November 2006

New On DVD

/ / Home Video News 

Oh man, more DVDs?  How does that industrial Hollywood keep doing it week after week?

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It has clearly been far too long since any new DVDs have been released, so let’s just get started right away.

Film:

The Da Vinci Code: Special Edition – Sure, the idea of Forrest Gump, Amélie, Doctor Octopus and Richie Cunningham all making a movie together sounds great, but in reality it fell a little flat.  The myth the film centers on– that descendants of Jesus are alive today – is a fun one to think about, as well as the secret society that protects such relatives; but the script is just dull, lucky we have Ian McKellan to save the film from complete boredom with his fresh and energetic acting.  Da Vinci isn’t all that bad, but for a film that had promise and grossed $70 million on its opening weekend, we could hope for better.  Alan wasn’t exactly jumping off the wall in his review of the film either

John Tucker Must Die – It’s sort of a puzzle to me how high school comedies keep getting made – more so than in other genres, the movies just keep repeating themselves; and with rare exceptions like American Pie and Mean Girls, they don’t usually make very much money.  Still, 20th Century Fox decided to ignore the past of the genre and make John Tucker Must Die, and while you can’t exactly be happy that they took the risk in producing it, it’s not a deplorable film by any means.  I think I put it best in my review a few months back when I deemed it a really mediocre movie.

Strangers With Candy – It’s not for everyone, but Strangers With Candy just might be the funniest film in a year with Talladega Nights, Little Miss Sunshine and Borat.  Having never seen an episode of the television show on which the film is based, I walked into the movie clueless but walked out breathless.  The humor is so chock-full of intentionally stupid humor over-used story elements that it probably shouldn’t work, but thanks to joyously over-the-top performances from the entire cast, it burn your cheeks as you smile for the solid 97 minute running time.  Like the TV show, Strangers With Candy focuses on a middle-aged woman (Amy Sedaris) who re-enrolls in High School after she gets out of Rehab, only to rediscover the problems of popularity and the opposite sex.  Along for the ride is series regular Stephen Colbert, with celebrites Matthew Broderick, Ian Holm and even Philip Seymour Hoffman all stopping by for at least a few scenes.

I really can’t say enough about this largely ignored film; it’s like the production was given a few million dollars to make an after school special, and decided to spend half of the budget on marijuana, and the result was Strangers With Candy.  A true joy for anyone who takes pleasure in stupid movies.

Special Edition:

King Kong: Deluxe Extended Edition – Remember how every geek in the land of geekdom got excited when an extended edition of any The Lord of the Rings film was released?  Flash forward a few years, and the noise being made in apprehension for Peter Jackson‘s latest, the second remake of King Kong is noticeably less.  Maybe it’s because you’re only getting an extra 13 minutes this time around (as opposed to the 30+ minutes found in the extended Lord of the Rings installments,) or maybe it’s just because Jackson’s Kong was already an hour too long in theaters.

But fans of the film may find the purchase worth it – the three-disc set hosts a small army of special features, including eight part documentary of the film, design galleries which – if Weta is involved – is surely worth anyone’s time and, if for some reason you felt like it, you could watch an additional 38 minutes of deleted scenes on top of the already enlarged feature, totalling a 3 hour and 58 minute celebration of not knowing where to cut.

Oldboy: Ultimate Collector’s Set – I never quite understood the extreme adoration for Oldboy that is rampant on inter-net forums, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t still love it.  Following up Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance as the second installment of Chan-wook Park‘s Vengeance Trilogy, Oldboy was faster, more involving and gave off a vibe of being damn furious.  The now famous hallway scene where our main protagonist gets Hammer-crazy on dozens of henchmen is one of the most realistic and bad-ass fight scenes in recent cinema.  The film is hard-broiled, angry and intense, if not a tad too long.  Definitely worth a rental if you haven’t checked it out yet and are familiar with Asian cinema.

For being a three-disc set, however, this release of Oldboy could have done better.  Although it includes a copy of the first Old Boy graphic novel, none of the features on the discs sound too enticing.  Still, compared to the lacking first, single-disc release; this one makes for the better purchase.

Television:

Friends – The Complete Series Collection – I never, ever got Friends.  Sure, it was funny; even funnier than most of its bland sit-com competition.  But that didn’t make it that great of a show, it certainly doesn’t make it worthy of the heaps of admiration that’s been tossed onto its reputation by teenagers who were force-fed the countless Chandler one-liners that took about four seconds to conceive.  But hey, if you really feel like buying this 40-disc set with hours of comedy that you could watch every day in syndication for free, then by all means feel free to fork over the hundreds of dollars.  Could this set be any more pointless?

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This Week

/ / Movie Reviews

So what’s out there this week?  Well today we’ll take a look at the films scheduled to be released which include a tap dancing penguin extravaganza, a bit of raunchy humor and a little shaken, not stirred accompanied by a few serious, and not so serious, limited releases. This week’s films include Happy Feet, Casino Royale, Let’s Go to Prison, For Your Consideration, Fast Food Nation, Candy, Shut Up and Sing and Bobby.

C’mon in and let us get you ready for the week!

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Here’s what’s scheduled to hit theaters this week.  Want to know more?  Just click on the title for film info including a full cast list.  Want a closer look?  Just click on the poster to watch the trailer.

Opening Friday:

Casino Royale

Based on the first Bond book, “Casino Royale” written by Ian Fleming, the film gives us the creation of the top sexiest and lethal agent ever, 007 James Bond. Filling a pretty big pair of shoes left behind by Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan, Daniel Craig (Munich and Layer Cake) is sure to fit in and hit the ground running. I have a small confession to make, I’ve never been much of a Bond film fan; but I could see where Casino Royale might change things around a bit. Promising your typical Bond moves, gadgets and plenty of danger and let us not forget your typical Bond girls, one good and one bad and always one in his bed. Bond fans won’t be disappointed, 007 is out to bring down the terrorists network through their banker, Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) and to accomplish this he must beat Le Chiffre in a high-stakes poker game at the Casino Royale (wonder where the name of the film came from).

He falls for the sexy Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), British Treasury official, and finds the two of them in danger (what a shocker) and has to save her life as well as his own. Good times, glad to see that no matter how good or how bad the Bond films get, they will never die; our grandchildren will see the 50th Bond film, I have no doubt. Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violent action, a scene of torture, sexual content and nudity, maybe not the best family film, but certainly great for a night out between mom and dad or the buddies. Projected 3.5 out of 5 razors.

Happy Feet

Happy Feet boasts voice talents Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving and the list goes on; plus plenty of dancing animated penguins with a lot of singing. Oh, how sweet, it’s Rudolph, but with Penguins, in a far off way. Mumble can’t sing and what’s a penguin that can’t sing, but tap dances? He’s nothing and the leader of the penguins kicks him out to figure things out on his own. Mumble runs across some other outcasts and hunts down an all knowing Guru.

Between the Amigos and the Guru, Mumble figures out the most important thing there is, you must be true to yourself to really shine. He goes back to his family and the nation of Emperor Penguins to prove that he is as worthy as they. Good times for the whole family, plenty of humor and awe shucks moments. Rated PG for some rude humor. Great Casino Royale has torture and violence and it gets a mere PG13, but a little rude humor in a family animated film and it gets PG, what’s this world coming to? Projected 3 out of 5 razors.

Let’s Go to Prison

Starring Dax from Without A Paddle, one of the accidental funniest guys on film, Let’s Go to Prison promises to be an empty raunchy attempt at prison sex humor. Richy snob gets into a little trouble and finds himself in the clink and roomies with a career thug. He gets a few lessons, sold to the prisons big guy and enjoys (not) a little prison snuggles. Before the career thug knows it, richy boy turns the tables on him and starts controlling the game. Rated R for language, sexual content and some violence and drug material, Let’s Go to Prison is a guaranteed wrong time. A projected bomb all around.

Shut Up and Sing

Rock on Dixie Chicks. Spend a day in their shoes, see what it was like to be the country music’s lead female group to speak their minds against our noble president. Shut Up and Sing is a documentary that follows the Dixie Chicks lives through out the past 3 years of tours, marriage, death threats, family, political attacks and making music after the comment about Bush. I’m glad we are in another country fighting for their rights and freedom of speech (keeping women from being hidden and abused), but all along we are suppose to oppress our true believes and stay under an invisible veil in our own country.

What makes all of this wrong is not only the opposition the government took against these 3 young ladies, but what we as a nation did. What ever happened to freedom of speech and having our own beliefs? I must question, would the same exact interrogation had happened to a male who would have spoke the same way? Is it time for us to burn our bras again? Projected 4 out of 5 razors.

Opening Friday, in Limited Release:

For Your Consideration

Christopher Guest brings to the big screen another laugh out loud story about human’s infatuation about self-gratification. For Your Consideration has a few repeat players and a couple of new, a cast list that boasts Carrie Aizley, Bob Balaban, Ed Begley, Jr., Jennifer Coolidge, Paul Dooley, Ricky Gervais, Christopher Guest, Rachael Harris and on and on and on, how does Guest get so much talent in one film? The show is all about making an independent film and the award buzz that taunts the actors afterwards. Once again, Guest throws the obvious in our face and makes us look at the ugly beast in the eye.

Yes we are a greedy society that needs constant rewards and pats on the back for simply doing our job. Luckily he makes quite a farce of it and a completely enjoyable viewing experience. Projected 5 out of 5 razors.

Fast Food Nation

Here’s an insult to the best selling novel with the same name. The only saving grace for Fast Food Nation are the small parts that Greg Kinnear, Ashley Johnson and Catalina Sandino Moreno plays in the film. There are tasteless graphic scenes of animals being slaughtered and way too much content trying to be covered in a serious form. Too much is too much, why try to cover so many topics in a short 2 hours. Focus on one point of view and keep it simple, simplicity would have saved this film. Rated R for really disturbing images, strong sexuality, language and drug content.

Limited release only, just wait for it on DVD. Projected 1 out of 5 razors.

Bobby

Wow, the films out this week have some serious talent. Bobby, written and directed by Emilio Estevez (yeah, I wondered where he went too) has quite the list with Anthony Hopkins, Demi Moore, Sharon Stone, Lindsay Lohan, Elijah Wood, William H. Macy, Helen Hunt, Christian Slater (he disappeared too), Heather Graham, Laurence Fishburne, Freddy Rodriguez…I’ll stop now. I’ve got to give it to Emilio; he has created a culturally and politically powerful film set around the night Robert F. Kennedy was shot. It focuses on 22 people who are all waiting for the arrival of Kennedy’s primary election night and the events that were set in history.

Many issues are covered from racism to women’s rights and each actor plays their part to bring the characters to life, most doing a brilliant job and a few a little rusty. It’s a well-written story and, for the most part, a well acted and directed one at that. Projected 4 out of 5 razors.

Candy

Heath Ledgerand Abbie Cornish star in this love story of two selfish and self-absorbed heroin addicts. Alan hated it, well hated might not be a strong enough word, despised might be more apt; you can check out his full review on Friday. The film was adapted from Luke Davies bes-selling novel and also stars Geoffrey Rush as an enabler and father figure for the lovers whose lives get slowly eaten up on drugs and madness. Boy, doesn’t that sound like the family film you’ve been waiting to take your kids to?  Doesn’t that sound like a beautiful love story? Oh wait, it doesn’t. A projected bomb all around.

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Harsh Times at the Theater

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Harsh Times
  • IMDb: link

Imagine if Cheech and Chong cruised around South Central L.A. and Mexico, and one of them was a psychotic Rambo wannabe.  That’s the basic premise, actually the entire plot, of Harsh Times.  These characters have made each of their lives into a long, boring, pointless mess…kinda’ like this film.

Jim (Christian Bale) is an award winning screw-up and psycho.  He spends his days getting high and drunk with his friends in South Central L.A.  Despite his nature, his constant need for violence and total disregard for the law, and severe post-traumatic shock from his time as a soldier in Iraq, Jim wants to be a cop or maybe a Fed.

…

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Look at Me!  I’m Important!  Look at Me!

/ / Movie Reviews

Well here’s another Crash wannabe.  We get separate stories only barely tied together through loose themes and threads, an abundance of good performances, and a lack of any idea of what to do with it all.  Babel is like a love-starved dog who wants to be noticed and loved, but it’s just so annoying you’ve got to lock it outside before it drives you mad with its incessant whimpering.

Babel
2 Stars

I wanted to like Babel, but when I wasn’t bored out of my skull I found myself bewildered by the odd make-up of the film and bizarre choices of its characters.  It wants so badly to be important, but lacks the detail necessary, instead providing us with a glut of stories and characters, that neither explored nor developed, which never come together.  Is it an interesting film exercise?  Maybe.  Is it a good film?  Not really.

A Babel-ing Mess

Richard (Brad Pitt) and Susan (Cate Blanchett) are traveling with a tour group in Morrocco trying to get over the death of their youngest child.

In San Diego Amelia (Adriana Barraza) is taking care of the couple’s two young children, Mike (Nathan Gamble) and Debbie (Elle Fanning), and preparing to attend her son’s wedding in Mexico.

In Morocco two young boys are herding goats and are trying out their new rifle given to them by their father to keep away the jackals.

In Japan a young deaf teen, Cheiko (Rinko Kikuchi), struggles with the suicide of her mother, the long absence and despondency of her father (Koji Yakusho), and her anger at being deaf and being undesirable to young men.

Director Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu attempts to weave these stories together; he isn’t entirely successful.  The Morroco stories fit, but the others don’t gel with the framework of the film, and the Japanese story stands out as the best of, and most irrelevant to, the other threads of the film.

A film like this, with multiple stories that only vaguely touch on the same themes, either works or doesn’t.  This one doesn’t.  It’s too self-important, too long winded, and too fractured to make a coherent whole.  Themes cross – parenting, bad choices, the need for love, the disconnect of language – but there is no real framework to hold them together.  The director relies on the over-used method of the Roshomon-style to give some edge here, but it just makes the events and the timeline of the film confusing.

The film breaks a few of our Rules.  First the film screams to be acknowledged by the Award circuit.  Here the film breaks our “Oscar Bait Rule,” it has a large list of good performances but sadly lacks a coherent story to justify them.

I could probably have forgiven this flaw in the film, but it’s not the only problem.  The film also breaks our “WTF? Rule.”  In each of the four stories the characters perform an insane action that fails to make sense either in the framework of the story or reality.  The character presented has performed normal sane actions to this point, but here decides to make such an unlikely and ludicrous decision for no reason other than the script calls for it at that moment.  I’d like to go into more detail here, but each stark shift in sanity takes place late in the storyline of each plot thread and I don’t wish to ruin the “surprise” for you.  Instead I’ll just tell you I shook my head in disbelief as each story vears off the loooong winding road for a side-trip to crazywackofuntown.  What a waste.

Is there anything gained from telling these separate stories as a whole?  No.  Would the stories worked as well or better as separate films?  Maybe.  These are hard questions and even more troubling answers.  Babel gives us some great peromances and moments that are all but drowned out by it’s preening, excessive running time (more than two-hours and twenty-minutes), and repeated forays into insanity.

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The Need for Love

/ / Movie Reviews

Little Children is one of those films that is good, but probably should have been better.  The film follows a small group of suburbanites looking for love and happiness in their dreary existence.  Nothing new is really explored here, but the characters are interesting and the acting is worth mentioning.  Not a must see by any means, but odds are it’s as good, if not better, as what is playing next door.

Little Children
3 & 1/2 Stars

Todd Field‘s film follows a group of suburbanites, each with desires and needs that aren’t being fulfilled, in need of something more.  The film is an ensemble piece about a group of people, all fragile and broken in some way, all searching, and yearning, to be loved.

Sarah (Kate Winslet) married to man (Gregg Edelman) who largely ignores her, who prefers to fantasize and masturbate to an Internet porn model, as she struggles to deal with raising her young daughter (Sadie Goldstein) and living in suburbia, which she views disdainfully as something akin to prison.

Brad (Patrick Wilson) is a stay-at-home dad of a young son (Ty Simpkins), unable to pass the state bar to get his license to practice law.  His wife (Jennifer Connolly) slowly, and possibly without meaning to, is chipping away at his self-esteem and self-worth.

The two discover each other on a local playground where a friendship develops, but a yearning for more is obvious.

Ronald (Jackie Earle Haley) is a sex offender living in the neighborhood with his mother (Phyllis Sommerville).  The other suburbanites are less than thrilled with the situation.

Larry (Noah Emmerich) is a former cop with his own family woes and dark past, and an obsession with removing Ronald from the neighborhood and making it safe for the children

These stories converge together with moderate success.  Think Crash, but just white people in suburbia.  I could have done without the Ronald storyline which only exists on the periphery for the main characters, but is explored in his own story (though, not well) at the cost of the film.  Despite getting his own subplot and a decent amount of screentime, we never really learn about Ronald.  Is he evil?  Is he simply disturbed?  Is he sorry for what he has done?  The narrator gives us clues into the other characters thoughts and lives but is oddly absent in Ronald’s case.

The film was adapted from the Tom Perrotta novel, and includes an omniscient narrator who is not present in the story.  This is a problem.  The narrator comes and goes and gives us insight to most, but not all of the characters, and often disappears for long stretches of time.  It also gives us insight to the thoughts and feelings of the characters, which the script itself doesn’t allow the actors to adequately portray.  I’m not sure, but I would venture to guess that reading the novel would be preferable to seeing the film.

The themes here aren’t exactly new to fans of American Beauty and The Ice Storm (both better films) and the like.  Still the mood and performances of the piece are worth acknowledging, and the film, even if it does derail itself at times, provides an interesting world to spend a couple of hours.

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