life stuntwoman Zoe Bell).
Tarantino's film starts off slow compared to Rodriguez's, but it builds to a frenetic finish with an amazing extended car chase sequence and along the way you're treated to his knack for writing clever dialogue and creating interesting characters to say it, all set to a cool kaleidoscope of songs. Some reviewers have said that this segment is much weaker than the first one, but I disagree. I think they're equally as good only in very different ways, because they're homages to two very different types of exploitation films.
Rodriguez and Tarantino serve as their own cinematographers, with the former going for a more stylized look, while the latter serves up an authentic 1970s look. It's shot on both digital video and film, but the post-production processing to add dirt and scratches means you can't tell which is which, nor do you need to. Rodriguez also composes his own score, which perfectly captures the pop trash mood.
The cast of both films are clearly having so much fun in their roles that it's impossible not to feel the same sense of fun while watching them work. Besides the actors already mentioned, the films include Josh Brolin, Marley Shelton, Jeff Fahey, Michael Biehn, Stacy Ferguson, Nicky Katt, Tom Savini (best known as the makeup effects artist for numerous horror films, including some of Romero's Living Dead classics), Michael Parks, Tarantino, Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito, Jordan Ladd, Sydney Poitier, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. McGowan, Shelton, Parks, and Tarantino also appear in both films, using the logic that exploitation producers often relied on a stable of actors they would appear in all of their films. Shelton and Parks play the same characters in both.
Before each film, we're treated to previews for fake films. The previews are directed by Rodriguez, Rob Zombie (The Devil's Rejects), Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead), and Eli Roth (Hostel). They're so good that you'll wish that they were previews for actual movies (although both Rodriguez and Wright have expressed interest in expanding theirs into actual films). The best is Zombie's Werewolf Women of the S.S., which includes a cameo by Nicolas Cage as Fu Manchu!
Some have called Grindhouse an exercise in misogyny, but looking beyond the hot women in revealing clothing one finds that in each film it's the women who are the ultimate heroes and even mete out rough justice to misogynistic men like Stuntman Mike. Rodriguez and Tarantino play with the conventions of exploitation films, and it was often true in those films that once you got beyond the T&A factor the women were bolder and more capable than the women portrayed in mainstream Hollywood films.
Despite being slightly over three hours long, I never once felt bored by Grindhouse and I had one hell of a good time. It's good trashy fun and never pretentious. It not only fully lives up to all the hype, it exceeds it. Highly recommended, especially for fans of the kinds of films it's a homage to.
[4.5 out of 5 stars]
The Full Monty
Unemployed Sheffield steelworkers Gaz (Robert Carlyle) and Dave (Mark Addy) are desperate to earn some money. Gaz is particularly desperate for money because his ex-wife is threatening to sue for sole custody of their son because Gaz is behind on support payments. After they observe how many women are willing to pay to see Chippendales dancers, they decide to give stripping a try, recruiting their ex-foreman Gerald (Tom Wilkinson) to teach them how to dance and holding auditions to round out their troupe.
The original screenplay by Simon Beaufoy is a well-observed piece about unemployed working class men whose dignity has been literally stripped away by an economic downturn and their own insecurities, and while it's not without its dark moments, like many great comedies the humor comes from an achingly real situation that the characters are faced with. It never becomes bleak, because even the darker moments are played as black comedy. It's funny while touching on some very serious issues. Peter Cattaneo's subtle direction captures the lives of the characters and their situation with a compelling yet naturalistic approach, wisely avoiding making the comedy so exaggerated that you feel no real connection to the characters beyond laughing at them. This film makes you care about them, too.
Cinematographer John de Borman (Photographing Fairies, Hideous Kinky) uses soft, flat lighting to convey the mood of a depressed industrial town, while the combination of an Oscar-winning score by Anne Dudley (The Crying Game) and pop songs form a sly soundscape that perfectly accents the humor.
Carlyle is outstanding as Gaz. For all of his character's joking and laddish behavior, you can tell that he cares deeply about his son, his best friend, and eventually even the new friends he makes. Addy is equally good as Dave, whose lighthearted demeanor masks a deep-seated insecurity. Wilkinson's Gerald is believable when he can't bear to tell his wife that he's unemployed and goes to great lengths to conceal it from her. The rest of the cast is good, too, with Steve Huison as the closeted gay former security guard Lomper, Paul Barber as an older man called Horse who has lots of dance moves, Hugo Speer as Guy (who's selected for the troupe because he's well-endowed), and William Snape as Gaz's son Nathan, who goes from merely tolerating being with his father to encouraging him.
The Fully Exposed Edition DVD features a crisp video transfer, although the print used for the transfer shows some minor scratches and dirt at times. It offers multiple audio options, including the original English audio track. When it was released in the US in 1997, the original actors redubbed their lines with weaker accents so US audiences could understand them. I watched it with the original audio track and had no difficulty understanding the dialog. There are also interviews with the cast, plus commentary by Addy and Cattaneo. The second DVD offers numerous 'making of' featurettes which are informative and shed much light on the film.
The Full Monty won the BAFTA's Best Film Award and was also nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. The Fully Exposed Edition reveals that the film has aged very well and is still a brilliantly funny film with great heart. Highly recommended.
[4.5 stars out of 5]
A decade after its original theatrical release, this brilliant comedy has been re-released on DVD in a special edition called the Fully Exposed Edition.
Unemployed Sheffield steelworkers Gaz (Robert Carlyle) and Dave (Mark Addy) are desperate to earn some money. Gaz is particularly desperate for money because his ex-wife is threatening to sue for sole custody of their son because Gaz is behind on support payments. After they observe how many women are willing to pay to see Chippendales dancers, they decide to give stripping a try, recruiting their ex-foreman Gerald (Tom Wilkinson) to teach them how to dance and holding auditions to round out their troupe.
The original screenplay by Simon Beaufoy is a well-observed piece about unemployed working class men whose dignity has been literally stripped away by an economic downturn and their own insecurities, and while it's not without its dark moments, like many great comedies the humor comes from an achingly real situation that the characters are faced with. It never becomes bleak, because even the darker moments are played as black comedy. It's funny while touching on some very serious issues. Peter Cattaneo's subtle direction captures the lives of the characters and their situation with a compelling yet naturalistic approach, wisely avoiding making the comedy so exaggerated that you feel no real connection to the characters beyond laughing at them. This film makes you care about them, too.
Cinematographer John de Borman (Photographing Fairies, Hideous Kinky) uses soft, flat lighting to convey the mood of a depressed industrial town, while the combination of an Oscar-winning score by Anne Dudley (The Crying Game) and pop songs form a sly soundscape that perfectly accents the humor.
Carlyle is outstanding as Gaz. For all of his character's joking and laddish behavior, you can tell that he cares deeply about his son, his best friend, and eventually even the new friends he makes. Addy is equally good as Dave, whose lighthearted demeanor masks a deep-seated insecurity. Wilkinson's Gerald is believable when he can't bear to tell his wife that he's unemployed and goes to great lengths to conceal it from her. The rest of the cast is good, too, with Steve Huison as the closeted gay former security guard Lomper, Paul Barber as an older man called Horse who has lots of dance moves, Hugo Speer as Guy (who's selected for the troupe because he's well-endowed), and William Snape as Gaz's son Nathan, who goes from merely tolerating being with his father to encouraging him.
The Fully Exposed Edition DVD features a crisp video transfer, although the print used for the transfer shows some minor scratches and dirt at times. It offers multiple audio options, including the original English audio track. When it was released in the US in 1997, the original actors redubbed their lines with weaker accents so US audiences could understand them. I watched it with the original audio track and had no difficulty understanding the dialog. There are also interviews with the cast, plus commentary by Addy and Cattaneo. The second DVD offers numerous 'making of' featurettes which are informative and shed much light on the film.
The Full Monty won the BAFTA's Best Film Award and was also nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. The Fully Exposed Edition reveals that the film has aged very well and is still a brilliantly funny film with great heart. Highly recommended.
[4.5 stars out of 5]
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
TMNT
The story begins with Leonardo (James Arnold Taylor) living in a Central American jungle and protecting villagers from harm. After his human friend April O'Neil (Sarah Michelle Gellar) tracks him down while trying to find a rare artifact, he returns to New York City to reunite with his brothers Donatello (Mitchell Whitfield), Michelangelo (Mikey Kelley), and Raphael (Nolan North), and their sensei Splinter (Mako). Although it's not a happy reunion at first for Leonardo and Raphael, soon all four brothers find themselves fighting against monsters and living statues that are connected in some way to mysterious tycoon Max Winters (Patrick Stewart), with the fate of the world in the balance of course.
Writer/director Kevin Munroe makes his feature film debut with an entertaining animated sequel to the live action films of the early 1990s. It's crafted to appeal to audiences of all ages, and it compensates for being light on plot with lots of action and an overwhelming sense of fun. It may be nowhere near as adult as the original comic book, but Munroe strikes a reasonable balance between being kid-friendly and older fan-friendly. The material is treated with respect but the film never takes itself too seriously, resulting in an hour and a half of fun, and isn't that all you really need from a film about mutant turtles fighting monsters?
The digital animation is generally good, a few quibbles about the design of the human characters aside, and it's used to its best advantage for some eye-popping action sequences. Simon Murton (Riverworld) contributes some impressive production designs, including a noirish New York City and an art deco skyscraper owned by Winters, that help bring the story's world to life. Klaus Badelt (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl) adds a solid score that's appropriately heroic sounding.
An animated film is only as good as its voice cast, and it's a great one here. Taylor, Whitfield, Kelley, and North capture the personalities of the Turtles, while Stewart's mellifluous voice is spot on for the world-weary Winters. April O'Neil is more of an action hero here than in the earlier films, so Gellar's voice is perfect for her. Mako (who died shortly after recording his lines) brings both dignity and humor to Splinter. Chris Evans (Fantastic Four's Human Torch) as vigilante Casey Jones, Ziyi Zhang as Karai (the new leader of the ninja Foot Clan), John DiMaggio (Bender on Futurama) as Colonel Santino, Clerks writer/director Kevin Smith as a diner cook, and Laurence Fishburne as the narrator also make good contributions.
Turtles fans of all ages should be suitably entertained by what is ounce for ounce one of the more entertaining comic action films to come along in awhile. I had a smile on my face from start to finish.
[4 stars out of 5]
Cowabunga, dudes! The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles return in a digitally animated film that's loads of fun and has a great voice cast.
The story begins with Leonardo (James Arnold Taylor) living in a Central American jungle and protecting villagers from harm. After his human friend April O'Neil (Sarah Michelle Gellar) tracks him down while trying to find a rare artifact, he returns to New York City to reunite with his brothers Donatello (Mitchell Whitfield), Michelangelo (Mikey Kelley), and Raphael (Nolan North), and their sensei Splinter (Mako). Although it's not a happy reunion at first for Leonardo and Raphael, soon all four brothers find themselves fighting against monsters and living statues that are connected in some way to mysterious tycoon Max Winters (Patrick Stewart), with the fate of the world in the balance of course.
Writer/director Kevin Munroe makes his feature film debut with an entertaining animated sequel to the live action films of the early 1990s. It's crafted to appeal to audiences of all ages, and it compensates for being light on plot with lots of action and an overwhelming sense of fun. It may be nowhere near as adult as the original comic book, but Munroe strikes a reasonable balance between being kid-friendly and older fan-friendly. The material is treated with respect but the film never takes itself too seriously, resulting in an hour and a half of fun, and isn't that all you really need from a film about mutant turtles fighting monsters?
The digital animation is generally good, a few quibbles about the design of the human characters aside, and it's used to its best advantage for some eye-popping action sequences. Simon Murton (Riverworld) contributes some impressive production designs, including a noirish New York City and an art deco skyscraper owned by Winters, that help bring the story's world to life. Klaus Badelt (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl) adds a solid score that's appropriately heroic sounding.
An animated film is only as good as its voice cast, and it's a great one here. Taylor, Whitfield, Kelley, and North capture the personalities of the Turtles, while Stewart's mellifluous voice is spot on for the world-weary Winters. April O'Neil is more of an action hero here than in the earlier films, so Gellar's voice is perfect for her. Mako (who died shortly after recording his lines) brings both dignity and humor to Splinter. Chris Evans (Fantastic Four's Human Torch) as vigilante Casey Jones, Ziyi Zhang as Karai (the new leader of the ninja Foot Clan), John DiMaggio (Bender on Futurama) as Colonel Santino, Clerks writer/director Kevin Smith as a diner cook, and Laurence Fishburne as the narrator also make good contributions.
Turtles fans of all ages should be suitably entertained by what is ounce for ounce one of the more entertaining comic action films to come along in awhile. I had a smile on my face from start to finish.
[4 stars out of 5]
Sunday, April 08, 2007
The Reaping
Professor Katherine Winter (Hilary Swank) is a former Christian missionary turned professional debunker of miracles and other religious phenomena. After a science teacher (David Morrissey) tells her about a blood-filled river near his hometown in rural Louisiana, she and her associate Ben (Idris Elba) travel there to prove that it has a scientific explanation but find themselves being drawn into a series of plagues that recall the story of Exodus, and it all leads back to a pubescent girl named Loren (AnnaSophia Robb).
Stephen Hopkins (A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, Predator 2) provides competent direction of the screenplay by Carey and Chad Hayes (House of Wax), based on an original screen story by Brian Rousso. It's not the most original film and its premise is a bit absurd, but it's an above average entry in the genre and effectively holds your interest for 96 minutes, with a couple of unexpected plot twists at the end. Although there's an over-reliance on jump scenes to generate scares, it's really more of a supernatural mystery than an outright horror film.
Cinematographer Peter Levy (who frequently works with Hopkins) and production designer Graham Walker (Pitch Black, Queen of the Damned) set the table with a creepy Southern Gothic atmosphere that Hopkins uses to its full advantage. Veteran visual effects supervisor Richard Yuricich (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Blade Runner) earns his money with some impressive effects toward the end. The score was originally supposed to be written by noted composer Philip Glass, but he was replaced by John Frizzell (Alien: Resurrection, Thir13en Ghosts), whose work here is blandly by the numbers.
The cast helps sell the film despite the premise. Swank is believable as Katherine, who wants to debunk religious phenomena because she's angry at a God she claims not to believe in anymore. This may not be the best film she's worked on, but she's a professional and doesn't just phone it in. Morrissey, Elba, Robb, and Andrea Frankle as Loren's mother are also solid. Stephen Rea as a priest who used to know Katherine is wasted in limited screen time, and that subplot could have easily been removed.
Based on how many bad reviews The Reaping had received, I expected it to be a disaster, but instead I was pleasantly surprised to find it's an above average film in its genre. If Biblical prophecy horror is your thing, it's worth a viewing.
[3.5 out of 5 stars]
This is a surprisingly effective entry in the Biblical prophecy subgenre of horror films.
Professor Katherine Winter (Hilary Swank) is a former Christian missionary turned professional debunker of miracles and other religious phenomena. After a science teacher (David Morrissey) tells her about a blood-filled river near his hometown in rural Louisiana, she and her associate Ben (Idris Elba) travel there to prove that it has a scientific explanation but find themselves being drawn into a series of plagues that recall the story of Exodus, and it all leads back to a pubescent girl named Loren (AnnaSophia Robb).
Stephen Hopkins (A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, Predator 2) provides competent direction of the screenplay by Carey and Chad Hayes (House of Wax), based on an original screen story by Brian Rousso. It's not the most original film and its premise is a bit absurd, but it's an above average entry in the genre and effectively holds your interest for 96 minutes, with a couple of unexpected plot twists at the end. Although there's an over-reliance on jump scenes to generate scares, it's really more of a supernatural mystery than an outright horror film.
Cinematographer Peter Levy (who frequently works with Hopkins) and production designer Graham Walker (Pitch Black, Queen of the Damned) set the table with a creepy Southern Gothic atmosphere that Hopkins uses to its full advantage. Veteran visual effects supervisor Richard Yuricich (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Blade Runner) earns his money with some impressive effects toward the end. The score was originally supposed to be written by noted composer Philip Glass, but he was replaced by John Frizzell (Alien: Resurrection, Thir13en Ghosts), whose work here is blandly by the numbers.
The cast helps sell the film despite the premise. Swank is believable as Katherine, who wants to debunk religious phenomena because she's angry at a God she claims not to believe in anymore. This may not be the best film she's worked on, but she's a professional and doesn't just phone it in. Morrissey, Elba, Robb, and Andrea Frankle as Loren's mother are also solid. Stephen Rea as a priest who used to know Katherine is wasted in limited screen time, and that subplot could have easily been removed.
Based on how many bad reviews The Reaping had received, I expected it to be a disaster, but instead I was pleasantly surprised to find it's an above average film in its genre. If Biblical prophecy horror is your thing, it's worth a viewing.
[3.5 out of 5 stars]
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Reign Over Me
Alan (Don Cheadle) is a successful Manhattan dentist who's married to a controlling woman (Jada Pinkett Smith) and has two children. One day, he sees his old college roommate Charlie (Adam Sandler), who went from being a dentist to a broken wreck of a man after his wife and children died on 9/11. Despite his own family problems and having to deal with an obsessed patient (Saffron Burrows), Alan is determined to help Charlie put his life back together.
Writer/director Mike Binder (The Sex Monster, Man About Town) creates a film that's both a serious drama and a wry look at relationships. The core of the film is the friendship between Alan and Charlie, and the film is strongest when it focuses on it, but it gets sidetracked at times with underdeveloped subplots. The third act also drags a bit, unnecessarily stretching the film into slightly over two hours of running time. However, it doesn't end on a stereotypical Hollywood happy ending where everything is neatly resolved, which is a mark in its favor, but instead has a hopeful ending. All in all, there's more good things than bad things to say about it.
Russ T. Alsobrook (Romy and Michele: In the Beginning, Man About Town) contributes solid but unspectacular cinematography using the Panavision Genesis digital video camera (previously used most notably for Superman Returns), which again provides a solidly cinematic look. The use of songs by The Who, Bruce Springsteen, Graham Nash, Pearl Jam, and others works well for exploring Charlie's inner life.
I never thought I'd praise Adam Sandler's acting, but he delivers a vivid performance as Charlie, a man who's suffered so much that he stops feeling anything and retreats into a childlike state. Sandler deftly moves from humorously eccentric to emotionally raw, and makes us care about his character. He also bears an uncanny resemblance to Bob Dylan. Don Cheadle is equally good as Alan, demonstrating good comic timing and strong rapport with Sandler in the dramatic scenes. Just as their characters are the core of the story, their performances are the core of the film.
Jada Pinkett Smith has some good scenes as Alan's wife, although she's under-used. Saffron Burrows is funny as the patient who's obsessed with Alan, while Liv Tyler makes a sympathetic psychiatrist. Other good performances come from Robert Klein and Melinda Dillon as Charlie's parents-in-law, Donald Sutherland as a judge who has to rule on Charlie's sanity, director Binder as Charlie's financial manager and former best friend, Rae Allen as the manager of the apartment building Charlie lives in, John de Lancie as a therapist Alan tries to get Charlie to see, Paula Newsome as Alan's receptionist, and Ted Raimi as Charlie's attorney.
Although it drags at times and is a bit long, the performances and the friendship between the two men help make Reign Over Me a good film. Recommended.
[4 out of 5 stars.]
This drama with touches of comedy boasts some good performances and is a satisfying film about friendship.
Alan (Don Cheadle) is a successful Manhattan dentist who's married to a controlling woman (Jada Pinkett Smith) and has two children. One day, he sees his old college roommate Charlie (Adam Sandler), who went from being a dentist to a broken wreck of a man after his wife and children died on 9/11. Despite his own family problems and having to deal with an obsessed patient (Saffron Burrows), Alan is determined to help Charlie put his life back together.
Writer/director Mike Binder (The Sex Monster, Man About Town) creates a film that's both a serious drama and a wry look at relationships. The core of the film is the friendship between Alan and Charlie, and the film is strongest when it focuses on it, but it gets sidetracked at times with underdeveloped subplots. The third act also drags a bit, unnecessarily stretching the film into slightly over two hours of running time. However, it doesn't end on a stereotypical Hollywood happy ending where everything is neatly resolved, which is a mark in its favor, but instead has a hopeful ending. All in all, there's more good things than bad things to say about it.
Russ T. Alsobrook (Romy and Michele: In the Beginning, Man About Town) contributes solid but unspectacular cinematography using the Panavision Genesis digital video camera (previously used most notably for Superman Returns), which again provides a solidly cinematic look. The use of songs by The Who, Bruce Springsteen, Graham Nash, Pearl Jam, and others works well for exploring Charlie's inner life.
I never thought I'd praise Adam Sandler's acting, but he delivers a vivid performance as Charlie, a man who's suffered so much that he stops feeling anything and retreats into a childlike state. Sandler deftly moves from humorously eccentric to emotionally raw, and makes us care about his character. He also bears an uncanny resemblance to Bob Dylan. Don Cheadle is equally good as Alan, demonstrating good comic timing and strong rapport with Sandler in the dramatic scenes. Just as their characters are the core of the story, their performances are the core of the film.
Jada Pinkett Smith has some good scenes as Alan's wife, although she's under-used. Saffron Burrows is funny as the patient who's obsessed with Alan, while Liv Tyler makes a sympathetic psychiatrist. Other good performances come from Robert Klein and Melinda Dillon as Charlie's parents-in-law, Donald Sutherland as a judge who has to rule on Charlie's sanity, director Binder as Charlie's financial manager and former best friend, Rae Allen as the manager of the apartment building Charlie lives in, John de Lancie as a therapist Alan tries to get Charlie to see, Paula Newsome as Alan's receptionist, and Ted Raimi as Charlie's attorney.
Although it drags at times and is a bit long, the performances and the friendship between the two men help make Reign Over Me a good film. Recommended.
[4 out of 5 stars.]
Monday, April 02, 2007
Gwoemul (The Host)
The film begins with a US military pathologist commanding a Korean assistant to dispose of massive amounts of formaldehyde down the drain, despite being told that the sewer empties into Seoul's Han River (this part of the story is actually true, and happened in 2000). Six years later, a giant mutant fish climbs out of the river and goes on a rampage, killing many people and carrying off schoolgirl Hyun-seo to its lair. Even though the authorities believe her to be dead, her dimwitted slacker father Gang-du believes otherwise, and he, his father Hee-bong, his alcoholic brother Nam-il, and his medal-winning archer sister Nam-joo, set out to rescue her.
Director Joon-ho Bong captures the spirit of classic giant monster films as he keeps this film moving along at a brisk pace, blending in broad comedy, dark humor, tragedy, and political satire (aimed at both the US and South Korean governments) to make a tasty creature feature stew. Bong and his co-writers Chul-hyun Baek and Jun-won Ha employ many of the genre's tropes, but it's never quite as predictable as one might expect. The switch from comedy to a more serious tone halfway through the film may seem jarring at first to western audiences, but it's not unusual for South Korean cinema. While the film has a low budget by US standards, the visual effects and animatronics are outstanding, even when the creature is rampaging in broad daylight, making suspension of disbelief an easier task.
The cast is adept at bringing their characters to life and deftly surfing the changes in tone, including Kang-ho Song as Hang-du, Ah-sung Go as Hyun-seo, Hee-bong Nyeoon as Hee-bong, Hae-il Park as Nam-il, and Doona Bae as Nam-joo. David Joseph Anselmo is also good as an off-duty US soldier who tries to stop the monster during its initial rampage.
The Host is the best film I can think of in this genre since 1990's Tremors, and it's a giddy thrill ride from start to finish. Recommended.
This creature feature from South Korea is a thoroughly entertaining film.
The film begins with a US military pathologist commanding a Korean assistant to dispose of massive amounts of formaldehyde down the drain, despite being told that the sewer empties into Seoul's Han River (this part of the story is actually true, and happened in 2000). Six years later, a giant mutant fish climbs out of the river and goes on a rampage, killing many people and carrying off schoolgirl Hyun-seo to its lair. Even though the authorities believe her to be dead, her dimwitted slacker father Gang-du believes otherwise, and he, his father Hee-bong, his alcoholic brother Nam-il, and his medal-winning archer sister Nam-joo, set out to rescue her.
Director Joon-ho Bong captures the spirit of classic giant monster films as he keeps this film moving along at a brisk pace, blending in broad comedy, dark humor, tragedy, and political satire (aimed at both the US and South Korean governments) to make a tasty creature feature stew. Bong and his co-writers Chul-hyun Baek and Jun-won Ha employ many of the genre's tropes, but it's never quite as predictable as one might expect. The switch from comedy to a more serious tone halfway through the film may seem jarring at first to western audiences, but it's not unusual for South Korean cinema. While the film has a low budget by US standards, the visual effects and animatronics are outstanding, even when the creature is rampaging in broad daylight, making suspension of disbelief an easier task.
The cast is adept at bringing their characters to life and deftly surfing the changes in tone, including Kang-ho Song as Hang-du, Ah-sung Go as Hyun-seo, Hee-bong Nyeoon as Hee-bong, Hae-il Park as Nam-il, and Doona Bae as Nam-joo. David Joseph Anselmo is also good as an off-duty US soldier who tries to stop the monster during its initial rampage.
The Host is the best film I can think of in this genre since 1990's Tremors, and it's a giddy thrill ride from start to finish. Recommended.
