This Week in Film
Horrorfest is back. The indie horror flick festival returns with “8 Films to Die For” and runs from November 9th thru the 18th in 350 theaters across the United States. Here’s a promo for the festival; inside the Full Diagnosis you will find trailers for some of this year’s flicks including Mulbery Street, The Deaths of Ian Stone, Nightmare Man and Lake Dead. Check out the official site for theater listings, the full list of films, and more.
Horrorfest 2007
N/A
American Gangster
- Title: American Gangster
- IMDb: link
“Frank Lucas is the most dangerous man walking the streets of our city.”
Much like Michael Mann‘s Heat the film follows two separate and concurrent tales on opposite sides of the law. On one hand there is Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington), who after the death of his mentor takes over the drug business in Harlem and, in turning into a profitable empire, pisses off everyone who knows him. The other story follows Detective Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe), the lone good honest cop left in New Jersey whose honor has cost him a marriage, custody of his son (his wife is played by Carla Gugino), and the anger and resentment of his fellow cops.
Roberts is given a new assignment by his commander (Ted Levine) and runs his own group of guys to track down and bring down the drug suppliers and dealers. Over time and hard work the unknown Frank Lucas is brought to Roberts’ attention and their two worlds collide.
…
Bee Movie
- Title: Bee Movie
- IMDb: link
After graduating college a disillusioned Barry B. Benson (Jerry Seinfeld) leaves the hive and travels into the outside world. Barry isn’t ready to buckle down to one job for the rest of his life. His adventure goes awry, as these things do in movies like this, and Barry finds himself staying with a florist named Vanessa Bloom (Renee Zellweger). Barry falls hard for the beautiful human and breaks the bee’s taboo never to talk to people.
His friendship with Vanessa leads him to learn of humans consumption of honey, which in turn leads Barry, with the help of his pal Adam (Matthew Broderick) to sue all of humanity for stealing honey.
The film includes many colorful characters Barry meets on his journey, all voiced by well-known actors including Vanessa’s jealous boyfriend (Patrick Warburton), a mosquito named Mooseblood (Chris Rock), the famous Bee Larry King (Larry King), a sneaky Southern attorney (John Goodman), and Ray Liota (playing himself as the owner of a huge honey business).
Although there are a few moments that may make you smile and the film has an important message about the environment and how all living things are tied together, it is also lacking in many areas. First there are some puzzlers, like why are there so many female bees in the hive? The Queen Bee is elected? Why is she called a queen? I could go on and on about little nagging problems like this but there are bigger fish to fry. There are no memorable jokes or big laughs, nor does the story ever elevate itself to the level of a feature film. Instead what we get, though well done, feels like a straight-to-DVD release or something you’d see on Nickelodeon. While many might enjoy this, mostly young kids, I don’t know how happy parents will be paying $10 a pop for it.
…
Men are from Earth, Children are from Mars
- Title: Martian Child
- IMDb: link
John Cusack stars as David, a science fiction writer who is still dealing with the loss of his wife. A social worker (Sophie Okonedo), who had been working to place a child with the couple contacts David about a special case. Dennis (Bobby Coleman) is an odd little kid who spends most of his time in a box, collects (steals) items from other children, and wears a weight belt made of batteries. Oh, and he thinks he’s a Martian.
You can probably guess where the film goes from here. David and Dennis have their problems and grow to love each other. It terms of storytelling the film doesn’t break any new ground, but the script from Seth Bass and Jonathan Tolins, based on the novel by David Gerrold, does hold our interest with smart characters and a story willing to hedge its bets on whether the kid is delusional or actually an alien.
There are some nice supporting performances here in roles that are could have been easily forgettable with less talented actors. Amanda Peet charmed the socks off me as David’s sister-in-law, Joan Cusack is good as always playing a role she knows well – the sister, and Richard Schiff brings his trademark gruffness to the head of the review board who has the power to take Dennis away from David. Although none of the characters are that well-written, these actors infuse them with energy and charm; there are several scenes between Peet and Cusack which nearly steal the film.
…
Men are from Earth, Children are from Mars Read More »
Behind the Scenes – Bee Movie
Here’s a short look behind the scenes of the new animated Dreamworks film Bee Movie featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock recording their voices and discussing the film. Larger version available in the Full Diagnosis. You can also check out the trailer, and make sure you check back tomorrow for our review!
Bee Movie
N/A
Behind the Scenes – Bee Movie Read More »